Originally posted by: RadhikaS0
Looking at a Dying Mahamanga
Please bear with me. This is not in defense of Mahamanga. If you still cannot bear to read about her, just skip this post. 😊
The last few days have seen Mahamanga wither gradually from an authoritative and manipulative politician to a lonely, broken woman, separated from the world where she had ruled centre-stage for many years. The final straw for her is to realize that she is to be sent away from Agra, where she had lived and breathed royal politics for aeons. To her, it is as if Jalal is cutting all ties between her and Agra forever and is casting her aside like an insignificant speck from his life.
Even when she was in confinement in Agra, she had the hope that one day, Jalal would come to meet her. In Delhi, there would be no such hope.
Why does Maham want to meet Jalal anyway? Like Jodha asks Jalal in mock derision, why indeed? Who is Maham in reality? The one who conspired against the emperor, desirous of making her own son the king. Or the one who nurtured and protected a young Jalal and showered him with love and guided him to his destiny till he found his identity?
Are the CVs really glorifying a vamp? But really, the harem did weep for her. So this woman could not have been just a psycho case or a criminal or a traitor. She may have contributed a good deal to the upbringing of Jalal, his ascension and growth as a king, and the expansion of the kingdom.
She must have had a good side and a bad side to her. We all know the bad side. No need to repeat it. But what about the good side?
When Jalal cut Maham off from his life after Jodha's return to Agra, I felt that Maham had never really loved Jalal and that she had merely used him as a stepping stone to accomplish her own and her son's ambitions. Last night, however, compelled me to think again. A person usually does not lie on death bed. (Usually, though there may have been exceptions)
I was disturbed by the way she mourned for the loss of her two sons. In a way, she had lost both through her own hands.
She had never tried to ensure that Adham grew up with the right values and love / loyalty for Jalal. She had fanned his ambitions till he could no longer control them and paid with his life. And she had let her own ego grow so much that she felt she was the king maker and not merely a mentor. She felt that Jalal had become an emperor because of her efforts; otherwise, he would never have made it. She felt the Mughal empire was running gloriously because of her sacrifices. She started believing in her own supremacy and invincibility. The more Jalal gave her slack out of respect, the more she felt that he existed only because of her and that she could make anyone a king, even her good-for-nothing son, Adham.
Her ego stoked her hunger for power and drove Jalal away from her. She kept trying to fool herself that Jalal the emperor didn't matter to her because she could always make Adham the king and enjoy the associated power. She forgot two things here:
1. She was attached deeply to Jalal on a personal level, far away from political powergames.
2. Adham could never become a king because he was never fit for it. Every person is born with a destiny that cannot be altered by anyone. Jalal was destined to become a great king and he did. He would have made it without Mahamanga and BK too - such was the strength of his destiny.
Once Adham died, Maham knew she had lost both her sons. One could never come back to her. And the other would never come back to her. And she had also lost the power and position that she had enjoyed unhindered all these years. But now, on her death bed, power and politics were the last things on her mind.
What an irony it is! When we are born, our fists are curled tight, wanting to grasp everything within their hold. We spend entire lifetimes fighting for material and illusory things like fame and wealth. We fight with our loved ones and we make enemies along the way. We become sick in our quest for just that bit more. And then when we die, we leave with empty, stretched hands...
All we want when we are born is to be cuddled and loved and protected. All we want when we die is still to be hugged and loved and taken care of. Everything that happens in between is of no consequence, except for the legacy it helps us leave behind.
When Maham was crying in front of Jodha yesterday, this stark truth about the harsh reality of life and death struck me. This woman who had tried so hard to drive away Jodha, was now begging her to bring her son to her for one last glance. This woman who had always held Jodha in contempt found herself grieving in front of her, crying her heart out, without any compunction.
What an irony! How we perceive people when we are alive and how people actually are with us in our dying moments. Maham had all along conspired with Ruq against Jodha. And today it was Ruq who tried to stop Jodha from meeting Maham and comforting her in her final moments.
I had a fear that Maham may accept Jodha only because she brings Jalal to her. But when I saw them yesterday, I knew that Maham would accept Jodha for what she is and not because of Jalal. Finally the veil of ego and pride should fall from Maham's eyes, as she realizes that she has come a full circle. She had started by loving Jalal like her child and now, all she wants is to still love Jalal as her child and be loved by him like his badi ammi. Finally, she should realize how she had wronged Jalal by forgetting about this precious love and treating him like a king who could be used to increase her own power.
And she should realize that not all people live life, striving for power and auda and using everyone around them. There are some like Jodha who believe in loving all of humanity as their own family, irrespective of whether they get anything in return or not. I hope to see her acknowledge to Jodha that she had been wrong in her judgment of Jodha all along and had done her great injustice by trying to separate her from Jalal.
PS: The curtains should come down on the Maham saga today - wondering how it will all be wound up. 😊
CID
Udne Ki Aasha
Kumkum Bhagya
