My dear,
I am so glad that you disagreed with me, for now that I have read your extremely moving and eloquent post, I would not have missed it for anything. Nor would I have liked to miss out on a fellow Harry Potter addict!😉
My definition of bravery was of the narrower kind,: the kind that stands in front of a charging lion and faces him down, the kind that rides out into even a hopeless battle against the enemy without any fear of death, the kind that faces physical risks without either fear or panic.
I think that when there are frequent comments here about Jodha being a fiery Rajput princess, this is the kind of bravery they are talking about, the more commonplace kind. This is why her having held Jalal at swordpoint is cited as an instance of her bravery. They are not referring to the kind of abstract, higher order courage of which you are talking.
If you go by the narrower definition that I was using, I am justified in making that statement, and in particular in debunking the interpretation that what she did to Jalal in the jail was an act of bravery. It was not, for she faced no risks, but it was a demonstration of a sharp eye and an alert memory, which could instantly make the connection between this man's face and the wavy image in the water.
Your higher order definition, especially the broadening of it to include empathy, would apply to a doctor working to combat an epidemic of a life-threatening disease, for example, at the risk of his/her life. That is courage of the non-flamboyant kind, but of the highest order. Because it is a cold courage, that does not have the adrenaline booster of a frenzied warlike situation, I would agree that it is superior to the other one.
But a soldier does not, in the heat of battle, as he braves almost certain death, really fight out of empathy for the people he helps to defend. Every Army officer I have ever known says that the soldier fights first for the honour of the paltan (his unit), then of the regiment. then of the army and then for the nation. Not for people as a whole or in the abstract. But this is an aside that does not affect your main argument.
I agree that Jodha is extremely principled, and she has the courage of her convictions when it comes to defending her principles. I see her rushing to stop Abdul's execution in this light. She needs no special courage to argue and stand against her father, for she does that all the time (as during l'affaire pigeon) and each time she ends up being praised for her stand. So why would it take any special courage for her in this instance? And the result is exactly the same as in the pigeon matter, Suryabhan stands up for her and then she is able, as usual, to out-argue her father. So it is, in effect, business as usual for the
rajkunwari of Amer.
Nor would I say that she saves Abdul out of kindness. She saves him because she thinks it is morally wrong to execute a cripple, in other words,
adharma. She justifies it according to the specifics of the Rajput moral code, and she lists all the 8 protected categories of persons. I would not cite this as an instance of courage on her part, but rather of the force of her moral certainties, which she is probably sure, going by past experience, that she can impose on her family.
I will agree with you wholeheartedly about her having the courage of her optimism and in refusing to lose courage whatever the odds. But again, I do not think this is the kind of abstract courage that was commonly meant in these pages, which was the one I was contesting, and in a purely factual sense.
My contention was
not that she was not brave, but that her bravery, as defined in the more concrete, narrower sense. had not been demonstrated. You would remember what I had written at the end of that para:
I am sure Jodha is brave, but my point is that has not been demonstrated yet, and we should be clear about that. I hope this lacuna is also remedied soon.
Her empathising with Motibai was an act of humane identification with her suffering, as if it was her own. I would not call it courage, for Jodha ran no risks from this display of empathy. It is a matter of definition, that is all.
All this aside, I absolutely loved your post. It has a passion about it, a force that comes from your empathy with your patients and your identification with the sufferings that go with the human condition. My defence of my stand on this, as above, is clever, like a lawyer's coherent argument in court. It is tenable, and it would stand in a court of law.
But yours, I think, would stand even in a much higher court, the one we all have to face at the end of our earthly span.
Shyamala
Originally posted by: Bamonforever
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 ,
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.
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