Shyamala maam, your post was very interesting read n thank you for taking out the time to contribute in our forum.
But I beg to differ with a few of your points.
First being , no instance of her bravery has been shown as yet, except perhaps during the Mughal raiders attacking the Kali mandir, when she tells her guards to leave her and got to protect the others and the temple. Her whipping out Suryabhan's sword and putting it to the neck of the supposed spy is not bravery. She is surrounded by any number of Rajput soldiers, not to speak of Suryabhan at her elbow. Where then was the risk to her? If she had done that in a lonely spot when she was alone with the spy, then that would have been bravery.
I most humbly but firmly disagree with this. I've found quite a few instances of her bravery in the show, and I'll be attempting to put them before you as well as others, for considerations.
What is bravery ? And what is courage ? What act can be called as an act of valor ? To some extent the definition n the meaning will manifest in different lights for different people.
You're so correct ,Maam, in mentioning her very first act of valour shown in the very first episode, where she strongly encouraged the guards to consider other's lives before hers. But, is courage only required to face your external enemies ? (Namely Mughals in case of Jodha ). No. Courage is required in facing our day to day trials in a positive way , courage is required to not to give up hope even when you possibly couldn't find any hope. As the wise professor Dumbledore ,who was in my opinion a very wise man, had once told his students that more courage is required to stand against your friends ( In Jodha's case, it's family too, so even more difficult, so even more courageous ) , than to stand against your enemies. Didn't Jodha did just that when she rushed forward to save Abdul ? If we think of the timeline of the story, we can even better appreciate how difficult it must have been even for a princess to go against the wishes of the male members of the royal families , as well go against popular belief that all mughals are same n should be treated in the same way. Saving Abdul, a crippled man, from a terrible end wasn't only an act of extreme kindness n broadness of heart but also an act of extreme courage. Courage is a multi dimensional quality. A warrior who kills may be hundreds of men per day just because he's endowed with fencing skill or more physical strength than them, doesn't need to be brave.
But when I attend a mother in her labor room, n she pleads me , " Doctor, please take care of my baby. " n don't even bother for her own life , don't even once ask to put her life first, while knowing very well that in our Indian hospital settings she may well die by PPH, I bow down n salute such mothers for showing bravery at it's extreme n purest form.
My point being, to be kind unconditionally ( what she was to gain by saving the life of a spy of the mughals ) , to be forgiving ( her ability to understand that Abdul is just a pawn in the game, while Jalal is the "KING" , to face the odds of society n culture n protest n fight against them , to find light of hope in times of darkness ( she has these amazing ability to find hope n instill it in others even in the most difficult n impossible of situations, she's a woman who doesn't believe in dying before death ) , to encourage others to think in to positive manner without thinking with in the narrowness of one's own good'all these need extreme courage. Courage is not merely going to a battle n fight, but then may be yes ,that's courage, because life itself is the biggest battle , especially during times like that as currently being shown in rajputana track, every one is behaving in a hopeless manner, as if they've already braced defeat to their bosom, what with women preparing themselves for Jauhar , n men talking about never returning from the war, they're already dead even before the war has started, they've given up. But Jodha ! This amazing creation of God, stands apart from every single person in that she refuses to be a negativist , even if she knows that mughals are very strong enemies, n in front of the sea of Mughal soldiers, a small kingdom like Amer n it's military powers stand no chance in reality , but she also is a believer of the popular saying 'cowards die many deaths, so why be a coward ? Why always go on behaving , "We stand no chance " ? No. She firmly insists every one to stay positive , to believe that they can win, which is ACTUALLY the first step of success- self confidence.
Also her extreme empathy for others- that she considers a maid like Moti Bai her friend, behaves with her just like she behaves with her own sisters, her intense hatred for Jalal has also stemmed from the fact that for her, the people of Amer comes first n every thing comes second to it, Mughals led by Jalal, their approaching violent paw towards her people n her rajputana , is the biggest threat right now. Therein comes her obsessive desire to put an end to Jalal.
All these need extreme courage. Empathy is particularly a virtue ONLY N ONLY brave people can afford, ruthless people are deep down true cowards. May be that's why along with Soldiers ,Doctors are called among the bravest of professions , because just as the empathy for his country men gives courage to a soldier to fight against the enemy , empathy for human life gives a doctor the courage to keep on fighting with death trying to snatch away his patient, even when he knows all hope is but gone n any moment the ECG will show a straight line.
Courage is non-existent with out empathy.
Jodha's bravery , courage are already well established in this show in it's truest n purest form.
I hope I've not lost you guys yet.
Sorry for any grammatical mistakes n type errors. Patients n medicines usually keep me away from serious writing.
Edited by Bamonforever - 12 years ago
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