Friends, what can I say about yesterday's episode? All the rumours and spoilers we had been trying hard to digest all of last week started coming true in a very disgusting way.
On the one hand, Jodha was acting too overly concerned about the wellbeing of Khyber even after his capture and jailing ... and on the other hand the precap scene showed Jalal openly ogling the beauty of wife of his minister in the DEK. Both extremes were disgusting. I can neither understand Jodha going to the extent of washing Khyber's wounds in jail herself, nor can I understand how a man with a pregnant wife he professes to love can so allow his eye to be loosely roving at the DEK.
Earlier when we had all read the spoilers I thought they suggested a hint of some "tit-for-tat type of mutual jealousy-inducement" that maybe the cause of Jalal and Jodha deliberately showing open preferences for others. It almost sounded like because Jodha was favouring Khyber, Jalal would probably be trying to make her feel jealous by acting riveted by this Atifa. But no. Maybe that was just my imagination and the imagination of some others too after reading the spoilers. The two lovers were indeed acting independently of each other it seems. Both were temporarily distracted away from each other towards others - for all the wrong reasons.
I want to say here that it is easy for us to be one-handed in a situation like this and say that what Jodha felt for Khyber was sympathy and pity and good intentions for a man genuinely wounded (who had helped her in the fight giant the Mahchuchak men) and she wanted him not to be ill-treated ... whereas what Jalal did was open leering at the wife of his minister who had come to him for some justice, presumably a divorce from her husband? It's easy to label Jodha's feelings for Khyber as sisterly while saying that what Jalal seemed to be feeling for Atifa was not at all brotherly. But I want to be fair in my judgement of both Jodha and Jalal, and I feel that neither of them were really thinking through to the consequences of their actions on themselves, and on each other.
The important thing here is that whenever two people close to each other start getting distracted away from each other towards others, in the long run they hurt themselves more than they hurt each other. We always focus on how much they have hurt each other - but we never realise how they have hurt themselves, or trapped themselves, by allowing themselves to be even temporarily entertaining thoughts of others.
But I don't think anyone, least of all Jodha, could miss that gleam of something close to possessive adoration in the eyes of Khyber, especially when she was taking on the washing of his jail wounds herself. Jodha may have been pitying him, but it looks to me like he could easily mistake her intentions for "love" and start feeling as if she is his possession.
Even now, we all have no idea how Khyber really felt when he put her in the cave, closed all the gaps in the cave with rocks, and kept her sealed. We don't know whether he even understood that she was pregnant. We don't know how he really felt when he tried to shake her by the shoulders and communicate with her after she almost was killed by Mahchuchak's soldiers.
Was he just wanting her to be safe and was he sympathetic about her being pregnant ... or was he getting possessive over this beautiful woman and getting angry with her for defying his overlordship? How did Khyber really feel when Jalal came and rescued Jodha after defeating Khyber ... and how did Khyber especially feel after seeing Jalal and Jodha hugging each other as he lay pinned to the ground by Jalal? How can we tell what he has started feeling for Jodha from just his grunts and groans (although his eyes do give him away often)?
There was a very suggestive flashback yesterday when we were shown Mahchuchak talking to Khyber's bodyguard when the bodyguard said "At any moment we cannot tell if the man in him or the animal in him will surface. If he is animal, he will live to survive and if he is man he will live to love". That suggests that just as Khyber suddenly became all man-like in Jodha's presence, he could well become animal-like again if he thinks of Jalal as competition for himself in having Jodha.
Many of us yesterday automatically assumed that Khyber was a nice guy, who helped Jodha in a crisis, and it was Jalal misunderstanding Khyber's intentions. But what if Jodha's sympathy for Khyber has given Khyber entirely different ideas and he turns violent if he senses that Jodha actually does not return his feelings and is in deep bonding with her own husband? Will Khyber not try to become a leech in Jodha's life and try to get violent with anyone who gets close to her?
In a strange way, I think, the other men in interested in Jodha already sense that Khyber's attitude towards Jodha may not be all that simple as it seems to Jodha. Not only is Jalal uncomfortable about Khyber's potential for sudden violence, but in a way I thought Sharif too resented the Jodha-Khyber connection out of what could be manly jealousy of Khyber. Does Sharif also sense a certain something in Khyber's eyes for "his Jodha"? It's a long shot ... but it's possible.
All that I am saying is that, if it's even 5% possible that Khyber has developed possessive feelings for Jodha, then he will be in a position to hurt her terribly, by becoming more than she can handle. She will find it very difficult to shake him off.
Of course, it also goes without saying that if Jodha allows Khyber to get too close to her she will kill the delicate fabric of love between herself and Jalal for he is bound to be very hurt.
But what are the chances that this woman returns any loyalty to Jalal? If she senses that the Shahenshah himself is attracted to herself, could she not use the leverage of Jalal's attraction for her to get her divorce from her husband fast, if that is what she has come for? And could she not have some reason for the divorce - like another man in her life?
Could she not pander to the partiality Jalal feels for her to get her freedom from her husband and then to run away with the other man whom she prefers? Jalal being the Shahenshah can have any woman he chooses, right? True! But where is it a given that every woman he chooses should want to choose him back?
Worse, if the lady does not feel anything for Jalal, but just sees the advantage of sticking to him like a leech in return for extraordinary status privileges, money, rank, etc. where does that leave Jalal? And even worse than that ... if someone like Ruq, just to get back at Jodha for getting pregnant, decides to use this new attraction in Jalal's life as an irritant for Jodha during her difficult pregnancy of twins, and if this lady Atifa sees this and plays along for her own benefit, would it not encumber and embroil Jalal himself further in their machinations against Jodha, in addition to hurting Jodha?
Many of us rue the disgusting fact that Jalal as a Shahenshah has the unquestionable right to have any woman he chooses, even at a time when his most-loved wife is pregnant, and he may show no concern for that fact. Many people even advance the argument that if Jalal takes this Atifa as his new wife when Jodha is pregnant, it is not much different from the way he consummated his marriage with Jodha when Ruq was supposed to be pregnant. So what are his ethics anyway?
But the question in my mind regarding Atifa is not what Jalal wants of her but what she could use Jalal for ... and whether she is going to take advantage of Jalal's infatuation to get everything she wants for herself materially and socially. Maybe she wants the divorce from her husband badly. Maybe she has a lover she desperately wants to marry instead. Maybe she too has an audha fixation or decides to use Jalal? In all this we have to ask if she is genuinely reciprocating any feelings for him or is in the least attracted to him.
Some historical information I have come across seems to suggest that Jalal never married Atifa but he was enamoured of her and her singing and that was it. Some other information suggests that Jalal may have married Atifa but after marriage he does not show any particular interest in her ... and eventually she runs away with someone else. None of this I know for sure for my history is a zero. But if it's a fact that after marriage (or just a liaison) there was nothing but distance and mutual disdain between Jalal and Atifa, I think that supports my suspicion that Atifa may never have returned Jalal's interest.
All that I am saying again here is that, if it's even 5% possible that Atifa has seen the uses of Jalal more than the attraction of Jalal, then she will be in a position to hurt him and his ego terribly, by becoming more than he can handle. He will find it very difficult to shake her off.
Of course, it again goes without saying that if Jalal allows Atifa to get too close to him he too will kill the delicate fabric of love between himself and Jodha for she is bound to be very hurt.
Staying away from potential leeches should be the moral of the story
Jodha and Jalal may really truly love each other. But just because two people are in love, we cannot assume that they will not feel anything for anyone else ever. They may get attracted to others for various reasons. Jodha may get attracted to becoming the "rescuer of poor animalistic Khyber who can't talk about his feelings" ... just as Jalal can get attracted to becoming the "protector of poor beautiful Atifa who wishes to be free of a difficult husband".
If the love of Jodha and Jalal is true then what they feel for Khyber or Atifa may be just different forms of infatuation only. Jodha may be infatuated with the idea of being a "jallad-rescuer" while Jalal may be infatuated by the idea of becoming a "lady-protector".
But when the scales fall from Jodha's and Jalal's eyes, and they want to return to each other - as they will sooner rather than later - will these leeches that have stuck to them let go of them? Will people like Ruq who gain from the continuance of these leeches let the leeches fall away from Jodha and Jalal?
Just as Khyber has the capacity to become a leech in Jodha's life that can become difficult to shake off later if Jodha wants to get rid of him, this Atifa too can become a leech in Jalal's life that is difficult to shake off later if Jalal wants to get rid of her.
Sympathy and empathy are dangerous things to play with ... because if they are not showered on the right people for the right reasons, the recipients of such sympathy and empathy can very well become parasites in one's life and prevent healthier relationships from re-engaging.
This track is disgusting to watch, for sure, but it is in its own way interesting too. It's an interesting dilemma in the lives of both Jodha and Jalal because this "infatuation for others and their causes" too is a good test of their marriage and love.
Can Jodha and Jalal have reasons to "fall" for others - in pity or in admiration even - and yet return to each other stronger than before they got misdirected in their intentions?
I am waiting to see how Jodha will shrug off this Khyber from consuming all her time and attention and life, and keeping her away from her Jalal ... and how Jalal will likewise shrug off this Atifa from consuming all his time and attention and life, and keeping him away from his Jodha. It's a test for both Jodha and Jalal to see how deeply they want to commit themselves to each other exclusively.
For those who want to know what happened in yesterday's episode, here is the gist of it ...
The episode begins with a terribly violent fight between Jalal and Khyber. Khyber first demolishes Jalal's men in droves making Jodha look terribly worried for Jalal. With a kind of lance in his hand Khyber parries every sword thrust of every sipahi and then just shoves them all to the ground in tens and twenties. Jalal tries to go in for a hand-to-hand combat with Khyber but gets unceremoniously thrown to the ground. All this happens while Khyber is grunting and groaning as he usually does when highly energised. But then Jalal decides it's time for him to give off war cries also. He bellows out a huge cry of antagonistic intent. Meanwhile Mansingh and Munim Khan try their luck against Khyber but Mansingh gets horribly humiliated as does Munim Khan.
Despite all this however, Jalal decides on a final strategy. He hurls himself at Khyber and before Khyber can shake him off he perches himself on Khyber's shoulders and pummels Khyber's head relentlessly with his elbows. By this time Khyber is no longer holding the advantage as his head hurts abominably. Yet with a desperate force Khyber shakes Jalal off his back, but as Jalal lands near his feet, he quickly pins Khyber's foot to the ground with a vicious dagger thrust. To make short of it all, Khyber soon finds himself down on the ground, flat, thanks to Jalal's nimble moves, and then Jalal is about to thrust his sword through Khyber in a final blow when Jodha intervenes hastily, "Please do not kill him. He saved me actually from Mahchuchak's soldiers", she tells Jalal. Jalal listens to Jodha's plea and brings his sword down beside Khyber and not through him!
Jalal then turns to Jodha and hugs her, and it is extremely interesting to see the look in Khyber's eyes at this point, for he looks like a man whose possession has been taken away by another. He turns his face away in dismay and his groans become more hurt-sounding - almost like crying!
Jalal then puts Jodha slightly away from him as she touches her stomach as if to see if all is well with her babies. Jalal then shouts to his men "He has saved Jodha Begum from enemies so I won't kill him as I so want to right now. Nevertheless he is a man of Mahchuchak and our enemy, so put him in jail forthwith!"
Jalal then turns his attention back to his Jodha, helping her wear her dupatta over her head again. "Are you OK?" he asks and she replies "How can I not be when you are here?" Jalal then puts his hand on her stomach as if worried about their babies, and she puts her hand over his. "Come let me take you back" he says and she replies "I can walk myself." They then make their slow way back.
In the next scene we see Jalal and his troops riding back into the Palace on their horses while Jodha is in her palki. Cries of "Zindabad" to both of them rent the air as the people seem relieved and happy (especially Bharmal and his sons). Jalal gets off his horse to go and give his hand to Jodha and help her out of the palki. As Jalal and Jodha walk towards the palace entrance from the gates area, the eyes of the prone and chained Khyber fall on them both. Khyber does not look pleased. There is a great deal of pain in his eyes.
We are then shown a flashback of Mahchuchak talking to Khyber's bodyguard ... where the bodyguard tells Mahchuchak "This Khyber is half man and half-animal. So one can never tell if the man-like qualities will surface at any time or the animal-like qualities will surface. As an animal he will try to live for survival, but as a man he will live for love". This sounds like an ominous remark too me, for it can work both ways. We can all say "How kind and man-like Khyber was to Jodha." But we could equally say "Will he turn animal-like if he doesn't like watching Jalal and Jodha close to each other?" The way Khyber is eyeing Jodha and Jalal together looks like he attached to Jodha and resentful of Jalal. At one point, Khyber even becomes very restless and straining at the leash, seeing them together.
Jalal then leaves Jodha with the ladies and asks her to take rest. Salima and others commiserate with Jodha as Hamida orders the hakima to give Jodha a thorough check. Ruq is watching all this with a carefully veiled dislike. Jodha attributes her being alive still to Jalal. Outside the hojra, Jalal asks Mansingh if all arrangemments for security are have been strengthened and then asks him to go come along to check.
At night, Jodha and Jalal are in bed together, when Jalal tells her "You don't have to worry any more. The palace and harem have been further fortified than before." Jodha leans against Jalal seeking the safety of his body, as they hold hands ... but then she suddenly sits up and says "Shahenshah I just felt some movements in my stomach!" Jalal looks stunned. "Let me call the hakim at once" he says fearing the worst. But Jodha says "No Shahenshah, give me your hand" and she places his hand on her stomach. "Can you also feel something?" Jalal is still stunned to feel the movements of the babies in Jodha and says to her in seriousness, "Thank God, our babies are safe." Jodha says "They will be safe because their father has protected them. Maybe that's why they say the father is the roop of Eashwar to his children."
"Don't shame me Jodha Begum" Jalal says "At the time of our marriage you called me your Pati Parameshwar and you know how badly I treated you at that time. Now you are calling me the Eashwar of our children, but I cannot stand the fact that they have been through so much. I am sorry I could not prevent that darinda from carrying you away. How much trauma you must have been through." Jodha lightly touches Jalal's face and says "No, I always knew you would come for my protection." Jalal then says to her "You are the most lovable wife in the world and you know it." He gives her back the kangan that she had discarded on the path when she was being carried away by Khyber. She then tells him "You are the most loving husband in the world".
The next morning Jodha completes her aarti for Kanha and goes to give Jalal the aarti. Moti wants to know what she would like to eat for breakfast when she says "I will eat nothing. This is the sacred month of Ramzan and I too have kept roza. I will not even drink water till the evening's iftaar. Keep some khajoor and fruits ready for me for the evening".
As Jodha enters Jalal's hojra he is busy trying to copy the painting of Jodha he has in his room. She gives him aarti that he takes and she asks "What are you doing here?" "I am trying to paint a picture but am not too good at it" he replies. Jodha says "Maybe keeping the roza has tired you out?" But Jalal replies "No actually the roza makes you stronger, that's the faith. I have even gone on wars during roza days." Jodha then pretends not to know whose picture he is drawing "Looks like some woman?" Jalal says "Yes you got it. I am trying to paint your picture but it's not quite working out. Maybe I have not understood you fully yet?" Jodha is quick to turn around and answer him "I too can't say I've understood you fully Shahenshah!"
Jodha then remembers to ask him about keeping roza. "Can I keep roza too?" she asks but he says "No you can't because our holy principles say it's not for pregnant ladies." He places a hand on her stomach and says "What will the babies eat if you don't eat? I promise you next year we both will keep roza together." She agrees with a smile. Then she broaches the subject of Khyber with him. "Tell me he will not be punished, please" she asks. Jalal agrees reluctantly saying "It's for your sake I am agreeing to this. But anyway why talk about that darinda when we can talk about our fairies - the children. Take care of yourself and them". She nods in agreement.
Just then Atga asks for Jalal and he has to leave to meet his courtiers. Jodha thinks to herself "I wanted to keep the roza for you, Shahenshah, but you are right. These babies are a part of you in me and their care and wellbeing is also my duty". Then with a last look at his incomplete painting she gives a laugh as she plans to leave his room with her aarti tray.
Just then sounds of heavy groaning and moaning emanate. Jodha runs out and Moti there explains to her that the shouts are coming from the jails. A sipahi then explains that the shouts are from that darinda who is being punished. Jodha is upset "The Shahenshah said he should not be punished, so who is giving him this punishment?"
In the jail, it is Sharif whipping the darinnda mercilessly. "Jalal may have forgiven you but I cannot forgive you for what you did to Jodha Begum" says Sharif with a great deal of anger and disgust in his voice. Jodha runs in to stop him and Sharif is stunned to see her there. Meanwhile Khyber also turns to see Jodha and there is a gleam for her in his eyes that does not look like a normal stare. "What are you doing?" Jodha asks Sharif "I cannot let this animal hurt my Begum Sahiba" says Sharif leeringly. "Jalal has ordered against doing this, and if he comes to know he will not like this one bit. This is the sacred month of Ramzan and you behave like an animal?" Joodha asks Sharif. Sharif does not like the sound of Jalal's name on her lips. "If Jalal knows you've come here, he won't like that even more" Sharif replies. He then goes away as Jodha stares at the wounds on Khyber's body and Khyber looks back at Jodha almost adoringly.
In the very next scene however we see an angry Hamida, very upset with Jodha being as irresponsible as going to see the darinda in jail. It is obvious that Ruq has sneaked to her about Jodha's visit for Ruq is looking very pleased with herself on seeing Hamida boil over in disgust at Jodha. "Jodha is pregnant with the waaaris, how can she put herself and the babies in danger?" Hamida says with chagrin. Ruq adds fuel to the fire saying "Where was the need to expose herself and the two waarises of the Mughal Sultanate to that darinda? If I were in her place I'd never do such a thing. First she fights a war in a pregnant condition and now this?" Hamida's anger and dismay are so stoked that she runs out - with Ruq running after her.
In the jail Jodha asks a sipahi to clean Khyber's wounds and apply marham. But the sipahi flat refuses. "He is a darinda and I am scared of him" the sipahi says. "He can hurt anyone any minute." Jodha is disgusted with the sipahi's heartlessness. "Okay, enough," she says "get me a cloth and some hot water." Meanwhile the darinda is doing an eyelock with Jodha and it doesn't look good to me. "Be careiul Begum Sahiba" says the sipahi bringing the cloth and hot water. "Are you now going to advise the Begum-e-Khas?" Jodha asks the sipahi sarcastically.
Jodha then proceeds to mop up the blood marks on the darinda's arms with the wet cloth and he gives moans of pain and partial satisfaction. She is so into this process that when Hamida and Ruq walk in they are filled with dread and disgust. "Jodha" screams Hamida, and pulls Jodha out of the jail cell. The darinda Khyber then curls his lip and gives a look of hatred at Hamida's departing back. After the three women - Hamida, Ruq and Jodha - depart his cell Khyber unleashes a huge grunt of deep anger and viciousness. He is not pleased at all at Jodha being taken away from him.
In her hojra, Hamida scolds Jodha with great vigour. "I want no explanations. I know you are sensitive to other people's pain and want to help them. But you have the responsibility of protecting yourself and the babies now. I love you but will not tolerate indiscipline. You cannot go to the jails. That darinda came here to kill Jalal and you put yourself in danger? Here in this Ramzan month we are all keeping roza and praying to Allah for your wellbeing and the welfare of the babies - and you do this?"
Jodha tries arguing in her favour "But Ammijaan, someone was punishing Khyber despite the Shahenshah's instructions not to do so. I went to stop that." But Jalal's voice booms from the doorway "Bas Jodha Begum, aur ek lavz nahin!" He is very angry.
In the precap, Jalal is in the DEK arbitrating between a man and his wife presumably on the matter of their divorce, judging from the downcast expression on the man's face. "I have to adjudicate according to the rules of the Sultanate" Jalal is saying to them, when suddenly the dupatta covering the woman's face flies off in the breeze and Jalal gets a good look at her. His eyes seem riveted to her beautiful face (yech, blech!) and he seems enthralled!
Okay, let me end this post here in the fervent hope that this whole Jalal-Jodha-Khyber-Atifa quadrangle is short-lived and by this weekend the matter is settled.
I know it may not be but I live in hope!
And I will go and break at least 11 coconuts for Ganpati today. I have not been to the temple since my back injury and I think God is punishing me and making me show my face at the temple again by giving me this disgusting track to bear!
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