Take 5: An end of an era; update on Friday's episode on page 15

At first sight, today seemed like a destination ... a point in a circle ... where the circle closes.

A Maham Anga that accepted Jodha Begum and saluted a Rajvanshi Begum

A Jalal who shed tears for finally a true "Badi Ammi" who called him her son

And a "Badi Ammi" who died with the emotional support and love of her true son, Jalal

And for some the emotions naturally come, for some the emotions weren't quite there.

But if you zoom out , I saw the the full circle of the journey of Jalal and Maham Anga finally coming together ... as what is the journey of Maham Anga without Jalal and what is the journey of Jalal without Maham Anga? No matter how much you hate Maham Anga it is undeniable she was an important force in his life.

Life coming full circle ... from Jalal's point of view:

As a child, I would seek you out and a smile would erupt on my face as I came running to you ... today, it was your eyes seeking me and a faint smile that emerged on your face when I finally arrived

Throughout my life, it was your lap that I sought solace for the burdens of pain ... today, you let go of every burden of life on this very lap

Your voice used to lull me to sleep as a child ... and today my lori took you to Eternal Sleep

(And no comments on the singing 😉😆)

Life coming full circle ... from Maham Anga's point of view:

Life gave me true gold in the form of your love ... and I chased the false glitter of power

When life has left me powerless ... it is your love that is my only strength

Till now, I used to see the Shehenshah with power walk in front of me ... but today I only see a little child that used to play hide-and-seek with me

This past week ... watching the episodes, reflecting in folks' discussion, I realized that Maham Anga's death was less about the milestone ... but more momentous in the context of the journey it was a part of.

While I do not agree with Maham Anga's actions nor I will not miss her villainous scheming on screen, I will miss Ashwini ji's acting. And more importantly, I will miss the brilliant scenes between Jalal and Maham Anga / Rajat and Ashwini ji.

Hence, today I felt was a day to reflect on the end of an era ... the journey that ended today between Jalal and Maham Anga. Till date, some of my favorite scenes are between these two.

Hence, I am doing two takes today ... one the journey of Jalal with Maham Anga and the key milestones of that journey and then my own take of on Maham Anga and her journey through this show.

So, my first take ... special take 5 on the most memorable Jalal-Maham Anga interactions ... and how Jalal's relationship with Maham-Anga evolved ... of course ending with today's scene where the journey of Jalal-Maham Anga came full circle.

1. Trust and emotional dependence of Jalal on Maham Anga: One of the most gripping scenes I had seen in early days was when Jalal cried to Maham Anga in pain when Ruquaiyya had her miscarriage ... he did not turn to his mother, any of his wives, he turned only to Maham Anga ... Maham Anga was privy to the inner most regions of his heart and his pain circle.

Ironically, Maham Anga was the cause of this pain and till this date I wonder how she was genuinely able to cry while knowing she was the cause of the pain ... I was completely convinced that she could not be behind the miscarriage.

2. Jalal's trust in Maham Anga is shaken... Jalal trusted Maham Anga through Ruqaiyya's miscarriage, the letter misunderstanding ... but with the Sujamal fiasco he finally connected the dots. One evidence from Atgah Khan and immediately he understood the truth. Jalal quickly escalated from anger, to denial, to acceptance of the truth. In a stoic fashion, he confronted Maham Anga ... his pain showing hundreds of shades of anger, pain, and disappointment as Maham Anga tried to shift the blame to him and how he was ruling forgetting all that she and Bairam Khan had taught him.

One image never leaves my mind ... when Jalal says very strongly, stoicly says in the end, "You have lost your most precious thing, your son" and Maham Anga face freezes in shock as she has lost her gamble to guilt trip him.

However, she still did not realize the depth of what she had lost ... and quickly rebounded with new plans to move towards power. Jalal may have thought he had punished Maham Anga enough, stripping her of her titles and the right to call him his son, but Maham Anga became more dangerous ... executing her next plans with Chand Begum and Atifa in her new pursuits for power.

3. Jalal's anger escalates ... into a fitting reply to Maham Anga: What a dramatic unveiling of Maham Anga's truth ... in an odd twist of events we see Maham Anga lamenting over the very Jalal she had planned to dethrone ... and then with Jalal alive we see her completely turn defensive ... trying again to shift the blame that he had been a bad Shehenshah.

However, even in the Sujamal fiasco, Jalal had been silent when Maham Anga tried to criticize him for forgetting her and Bairam Khan's upbringing ... but now he knew, there was only power ... he had not neglected her or his duty ... and he unveiled the truth of Chaand Begum.

And he punishes his Badi Ammi to jail, not only out of hatred, but also to make sure that she is not able to commit another sin again.

4. Jalal silent support Maham Anga as she learns of Adham Khan's death: A delirious Maham Anga already fears why she has seen a blood-soaked Jalal in her dreams ... and her worst fears come true when she sees a blood-soaked Jalal in reality. She wants to know what happened to her son ...

Jalal is silent ... but supporting her. Despite all that Maham Anga has done to hurt him, he can only give support as he knows only he can do it.

He continues to be silent but supportive as she herself deduces the truth ... She ask , "did you punish him?", "Did you hurt him?" And then when Jalal tells her that Adham Khan had killed Atgah Sahab ... her worst fears come true. Life stops for a moment ... when she sees Javeda in white. She realizes the blood on Jalal's body and her dress are her son's. She collapses ... to see Jalal who supports her at the moment.

And the irony is that the person there to support her emotionally is the very Jalal who she blamed for destroying everything she had in her life ...that, when he himself was completely broken by how his Badi Ammi and her son had wreaked havoc on his life.

5. Giving emotional support when his "Badi Ammi" had nothing else Jalal was always a giver ... even if he did not receive love, he would always give love and respect. Again today, he was there to be a pillar of emotional of strength when Maham Anga needed it in a final breath and he called out to her "Badi Ammi."

And this , despite what all Maham Anga had done to him ... Jalal always said he would give one who is dying their final wish ... and this was after all one he loved for years as his "Badi Ammi."

How life had come full circle ... when in the early days it was Jalal who would turn to Badi Ammi for emotional support.

"Badi Ammi" finally wholeheartedly recognized and accepted the precious love Jalal bestowed on her for only the love it represented ... and not for the power that came with it.

Yes, it is true that Maham Anga did not accept her mistakes ... except the mistake of not recognizing Jodha's goodness or accepting Jodha. Perhaps, it does not matter, as we are not the ultimate judge of Maham Anga ... it is the God above her.

And the final farewell from Jalal was more in line with what is in the history books ... but hopefully in the history books Jalal did not go through the NR of the curse and consequent taqth burning.

I am glad that the CVs did not give Jalal much to say ...except the Lori ... because after all he has been through due to Maham Anga ... I do not know how the CVs could have closed the loop.

One literary version of Maham Anga's death and Jalal's reaction:

Forty days after this occurrence [the death of Adham Khan], viz., in Tr, Divine month, corresponding to Shawwl she went to the sacred abode of non-existence. His Majesty's loving heart was much affected by the fate of this cupola of chastity, and he expressed great sorrow. The body also was sent with much respect to Delhi, and His Majesty personally escorted it for some paces.

Thank you Ashwini ji for an amazing show ! We will miss your scenes, especially those with Rajat's Jalal.

And now , a double take as I was tempted to show a view on how I saw Maham Anga's journey on this show. The CVs very rarely show a consistent character graph of any character ... hence, this is my take of connecting the dots of Maham Anga's journey. Many have often asked me my take on her , and this is my first (and last) attempt at articulating it.

And of course, there are five phases! I always think in fives! So, continued below is my take 5 for Maham Anga's journey:

A take 5 on Maham Anga's journey

(1) Maham Anga: Embodiment of a thirst for power

Maham Anga's first priority was always ambition and power ... this was never about Jalal or even Jodha, ... her thirst for power preceded that. Interestingly, this came out in the flashback from Chaand Begum ... she had this resentment she was a baandhi when she had the potential to be so much more ...

She probably saw a stepping stone to power when she became a wet nurse for Jalal. And somehow, an attachment or "love" did form with Jalal as his wet nurse.

There were moments when I thought she actually loved Jalal ... like when he thought he died at the hands of Atifa. But, I have begun to realize this was not love but a sense of possession ... almost like an obsessive lover. She was used to Jalal's love and attentions ... she wanted complete control of his life ... she would decide when he would live, when he would love, and when he would die.

(2) The threat to power ... a more independent Jalal and the entry to Jodha

Up to his wedding with Jodha, she felt full power ... but she could see the cracks when Jalal was determined to marry Jodha and was making adjustments to make it happen - putting up with her burning the wedding dress, agreeing to Jodha's conditions, and pushing back on her suggestion to just destroy Amer. She could already see a potential enemy to her power in Jodha ...

As another potential checkmate, Ruquaiyya's pregnancy news and potential to be MUZ was an added threat. She knew Ruquaiyya wanted to remove Maham Anga from power as soon as she became MUZ. There was the added concern of the future of Adham Khan.

And then the Ruqaiyya miscarriage plot was a masterstroke ... attacking both potential enemies in one strike ... eliminating chances of Ruquaiyya becoming MUZ (well , naturally) and creating a rift between Jodha-Jalal (which probably put the love story back ~4 months).

Perhaps, after Jodha's suicide attempt she realized how much she was beginning to lose Jalal ... Jalal shared why he felt for Jodha but also asked that he wanted to be alone with his thoughts ... he no longer wanted to share it his feelings about Jodha with his Badi Ammi.

(3) More direct attacks on Jodha to reclaim power ... leading her to lose her son

Again, Maham Anga felt Jodha rising as a threat ... with Sukanya's wedding and Jalal giving up his fort for Jodha's sister. This was compounded by Adham Khan's punishment in the Tasneem issue for which she blamed Jodha. Her attacks directly shifted to Jodha ... with the fake pregnancy track, the letter MU, and the ensuing Ben track.

The end of the Ben track proved to Maham Anga how much Jodha meant to Jalal ... and she used that as her perfect weapon as that love turned into Jalal's weakness in the Sujamal fiasco- the thought that Jodha loved another destroyed him.

But that weapon was too powerful even for Maham Anga and back-fired as her cover blew and her role in the fiasco unfolded ... that was the first true defeat for Maham ...she lost her son. A shock clouded her face when Jalal told her "you have lost your son."

(4) A quest for power without her son, Jalal ...

She may have lost love for her son but not her love for power. Now that having power over Jalal was no longer an option, she wanted power for Adham Khan. And she tried with Chand Begum and Atifa to win that power ... with every ploy, she became more desperate and drastic ... and the Atifa track was the last straw.

The unveiling of Maham Anga's conspiracy in the end of the Atifa track was an interesting one ... as Maham Anga looked like she had won, but at the cost of Jalal's life ... there she was lamenting Jalal's death. This goes back to my hypothesis that she is extremely attached and possessive of Jalal ... where she wants to control every step of his life ... including his death. He cannot die without his permission.

And then the table turns 360 degrees ... with Jalal unveiling her cards in front of all. She still manages to fight back saying that she wanted to give the Sultanate a better Shehenshah ... yet another attempt to shift her blame to another.

But, this time Jalal had a fitting response ... with the response of whether that is why she had hidden Chaand Begum. By then, Maham Anga had nothing to defend her thirst for power.

He finally sent her to jail ... separating her from the world she wanted to rule ... and to protect her from committing another sin. At the end of this , she lost it all, well almost.

She had to lose one more thing ... Adham Khan. And with that she was completely crushed but not defeated ... she lashed back with that terrible curse. She was still vengeful and spiteful.

But, then what happens as you near your death? They say you view your whole life ... and probably also a realization that you do not take power with you when you die and more importantly, that even power stands useless in the face of death. And if anything, you want to leave with the blessings of those you love ... so all she wanted was a "Badi Ammi" from Jalal.

(5) A thirst for love ... but too late

Her whole life she wanted only power when she had the love of her son Jalal ... when she was dying, she finally realized the value of the son she had. And hearing that loving son call her "Badi Ammi" was all she needed to die in peace. A mother finally recognized her son. And the loving son, was finally seeing signs of the "Badi Ammi" he loved ... so he gave her that final peace.

Maham Anga is a classic example of how one loses all in their quest for power ... and by the time you realize the value of people and relationships in your life it is too late. I will never justify what Maham Anga did ... but it is not uncommon to see people like her.

And with that, life came full circle ... Jalal always felt his emotional support and strength was Maham Anga ... but in the end , it was Jalal today who was a pillar of emotional strength when Maham Anga when she did not have an ounce of strength left and breathed her last.

We will miss you Ashwini ji ! You have intrigued us as Maham Anga this past year. We may have hated you, been puzzled by you, may have been shocked by you ... but we definitely could not ignore you!

So, thoughts on this take and on the end of the journey of Maham Anga?

At first sight, today seemed like a destination ... a point in a circle ... where the circle closes.

A Maham Anga that accepted Jodha Begum and saluted a Rajvanshi Begum

A Jalal who shed tears for finally a true "Badi Ammi" who called him her son

And a "Badi Ammi" who died with the emotional support and love of her true son, Jalal

And for some the emotions naturally come, for some the emotions weren't quite there.

But if you zoom out , I saw the the full circle of the journey of Jalal and Maham Anga finally coming together ... as what is the journey of Maham Anga without Jalal and what is the journey of Jalal without Maham Anga? No matter how much you hate Maham Anga it is undeniable she was an important force in his life.

Life coming full circle ... from Jalal's point of view:

As a child, I would seek you out and a smile would erupt on my face as I came running to you ... today, it was your eyes seeking me and a faint smile that emerged on your face when I finally arrived

Throughout my life, it was your lap that I sought solace for the burdens of pain ... today, you let go of every burden of life on this very lap

Your voice used to lull me to sleep as a child ... and today my lori took you to Eternal Sleep

(And no comments on the singing 😉😆)

😆;;;; oh ma poor jallu...areh baba don't sing any lori to your kids .🤣they will jump out the bed and run towards to another world .. 😲poor kids😆

😆

Originally posted by: dushi123

I wish they had dubbed for Jalal the way they dub for Paridhi ..
... but perhaps they felt the pain would come out better if Rajat sang it himself

Originally posted by: ngayou

Divs, will comment as soon as I catch up on the episode fully, but what I did see didnt impress me enough in that MA had no remorse or uttered any words of apology, atleast in the scenes I saw. I missed the last part of epi.