Jalal's heart is alive and making itself heard! - Page 2

Originally posted by: skanda12

Friends, what a day it was. Finally, finally, finally we heard the words we've been waiting to hear for the last 100+ episodes. Jodha's words of trust were echoing endlessly in Jalal's mind ... but even then I was not expecting he would stop and say what he did. I never thought he would come to a complete standstill, stare up at the romantic moon, and clutch his heart with a intensity of feeling that was so new (and yet so old) to him - and then say: "What is this I am feeling? How long has it been since I last felt this way? What is suddenly happening to my heart?"

Oh my God, folks, I am a shameless romantic, but today, that little scene of three and a half minutes made me feel as if my breath was taken away! The precap never prepared me to hear this. But I am as delighted as if I was in that scene myself! I have realised one thing. Romance in this serial is not going to be as superficial as eyelocks or hands touching or even electric friction. The most beautiful romance in this serial is going to come from "epic"moments like this - when someone stops to feel his heart after so long, and finds it is so alive! It's going to be more of the deep love of the heart and less about bodily chemistry. We may have to change our expectations!

To me the problems of Adham just faded into the distance today - and Jodha's words awakening Jalal's heart became the focus of the story! But then, as with all utterly blissful moments, it ended fast ... and we had to keep pace with the rest of the events of the episode ...

Some of the other highlights for me today were:

1. Hamida expressing fear that Jodha's intevention in Maham's affairs may make Maham now try to split up Jodha and Jalal!

2. Salima saying beautifully to Jodha that she must be feeling happy that Jalal chose her as one of his trusted begums, and her silence could well mean her acknowledgement of this!

3. Atga Khan telling Jalal that it was a great thing he took one more day to decide well, for he needs to consult his heart and do what the heart dictates in this case!

Some of the day's lowlights for me today were:

1. Adham thinking he could easily "eliminate" Jodha if she was the one biting Jalal's ear to make him interfere in the Tasneem affair.

2. Maham thinking she could fully exploit the three "khas begums" and set them at each others throats in competition and jealousy.

3. Ruqaiaya and Maham snarling like ugly cats ... where Ruq calls Maham a mere baandhi, while Maham retaliates that begums have less shelf-life than Wazir-e-Aliyahs!

But beyond all this, the question circling in my mind is: Why did Jalal want this threesome with all three khas begums? What was his game?

First possibility: Is he holding the same fear as Hamida that if Jodha alone were championing this case against Adham, then Maham may viciously isolate and target her? Is he thus protecting Jodha by co-opting Ruq and Salima also into the case to keep Jodha safe by numbers?

Second possibility: Is his goal to use this Adham case as an opportunity to re-establish the roles of his three wives? Ruq has already been having turf wars with Salima and Jodha and pushing Jalal constantly to put her above the other two. Was this Jalal's way of subtly showing Ruq (and Salima and Jodha) that all three of them now stood equally "khas" for him?

Third possibility: Was this Jalal's attempt to remove this whole case from the ambit of the political sphere and make it a familial affair? Just yesterday when Maham wanted to resign he said even if he didn't consult her on personal or familial affairs, he would use her for political affairs. Was this then Jalal's way of taking the matter out of Maham's hands under the guise of making it look like a family discussion in which she was an observer but not a participant?

I support this third possibility!

Okay now on to the more detailed analysis ... I have two topics to cover, the Jodha-Jalal hearts dialogues and the Jalal-Maham power dynamics!

Jodha and Jalal are beginning to feel their hearts. She's brought his heart to life!

I'll start with the second scene of the episode because that is where Jodha meets Jalal in his room and the real beauty of the dialogue between them begins. He says he was expecting her because he had seen her trying to interject during the sabha, but Hamida had asked her not to.

She starts by asking him: "You said nothing at the Diwan-e-Khas that revealed what you were thinking about this whole case. So what is your opinion on it? Do you agree with the idea that a man can force himself on a woman or a child who doesn't like him, against her will, just because he has cornered her parents? Is it Ok that there is no "prem" and only coercion in such a relationship between individuals?"

Jalal replies that he understands her angst - but it's not about people, it's about the law of the land. Jodha is quick to reply: "Oh I know about the law. It allows men to acquire women like pieces of land. But acquisition is not what marriage is about. Marriage is about "prem" between people. "Prem" is more important than just possession. And for that matter, as a Shahenshah you are not bound by laws, you create the laws ... you can change them at will."

Jalal has a slightly amused look as he replies: "Jodha Begum, I know my duties as an emperor. I also know that to protect the law is not my duty - it is to protect the people. I give you my word, I will not allow any injustice in this matter. Please stay assured. You'll get every answer you need". There are tears of satisfaction glistening in her eyes, as she cuts him short: "I got my answer just now. Your words have bound my trust in you. I'll take leave now". She turns to go leaving him very moved by what she said.

But hardly does she take two steps, when she backtracks, because she has something more important to say to him. She comes back to stand before him, looks directly into his eyes and says: "I want to also tell you, I no longer have any ghrna for you. I used to ... but not any more. You trust me so implicitly, and I now trust you also to always to do the right thing!" With that she leaves. The expression on his face is to die for! Incredulity is there on one side. On the other side is the look of genuinely being touched at his core by her words! He is left standing very still, feeling a lot inside himself, and deep in thought, trying to digest what has just happened!

We then see a beautiful shot of his walking slwoly down the corridors of his palace, her words still ringing repeatedly in his ears, till he cannot move any more and stands transfixed to a spot, his hand reaching for his heart where he has started feeling something like exquisite pain. He looks up at the romantic moon and says to himself: "What is happening to my heart? It feels like pain but it could be what my mother refers to as heartfelt "khushi". The last time I remember feeling this way was when I thought I was going to be a father and I was so happy. But what happiness is this now? What is happening to my heart right now?"

Just at that moment Atga Khan appears and asks Jalal if something is working on his mind. Jalal asks him for advice on the case in court. Atga confirms that he did right by taking more time to decide. He tells him to take advice from all the family, but to eventually decide by what feels right in his heart. Jalal, newly in possession of his beating and lively heart, seems to like hearing this advice. He says to Atga Khan: "I sure will hold your advice close to my heart."

Is it my imagination or is everything now becoming a matter of "heart" to Jalal, now that he has become acquainted with its presence in him? I heard words like "prem" from Jodha and "seene mein khushi" from Jalal enough times today, that it gives me hope that the forthcoming episodes may all be saturated with similar sentiments! Looks like the good days are here at last!

Jalal outwits Maham at the power game ... she wins small, he wins big!

Let's cut back to the very first scene of the episode where Maham cleverly gets the maulvis to agree that Adham did no "gunah". She then adds to his case by calling the parents of Tasneem and asking them for their position on their daughter's marriage to Adham. The greedy parents express preference for Adham for his kindness in elevating their daughter from a baandhi to a begum! Having thus got things on her side, Maham then declares the arguments over, and says with Jalal's permission she would like to have the faisla proclaimed.

But lo and behold, Jalal who has been watching all this with a sideways glance now and then at an uneasy Jodha, says the faisla will only be announced a day later - and walks off. Maham is left looking checkmated! Why did Jalal take the extra day to think, must have been the question on Maham's mind. This gets revealed to us a little later: Jalal seems to have done this to be able to get the case out of the political sphere where Maham has sway, and to limit it as a family matter where Jodha has sway! Thus in one stroke he has allowed Maham to preside over the case to satisfy her need for political power, and yet he has taken away the real power of decision from her!

Jalal's idea to get this matter out of the political ambit and make it a family issue also seems to have been on Hamida's mind. Hamida, Gulbadan and JiJiAnga, all of whom were present at the proceedings appeared to have left the sabha with a heavy heart. Hamida tells Gulbadan that she is terribly worried for Jodha. Because of Jodha's vehemence on matters relating to Maham she had made enemies for herself. And Maham being the person she is, it would be very likely that she may try to split up Jodha and Jalal just when they were seeming to get along together finally! Hamida also said that she feared what Maham could do to Jodha and wished - and prayed - that Jalal would choose wisely between Adham and Jodha in the next day's faisla.The fact that Hamida was discussing all this with her lady friends (stressing on them to refer to her not as the Queen Mother but as a Bhabhi Jaan) also seems to show that Hamida was getting exercised with this whole issue being treated as a political issue rather than being the family issue it really was!

Having thus decided to change the relevance of the matter from political to familial, Jalal then goes to Maham himself and tells her that he thinks that since this is a family matter entirely, he would like to discuss it with his three "khas" begums - Ruqaiaya, Salima and Jodha! Maham asks "Why three begums? Isn't Ruqaiaya the "khas" one"? Jalal sidesteps the point and merely says "I want all three of them in. So do please arrange for them to come with you tomorrow to meet me".

It was interesting that he thought fit to task Maham with the job of assembling his wives together and calling them over. He could easily have summoned his three wives through any other messenger, but why choose Maham to get them together? Did it not look like Jalal wanted Maham to know that he was calling his three wives into the matter? What message was there in it for Maham? And what was to be Maham's role in the proceedings if she were to bring the wives with herself?

Anyway Maham then gets sidetracked into this story of the three wives. She gets her glee from telling Ruqaiya the news that Salima and Jodha were being co-opted by Jalal as his two other "khas" begums. After Salima and Jodha, slightly perplexed, leave the scene, Ruq and Maham get into a spat with each calling the other names. Ruq tells Maham she knows she is responsible for this three "khas" begums idea, while Maham tells Ruq she deserved it for exceeding her position and recommending against Adham for the subehdari. Maham says Ruq should not have entered the poltical games arena. Ruq then asks Maham to stay within her limits as a mere baandhi, while Maham tells Ruq "Begums may come and begums may go, but a Wazir-e-Aliyah stays forever."

I think in the small satisfaction of having tripped up Ruq and in licking her chops expecting a raging fist-fight between the three wives, Maham lost sight of the larger issue at stake: the Adham-Tasneem case! Maham at the end of the episode was feeling like she was the clever one today because she thought she had the opportunity now to set the three wives against each other. But to what immediate advantage?

I think Jalal had the last laugh with the larger game he was playing. While Maham was distracted by the smallish victory of separating the wives, Jalal was pulling the rug from under her feet by taking the larger Adham issue out of her power range!

Regarding the precap, I hope you all noticed that it was Jodha who was holding the floor. She was speaking vehemently and eloquently on the poor state of affairs of women in general all over the country and Jalal was listening keenly to her intelligent argument. It is my hunch that Ruq may prove to be just a superficial contributor to this discourse, thus exposing her limitedness on serious issues, and she may actually have a contradictory stance ... while Salima may agree with Jodha, add her own experience-laden points, and thus swell Jodha's strength.

It will be interesting to see which of the wives comes out of this looking more strategic, powerful and superior! And what role, if at all, Maham would have in this discussion. Would Maham be allowed to feel like "family" at all or would she be reduced to feeling like an outside observer?