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Hello All
I am a regular viewer of the show, and a mostly silent reader of posts here.
I felt very moved by the Younis/Najma scenes yesterday and thought I'd make a post. Please do let me know what your views are 😊
When Najma said she would also play for her country, the change in Younis' face was stark and visible. Here was a man, who'd just been celebrating players who'd done a fabulous job for their country, and mentioning how he would embrace them if he ever had the chance. And suddenly, the innocent voice in his house says she wants to be able to play for her country too.
As much as the grown-up, individual woman in me detests the restrictions Younis imposes on the women in his family, the character is so deeply rooted in reality that I cannot seem to hate him.
He made quite a few things clear yesterday:
- He LOVED his brother, he loved sports. He also revolted against his father for his brother.
- He loves Najma as he does his 2 girls, and hence he expects her to follow the same rules and principles too
- Najma has a special place in his life because she is the reminder of his dead brother
The reason I thought of making a separate post for this man is, I believe he is more conflicted than he lets on. What I saw in his face yesterday (and that could because of the excellent acting too!) was a puzzle he couldnt solve. It was not about the love he had for Najma. It wasn't even about the restrictions imposed on the females by traditional values.
I believe, it was a conflict between the individual in him versus the family-man in him.
The family-man wants to protect everyone in his home. He is so to speak the head of the family. He is now responsible for his kids' education, future, protection. He also needs to take care of his brother's widow. And for some reason he also seems to be responsible for his wife's sister and her marriage. The family-man in him has been brought up in a society where women are meant to be protected, and are supposed to live a more demure life than the opposite sex. And I do feel for the family-man in him. He's been overburdened by the responsibilities. The only male members in his family are an older father and a very young son. Jamaal is there, but he isn't shown to be a 'serious'/responsible man.
The individual in him is rational and practical too. It's the individual in him that agrees to take Mariam's jewellery, its the individual in him that accepts that he may need a loan from his mother-in-law. Its the individual in him that makes him rebel against his father's wishes and buy a blazer for his brother. It is the individual in him that remained in the shadow of his brother's aura (even after his brother's death). It's the individual in him who enjoys sports himself. Finally, the individual in him who's tormented that he cannot answer his niece's questions.
- He was angry at first because he was misunderstood to be against Najma... he clarified that.
- He was angry because he couldn't slap Najma the way he would have to Touseef... he explained that too.
- He forgives Najma when she comes to apologise... because, come on, who wouldn't melt at a young child's tears!
But his face still remained stern. And hence his statement about the "questions that prick". The way he reacted to Najma's questions (with his silence) and her apology (by actually avoiding the topic of her questions) makes me think that he is also looking for the answers to Najma's questions.
And maybe, just maybe, like Mariam, he also feels guilty of being unfair to Touseef's memory by curbing Najma's passion for sports.
*** sorry that was a long post😛...
but yesterday's episode made me hope that in the end it may be Younis who may end up championing Najma's cause (and not really his father as I previously thought)
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