Friends, having said so much yesterday in favour of my two theories of possibility on this current Atifa track, today is just going to be a "continue-in-patience" and "wait and watch" day for me. I am not rushing to make new comments or change my stance on what I had said yesterday. I continue to hope for the track to end fast, to see Jalal's behaviour redeemed, to see Jodha protected against any further humiliation and and to see the expose of Ruq.
To that end I must record here that the episode was no "improvement" on the previous one. Jalal's behaviour was just as vexing as it was in the previous episode - and it was a sort of relief that there was towards the end of the episode more of Khyber and the jail than Jalal and Atifa (which was all in the first half of the episode).
Things have come to such a pass now that both Ruq and Jodha have become aware of Jalal's strange fixation for Atifa, while so has Atifa's wife-batterer husband. Jodha in fact has started questioning why Jalal lied about painting Atifa's portrait saying it was a person from his "kalpana"?
Atifa has joined Tansen's singing group as his assistant and Jalal is getting to be pulled in by two things now - her looks and her voice. The good part to me is that Jalal is at least asking himself "Why am I getting pulled in by this woman?" So he is not yet a fully gone basket case to me as long as he still has the power for self-introspection and realises that he is traversing the very thin border between feeling intrigued and feeling romantic. Incidentally, he has also got intrigued by Atifa's hurt hands.
The only other nice thing I have got to report today is that Jalal got Atga's son engaged to the daughter of a Hindu Raja. Other than these good tidings, the very end of the episode saw Jodha get some paigam in secret, and although it looks to me like a paigam informing her of the continued torture of Khyber, I haven't a clue how Khyber could have sent this paigam himself. Someone may have sent the paigam on his behalf to Jodha? Could it be one of Mahchuchak's gang that wants to keep Jodha close to Khyber so she can become his target now and her unborn waarises can be killed before they are born?
Whatever it is, in the precap, Jodha is seen visiting jail - and as she comes out a frightfully angry Jalal is waiting for her! I smell a huge MU! And then after Jalal comes to his senses, I smell a huge apology!
For those who want the gist of the story here it is ... so many are now "not watching and just reading updates" that last night I had to send my SMS updates to 17 people simultaneously! That includes lots of forum friends and a large family contingent of my sister and cousins!
The episode begins with Jalal still staring unabashedly at "that woman". In the DEK. Ruq, who is watching this exchange of glances between Jalal and the veiled woman, makes her appearance known to Jalal and asks why he summoned her. Jalal tells her to be in charge of giving the woman refugees some jobs suited to their talents. At the same time Atga is told by Jalal to house all these refugees at the Palace itself. And then Jalal continues staring at Atifa for the space of another five minutes.
Ruq, walking back to her quarters with Hoshiyaar asks "Jalal knows very well that some of these Kabul refugees could well be Mahchuchak spies. Why then does he wish to house them all at the Palace?"
In the very next scene we see a Tansen concert about to begin. Jodha, Jalal and Ruq are seated as a threesome on a special sofa, while the rest of the audience are seated around the dais. On the dais we not only see Tansen getting ready to sing, but just seated behind him is Atifa who seems to have become his singing assistant!
Tansen launches into one his classical melodies when Atifa has also got to sing in the chorus and she does so. While Jodha is enjoying the music, and Ruq is enjoying the audha of her special seat and watching Jalal with an eagle eye, Jalal himself is riveted on Atifa. Jalal then openly questions Ruq: "That woman behind Tansen who is singing now ... who is she and why is she here?" Ruq replies "You asked me to give them all jobs according to their talents so since singing was her forte I put her with Tansen!"
Jalal then has to end his staring as the song ends, but he does something startling. He then openly suggests that Tansen and Atifa alone sing another song for them, as they are so enjoyable together. Atifa is forced to move to the front of the dais to sit beside Tansen now (for which he gives approval after initially demurring that she has just today joined his troupe and is yet not fully ready). As Atifa comes to the front of the dais and sits and begins singing along with Tansen, Jalal's eyes are so wholly on her, that Jodha sitting nearby feels prickles on her skin. She looks at Jalal's fixated eye, and then at Atifa and gives a small gasp - for it's the girl from the painting that Jalal had painted!
Throughout the concert both Jodha and Ruq look very discomfited with Jalal's fascination for Atifa, and then as the concert ends there is more to bear. Jalal goes and praises the woman's singing and says "I have never heard a sweeter voice" and he holds her hand. He also can't help touching Atifa's shoulder as he speaks to her, and Jodha starts getting alarmed. And then to add to all this, since the girl had again covered her face with her dupatta, Jalal lifts her dupatta off her face himself and says "There's no need to hide your face here. You are among safe people!" At this point unable to bear things, both Jodha and Ruq depart the room looking miffed.
After this dialogue to Atifa, Jalal again tries to clasp Atifa's hand but she swiftly draws it back to make an "adaab". At the moment Jalal notices that her palm is bleeding with a slash wound and he asks about it but she stays silent and then leaves the room. Meanwhile, unknown to everyone Ruq returns to the room to keep watching Jalal and Atifa. And then a bulb lights up in Ruq's head "Aha, this is a now a new singing bird in the harem? Poor, poor Jodha!" she says to herself!
After leaving the concert room, Atifa feeling all tingly with the Shahenshah's interest in her, runs to her own room with a happy expression and sits before her mirror. But her happiness is short lived as her livid husband, completely unhappy over the evening's proceedings, roughly covers her head with the dupatta and says "Keep it there and keep your face covered." He further insinuates that "people have been staring at her all evening" meaning the Shahehnshah, no doubt. She tries to explain it away, but he gives her a sound thrashing that shuts her up. Clearly he is a possessive husband and compulsive wife-beater and is the author also of the slash on her palm, perhaps?
In her own room Jodha is beset with turbulent feelings. "Why did the Shahenshah lie to me about not knowing the woman in the painting?" she asks herself. "Should I go and ask him about it or not?" Jodha is in a dilemma. At this point it looks like she is less worried about his fixation on Atifa but more worried that he lied about it to her!
Okay, the episode now shifts to a different aspect totally for from the next scene onwards ... it becomes more Khyber-centric.
Sharif is seen in Khyber's jail continuing to torture him - this time searing his skin with red-hot iron rods. Khyber groans in pain again, when Sharif says to him "You deserve this and more for being the centre of Begum Jodha's sympathy! I am so in love with Jodha and her you get to win her heart and feelings for your sad state of affairs in this jail?" Just then Khyber glances at Jodha's dupatta tied to his hand as a bandage and Sharif notices Khyber s eyes lingering lovingly on that bandage. "Aha, " says Sharif, " so now both you and I are in love with Jodha? Do you know it was I who first set eyes on her and wanted her and even engineered a war to get her for myself, but this Jalal by virtue of being the king got her as the spoils of that war? I could kill Jalal for taking her away! Anyway we both now love Jodha and our lives are at risk. But we have no choice, do we?"
While all this dialogue is happening in the jail, Jalal in his own room is standing very confused at his balcony, having recurring thoughts of Atifa. He again lifts the covers off the painting and stares at the painting and speaks to himself "You are beautiful. Something is happening to me. Why are you thus pulling me towards you?"
The next morning at the DEK, Jalal has some nice business to finish. A Hindu Raja (whose name I did not quite get) was discussing the marriage of his daughter with Atga's son - a marriage encouraged by Jalal. Atga is extremely happy when things are settled between them and hugs both Jalal and the Hindu King. Jalal and Atga also tell the Hindu King they will go with him till the gates for a happy send off and they depart the DEK.
Meanwhile at Khyber's jail cell, Sharif is no longer there but a Mughal sipahi is guarding the cell. Quietly and stealthily, the disguised bodyguard of Khyber enters there and kills the sipahi and quickly switches clothes with him to look like a Mughal sipahi himself. Then with whiplash in hand, the bodyguard enters Khyber's cell and says "Yes, I have managed to enter here without being caught. I have news for you. Mahchuchak now wishes you to drop Jalal as target and to make Jodha your target - for she has heard that Jodha is carrying the waaris, and that waaris if born could spoil Mahchuchak's plans. So now Jodha is your target." The lovesick Khyber does not like hearing this and when his handler gets too close to him he bites and shoves off the handler, who then in a flash of anger starts whipping Khyber soundly.
In Jodha's room, meanwhile Rahim is there because he has brought a toy seller with him and wants Jodha to help him select toys to buy. He gleefully takes out one toy after another, but then the toy seller lady herself offers him an elephant, and then accidentally drops the elephant to the ground so it gets broken. Jodha picks up the broken toy only to find the toy seller now giving her desperate eye signals to look inside the broken toy. Jodha follows those eye signals and reaches into the toy and pulls out a paigam! Who is it from? I think it's about Khyber's plight in jail - it may be a trap paigam written by the Mahchuchak think-tank to drag Jodha to Khyber's cell.
Anyway the episode ends with Jodha holding paigam in hand.
In the precap, we find that Jodha has indeed been visiting Khyber's cell. There seeing the sipahi (the Khyber bodyguard actually!) Jodha berates him for continuing the torture on Khyber - as Khyber's eyes roam all over Jodha possessively. Jodha turns to leave the cell and go out after thus shouting, when she sees right in front of her a frightfully angry Jalal waiting to accost her!
My comments on this episode:
If you have the stomach for it just wait and watch. Otherwise just read my updates. Nothing else can be done at present, for the Creatives are hung up on audience torture. When you are already halfway into a tunnel, there's nothing you can do till you can get out at the other end of it.
Meanwhile Diksha and I have planned to call and fire Zee ... just for letting off some steam.
I'll keep you all posted if the Zee man delivers any pearls of wisdom. I am however not going to heed what the Zee man says very much, for already I noticed that yesterday he has been telling different people different things.
And besides, my best friend Jyoti (my conscience keeper!) who has my sanity at heart, has severely warned me against believing the fellow!
Kabhi Neem Neem Kabhi Shahad Shahad
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