SPM~ My Musings~ 28.6.19 ~ With all due respect ..
Sultanats bold,unexpected yet timely intrusion, puts a brake yet again on a marriage fromhappening in the Shah family since Nadeem’s wedding. For all intent purposes, the families are expected to come out with their responses. For Kainat’s scheduled wedding not going through there is an uneasy silence. But for Saltanat’s breakaway from tradition! there is much indignation, and fury. Even though Saltanat tries to express her love openly with all due respect to her elders, it is dismissed as an excuse to malign family honour and respectability that Mainjaan in particular took years to build. Sufiyan love or selfish love? blind to family unit’s respect.
With all due respect to whoever it may concern, the episode to me, also shows some bold patriarchal leanings. Heads of the families seem to be in charge, like Mamoon and Mainjaan. But women too in the roles they hold seem to fight for a cause. For starters,there’s Saltanat with her polite assertiveness who fights for her love. The cause of her Sufiyana love that happened despite her trying to keep a lid on it. Zaroon appears weak in comparison to his adamant father, and only follows suit to profess his love, after Saltanat voices her confession. One which is dismissed by Mainjaan and judged as sin for giving no regard to the boundaries of decency ,values and traditions she was nurtured in.
As is common in traumatic scenarios, people look to blame each other. Mamoon blames Saltanat for literally snatching away his golden chance of inheriting the legacy. Right at the moment when Zaroon was nearly married to Kainat. I actually clapped for Mamoon when he literally yells at his son, why he fouled up marrying Kainat? As he came from Canada to marry her and not Saltanat! Saltanat despite her pleas about the purity of love is grilled both by Mamoon and Mainjaan, the authoritarians patriarchs of the family..
With due respect to the mothering instinct that can make mothers selfish. We see a violent face-off between Rubina and Zainab. Mind you, even Zainab agrees with whatever Rubina dishes out at her. However the way Rubina violently intimidates Zainab made me feel quite sorry for Zainab. Seems that it is common knowledge that she was battered wife.So in this scene we see a posh , modern Rubina behave nothing short of a fish wife! bit of bully, I say ..
To me at first Mainjaan appears to be obsessed by losing his credibility, respectability in the community. He seems austere and very nearly an orthodox, in side lining everything that Saltanat mentions about the purity of love! Only Mainjaan puts it all down to Saltanat’s behaviour in particular, her ridiculing the values she was brought her up in! Only one thing understandably, matters to Mainjaan.His uprightness, his morality and propriety in the community. Their so called, love he chastises them, is an excuse to shame his honour!,
But taking one step back, with due respect to a reverent figure head like Mainjaan, I can see where he is coming from! It's not that he didn’t give Zaroon and Saltanat the chance to speak up their hearts and minds. Mainjaan did! and they both did not come clean with him. But they chose a day when the whole community is present and then they confess their love shamelessly as he calls it!
With due respect to Zainab her confession about putting Saltanat under oath becomes her saving grace. She has to defend both Zaroon and Saltanat , by doing the right thing of owing up to her involvement in making their love look sinful.But this confession adds more salt to Mainjaan’s wounds.
However when he takes Zainab to task also , accusing her of liberating them; coercing them to go against traditions. Zainab’s reply is spine chilling.. that under the garb of family traditions and values, many atrocities happened behind closed doors. Traditions were broken! she should know, as none came to her rescue, bound by some sham traditions!
As such the last thing she desires for Kainat is to be part of a loveless marriage! Zainab’s comment about her own rather violent marriage, also is a rebuff to all those ,like Sabina who point out that Zainab ruined her own child Kainat’s marriage to speak of Saltanat’s true love for Zaroon..
Actually, Mainjaan reprimands Zainab, wants to clarify with her if she finds his sense of moralityand ethics faulty? He is clearly hurt, because this whole mess between Saltanat and Zaroon is incited by Zainab. He tells her she is using their love as a pretext to insult him and the family?
Actually this makes me wonder, does Zainab begrudge Mainjaan? that he never took his wife beater son to task. Did Mainjaan fail to detect signs of physical abuse on Zainab? Or did he just chose to ignore them as a husband and wife matter? Now this public humiliation that Mainjaan suffers, does Zainab regret it? or is she pleased to see him suffer too? all done in Mainjaan ‘s words, disrespect under the excuse of love… 29. 6.19 hamlet
Apart from Dadi nit picking and creating problems; and Neelam’s sick humour.. Kainat reacts only by a cold stare, and perhaps some concern when Zaroon is thrown out as a bad omen for his household! by Mainjaan himself!
The episode with all due respect to it, is rather, sullen and sombre compared to the fervour of the initial match. Now that the end game is over.. I am waiting to see more of Kainat’s reaction. Today she just quietly watches from the shadows as her mother, who she too has a bone to pick with! is hammered by the most revered Mainjaan. As for Zaroon’s getting Saltanat , Kainat can see its not going to be easy! For now Zaroon is thrown out unceremoniously, from Shah Manzil
Thanks Anju,Irshita ,Lonelythots and Nusi! super to see you doc! welcome back love hammie have a good weekend!
Hamza for heir?
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