Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai - 28 July 2025 EDT
CID Episode 64 - 27th July
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MAIRA IS SAD 😞28.7
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Maa esi nahi hoti…
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Gen 5 Storyline
Anupamaa 27 - 28 July 2025 Written Update & Daily Discussions Thread
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Mannat Har Khushi Paane Ki: Episode Discussion Thread - 23
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Half Girlfriend: anyone watched it?
Originally posted by: Super Kool
Kudos to @sharneil @apolloartemis @ manzilmukul...it's a treat to read your posts...courtesy my limited vocab I am at loss of words that can truly appreciate the genius of these posts...I am awestruck...
Wow.
I think you provided your own unique perspective on what to modern viewers/ history buffs like us seems to be an unconventional relationship.Your conception of Ruqaiya is bang-on and convincing, and it was amazing how you managed to encapsulate three different lives in your tale.More importantly, you managed to convey so many things powerfully without articulating them, and that is a rare quality.The gradual power shifts in the lives of the three individuals, the emotions...very finely etched.You are very good at doing a fictional reconstruction of history, why don't you try to write your own piece of historical fiction?And a request- could you do one from Akbar's perspective? Thanks.
Originally posted by: sharneil92
@superkool.I shall call you Uber Kool from now on! 😳 😆 But really, thanks!It's really just apolloartemis' work that brings forth such ebullient expressions (love the alliteration right THERE!). It's awe-inspiring. And my Piu writes FF too! ^_^ She's fab!
Originally posted by: Super Kool
Kudos to @sharneil @apolloartemis @ manzilmukul...it's a treat to read your posts...courtesy my limited vocab I am at loss of words that can truly appreciate the genius of these posts...I am awestruck...
Originally posted by: manzilmukul
Whenever you pen down anything more..You will find me there for sure
And a request- could you do one from Akbar's perspective? Thanks.
Jalal's POV: Emperor of All: Ruled by One
Since he was a child Jalal has learned one thing, one lesson taught by both Badi Ammi, and by Khan Baba: never show mercy.
What did mercy get his father? A life in exile, leaving behind a child that was an orphan in all but name. His father's mercy destroyed his childhood, his innocence. His father's mercy was a slow death from cruelty in disguise.
Jalal is the leader of the Mughal Empire. He does not show any mercy- not to any who rise against him in any way.
He is King of Kings.
And Empires are forged in blood.
XXX
Ruqaiya is his favorite wife. She knows his thoughts as no other, not even Badi Ammi. And how can she not? They have been one since childhood.
His other begums satisfy the need of the flesh. Ruqaiya satisfies the need of the mind (not that that he does not indulge with her). Jalal is not happy, because he does not know what happiness is, but he is…content, he supposes. After all, all of Hindustan is collapsing at his feet. What more does he need?
What difference does it make if there is a hole where his heart is, a hole which hides a small boy who cries out for love, for understanding…for someone to make him whole.
Jalal is no longer a child. Badi Ammi tells him that he must be an absolute ruler.
Absolute rulers have no heart.
XXX
Going to Amer is an impulse and Jalal rarely denies his impulses. Something nameless pulls him across the desert to the kingdom, an intangible calling, drawing him closer.
His world shifts when he sees Jodha for the first time.
Jalal is struck by her exquisiteness, of course. He is a connoisseur of beauty, but Jodha not only outshines all his begums, but also every woman he has seen. In her presence they are the stars, eclipsed by the brilliant sun. None can compare.
But what keeps her in his mind, what makes him determined to have her, is the enigmatic smile Jodha has when she is in the palki. Part mischief, part whimsical girlishness, and part something he cannot name captures him. The elusiveness of her thoughts, the shine in her eyes…Jalal wants to own them all.
He follows the procession to the ghat and stands still as the rains pour. Jalal sees her peering into the water, knows that Jodha sees him as clearly as he sees her. He smirks as she squints into the water, turning to try to get a glimpse of him behind her. Her mother's calls pull her away, though she leaves a payal behind.
Jalal dives into a fire for the payal he appropriates. It is an indication of how far he will go for Jodha, though he does not know it yet.
He burns for her.
XXX
Jalal will admit that he had not expected to see her at the prison when he went to rescue Abdul. He had been impressed by her reasoning at saving his servant, and had laughed at the foolishness of her newly announced fianc. But seeing her at the prison…well, was it no wonder that he went and took up the palki to get a glimpse of her.
Jodha's words about his crimes, her hatred of him…Jalal is surprised by how much it stings him to know she despises him. Her pride in her Rajputana aggravates him as well- why can't the Rajput's accept the magnificence of the Mughal Empire? But when she puts a sword to his throat, though, he cannot help an admiring smile slipping forth, her courage a beacon to him.
Each soldier he kills is a blow against her pride, a blow against her precious Rajputana.
Let her see all that she loves crumble underneath him. Then all Jodha will have is Jalal. And she will be his.
XXX
Going back to the encampment is an exercise in tedium until he sees Badi Ammi and hears what has happened to Zaheer. For the first time Jalal feels anger at his Khan Baba, at the insolence his mentor has shown. Is he not Emperor? Is he not the Mughal Empire? That how can his Khan Baba gainsay his command?
Yet, the man has raised him, helped him forge an empire. Jalal cannot dismiss him.
He goes back to Agra, to his Ruqaiya for answers. And if Jalal's heart twinges at the thought of leaving Jodha at the hands of that fool Suryabhan? He ignores it.
XXX
Ruqaiya is a delight as always. He plays chess with her, takes her advice and loses himself for a brief while in her body. But always the thought of the Rajput princess lingers. What if she marries Suryabhan while he dallies in Agra? What is the protocol for Rajput widows? Jalal knows little of the internal politics of Rajputs. With that in mind, he bids Ruqaiya farewell the next day, mind already preoccupied with battle plans.
"What do you plan on doing now?" Ruqaiya asks.
"We plan to attack Amer soon." Jalal answers. "There is something of great value there."
A treasure all will envy me for. A desert rose.
XXX
"Anything of interest happen when I was gone?" Jalal asks Sharifuddin shortly after he rides into the encampment.
"The Rajputs are getting ready for battle, Jahapana, and…" Here Sharifuddin dithers.
"And?" Jalal prompts, frustrated with his second in commands hesitant manner.
"And Rajkumari Jodha has gotten formally engaged to Raja Suryabhan, with the marriage set for the next month."
Jalal's lips split into a snarl. "That marriage will not happen. Prepare to attack Amer. Rajkumari Jodha is going to my harem's jewel!"
I'm going to break that pride right out of you Rajkumariji. Just you wait and watch- you're mine!
XXX
He wins the battle- when does he not? The Rajput army falls before him, dying in valor but dying just the same. Jalal fights Suryabhan, and the other King manages to lightly injure an arm before Jalal's shamsher drives into his chest. Suryabhan gurgles, blood flecking his lips.
"Jodha," The man murmurs as Jalal wrenches his shamsher out of the dying body, "Forgive me, beloved." Those are Suryabhan's last words, and Jalal watches impassively as the man dies. Thus, the small contingent aiming for him catch him by surprise. Sharifuddin manages to help him escape the tumult, but it becomes clear that the soldiers were after the body as they quickly flee with Suryabhan. Then, the Rajput army breaks and retreats to Amer's wall for another stand, and Jalal watches them go.
"They will be back." Sharifuddin notes as Abdul comes riding up, saluting Jalal, "Perhaps a last stand."
"A last stand means jauhar for the women." Abdul says faux-casually and Jalal straightens. Self-immolation? The thought of Jodha giving herself to the flames is an alarming one.
"Send a message to Raja Bharmal." He instructs his aide. "Tell him I have peace terms he will find agreeable."
XXX
"And what do you want in return?" Bharmal says tensly.
Jalal smiles, looking at the paraphets where he can see the royal ladies. Her gaze scorches him even from a distance. He removes his helmet, pointing to the object of his desire.
"Jodha"
Bharmal's head bows. He knows, as does Jalal, that there is no choice left, except death. The subjugation of one for life for all? There is no choice.
"Agreed."
XXX
They are married in the Hindu and Islamic tradition. Both mean that he does not catch a glimpse of Jodha until after he comes back to the encampment. Ruqaiya, Badi Maa and the rest of all waiting for him, and Jalal cannot wait for them to meet his new begum.
"Jodha," he commands, "You may come out now."
There is no movement from the palki for a few moments, then Jodha emerges, spine straight, pride exuding from every pore. Jalal breath stutters for a moment as he sees his bride in all her beauty. Truly she has no equal. In body and spirit Jodha is unmatchable.
"My wife," He cannot help but breathe. "My wife." Jalal needs to repeat the words to persuade himself that the divine creature in front of him is his. He grabs her fingers, lips pressing to the delicate appendages in hunger.
"My prize."
Jodha's eyes remain definite. He has not yet won the war. Tonight, Jalal decides, he will win.
XXX
He should not be surprised by the murder attempt, but he is. In this too, Jodha is unlike his other wives. They had come to him, eagerness in their eyes. Jodha comes to his bed, dagger in hand, and murder in her heart.
Jalal wrestles the blade away from her, pinning her under his body as she seeks to take out his eyes with her nails.
"Stop it!" He spits at her, "Stop or I'll kill every single man, woman, and child in your beloved Amer!"
Upon hearing the words, Jodha stills, eyes growing wide. "You didn't think things through, did you Rajkumarij?" Jalal's smile is mirthless. "If you had killed me, what would have happened to your beloved Amer? My forces would have razed it to the ground."
"Taking your life would be bestowing a favor on all of Hindustan, Jallad" Jodha hisses. "I would have erased your stain from the pages of history forevermore!"
"And Amer?"
She closes her eyes in pain, turning her face away. Jalal lowers himself to that beautiful body, inhaling the fragrance that is uniquely Jodha. But he is not so far gone that he does not register her flinch.
"So unwilling Rajkumari? I assure you, I receive nothing but praise from my other wives."
Jodha laughs cheerlessly "As if they would ever tell you anything true. No one would ever tell you anything true Shahensha. Take, then, O' conqueror. Take me as you have taken everything else. But know this," Here her eyes flare with defiance, entrancing Jalal once again, "You may have control over my body, but you have no right, no control over one single thought!"
Jalal looks at his wife for long moments taking in every mien, every flicker that crosses that lovely face. Then he stands up and makes ready to leave. Jodha watches him with a puzzled expression. At the entrance of the tent, Jalal turns.
"I have never, and will never, make love to an unwilling woman." He tells her quietly. Jodha glares him, then bows her head, a tear falling from her eye.
Jalal leaves the tent, a sob from Jodha following him, realizing for the first time that he has won nothing in this battle.
XXX
She defies him at every turn. No order he gives is obeyed. Jodha does not integrate within the harem, scoring all their pastimes. Ruqaiya is exasperated at the woman who does not follow the rules. The rest of his begums remain catty, hating her.
Jodha rises above it all. She plays with doves. She swordfights. Often Jalal finds her looking towards her beloved Amer.
"Are you remembering you beloved kingdom? Or are you remembering that foolish king?" Jalal asks her one day. Jodha stiffens as he approaches, but relaxes minutely as he stops at a distance.
"Raja Suryabhan was cremated at Amer." She notes quietly, "Some of his ashes must have mingled with the soil of my kingdom. Part of him will always be there."
How can you mourn ash when I am in front of you? Jalal thinks frustrated. More and more I feel that foolish king has won- he has you in death, while I have nothing of you.
No, I won't give up! You are mine!
Hearing Abdul tell Ruqaiya that Jodha must be lonely gives Jalal an idea. His beloved Badi Ammi has no love for Jodha, but his mother has always expressed an interest in her.
"Would you like to visit your mother-in-law?" Jalal asks her one day. Jodha is kneeling in the courtyard, holding a dove in her hand. She squints up at him, expression impassive. For the first time in a long time, Jalal feels himself break into a sweat. Jodha's regard has that effect on him. She looks down at the dove.
"Yes." Jodha tells him quietly.
It is a start.
XXX
"Your mother is a delightful woman!" Jodha exclaims when he visits her next. "She is so educated, so refined. And so kind."
"She has always had that quality, but it is not something she wastes on her family." The bitterness in his words surprises Jalal. Jodha pauses, looking at him thoughtfully. "A mother," she says, "must always do what is best for her children. Even if," here she halts, eyes locking with his, "even if it causes the child hurt."
"A mother should protect her child" Jalal's voice is hoarse as he stares at his wife, who is looking at him as if she has never really seen him before. Jalal feels the same. He has been entranced by Jodha's body, by her spirit. He has never before been so entranced by her heart.
"What is good for the child is decided by the mother." Jodha whispers. "And it is always the duty of the child to love the mother."
"Enough." Jalal decrees, standing up the leave. Jodha clenches her fist. "Shahenshah," Her voice causes him to halt, "I would like it if…if you come with me next time."
Jalal turns to stare at her. Jodha's expression is determined. It is the first time she has reached out to him. How much does he want her truly?
Apparently far more than he thought. "Spar with me," he offers, "And I will come visit my mother."
Jodha dips her head in acknowledgment. Jalal leaves, heart thudding madly beneath his chest. Something has changed.
XXX
Days become weeks, becomes months, and Jodha and he grow closer together. Beneath her beauty there is a sharp mind, a steel soul, and a generous heart. Jodha is unlike any woman Jalal has ever met. She challenges him in mind and spirit. Heart and soul are constantly engaged with her, and he has to utilize both to keep up.
He is changing and he does not even notice.
Until Badi Ammi brings him the letter.
Save me Sujamal Bhaisa, it reads, My love is dead, my father is defeated. This palace chokes me at every turn. Life is bleak with this Jallad. Save me.
Jalal has never trusted anyone as he trusts Jodha. She has never been duplicitous- and the fact that she was concealing this all along wounds him to the core.
He remembers very little of the fight between them-only remembers that he orders her to return to Amer.
Her words burn into his soul. The sight of her back near cripples him.
Come back, he screams in his mind. Come back, don't leave!
Love me, love me, love only me.
Come back, my Jodha
XXX
Ruqaiya and the others try to distract him. He does not notice. Badi Ammi tries to bring forth matters of state. He does not notice. Jalal goes to Jodha's palace and scours the area for any trace of her. How can he love and hate in such equal measure? How is it possible that he holds such feelings inside him?
Abdul exposes the letter as a ruse, written when Jodha first came to Agra, and his Badi Ammi is implicated. For the first time in his life, Jalal has the urge to kill a woman. He shouts, screams, raves, and exiles her before he gives in to the urge to kill her. He screams at Ruqaiya, demanding to know if she was complicit. Her answer matters not. The depth of his feelings for Jodha drives her near insanity, and he leaves for Amer.
He needs Jodha. She is his beating heart.
XXX
Jodha refuses to return. Jalal cajoles, and when endearments don't work, he resorts to threats.
"This is why you will never rule!" She shouts at him. "You force at every turn!"
"Come back with me and rule beside me then!" He screams back.
He can see Jodha forcibly calming herself down. "You claim to be Emperor of Hindustan, yet you know only how to conquer," she says, "You know nothing of your populace, their hopes, their dreams. They are not all Muslim, and you treat them like dogs. You make them feel like filth on your shoe and then expect them to love you."
"Jodha…"
"You were born here," She says softly, "Umarkot, you told me. You are a son of this soil. Rule as a ruler of Hindustan, Jalal, not as a Mughal invader. And when you do, when you show me you have learned…then I will return."
XXX
He observes his populace on his return, tries to understand how to rule- he develops understanding and tolerance, aided by his reminder of Jodha and how she had reconciled his mother and he. Jalal looks to Amer to remind himself why he is doing this, why he is changing.
Come back to me he thinks as he converses with Ruqaiya. Jalal does not remember her leaving, but when he looks around she is gone. He turns back to the west.
Come back, my love.
XXX
He banishes the jirzra, making his Hindu subjects at par with his Moghul subjects. Thus he becomes a true king of the people.
And Jodha comes back.
He is with his ministers and Ruqaiya who are arguing to reinstate the tax when Abdul announces her return, grinning widely. Jalal get up, hurrying to where she is.
Jodha stands before him, smiling, eyes peaceful. The world fades in her presence. Jalal embraces her, takes in her scent.
"You came back." He whispers.
"And I will never leave." Is her quiet reply. Jalal closes his eyes, embraces his beloved wife, and finally, finally, surrenders himself fully to her.
XXX
From then on, Jodha is his life. He shares only her bed, the thought of others becoming a betrayal. She gives him three sons, beautiful boys with their mother's pride and heart. Ruqaiya remains his friend, his confidant, his advisor. She takes care of his children, and is given Salim's son for rearing when the boy is born.
But Jodha remains his world- the princess who captured him when she rode by on her palki and kept his heart for all the years after. When she dies, his world ends and he follows shortly after.
History, Jalal knows as he closes his eyes for the last time, Jodha's smiling face greeting him in the afterlife, will remember him as an Emperor of all, but who was ruled only by one.
And that is how it should be.
Originally posted by: manzilmukul
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@Blue 😆😆😆Shalu Bhalu Babeh🤗 mine is nothing compared to this one and Bhalu why don't you write for JA too .Guys she writes Great stuff too😎Maybe a THRILLER bhalu ...Pweety Puhleez*makes a Kesuda in white kurta wala face*☺️
@Apollotermis...We demand (Yes I say for BHALU AND MYSELF) Akbar's POV too*Stomps Feet and throws a Tantrum*
synopsis when he brought Amer's rose into his harem, she was meant to be a testament to his conquest. when she agreed to marry him, it was with...
Hi all! Some of you may know me already or maybe not - I had posted a modern OS named Serendipity on this forum some months ago. Here again with...
character sketch jodha bai || mariam-uz-zamani, malika-e-hindustan, registan ka gulab , malika-e-muazzama paridhi sharma born to the Rajput...
The Mughal Emperor Jalal has only ever known death, betrayal and Hate- he is the Devil with the face of an Angel. He is heartless and cruel...
Finally, I got it out of my head after months.. hope you like it....
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