Writer-e-khaas,
During the chapter of Durga's horrific end, as a reader, I felt like I was treading carefully on my toes ... wondering what danger lurked where. Eventually, in the following chapters, I slowly disarmed from the tension - as recovery (or at least distractions) emerged in various shapes and forms from the arrival of the Stranger to the banter of the women.
Hence, in the recent chapters, there were moments of suspicion and reminders of the tragedy that had passed but nothing that stood out and startled me as I read.
And then come to the beginning of Chapter 8, and it all returns with one image, the axe- a pointed, sharp, gleaming blade. And immediately I was on guard, wondering what unexpected to expect. The sharpness that had been lurking in the background, came to the forefront, and that is my theme for this take.
1. Suddenly, all the enemies (who had been relegated to the mere rantings of Kunwar Mahender in the past few chapters) were back to the forefront - more ominous than ever. A determined Shehzaade viewing the axe, that was a symbol of why he needed the iron ore under the ground of Parnagarh more than ever. A wounded Khalil, disgraced by both his loss of control with Durga as well as being tricked with a fake farmaan, showed that his thirst for revenge was as sharp and pointed as the axe he skillfully wielded. Now, add to that the introduction of the weathered and experienced Ustaad. You know that the dangers for Harka were as bad, if not worse, than they always were. Who knows who was the new enemy the Shehzaade would send against her? Who knows what Khalil was planning by "hook or crook"?
2. As a counter, Harka's own planning for the future of Parnagarh was back to the forefront. In the past few chapters, her and our own intrigue in Akbar took more center stage. Yet, in the last chapter she had mentioned that she had to begin planning soon. And these sentiments which were lurking in the background, came to the fore as what she had been waiting for her arrived- a map to plan potential allies in her fight for Parnagarh. She was getting ready to strike when the iron was hot - when sentiments would be raging against the fate of Durga. Her mental aim and planning was as sharp and ambitious as the gleaming axe that her enemies wielded. It would be a fight between her mental axe to their physical one.
3. And the sharpness of her brain was always lurking behind her composed, graceful appearance and was not hindered by the weakness of her eyes. Even as she was observing Akbar's residence, her mind was sharp and attentive to the math problem that the men were resolving on travel times ... and showing the sharpness of her mind, she answered the question at hand a split second before Akbar himself discovered it. Masking his unwilling admiration for Harka, Akbar sarcastically applauded her sharp skills- whether with languages, medicines, or now mathematics ... and found himself later appreciating her sharp return to his own sarcasm of saying she had been "in the way"
4. And perhaps Akbar was a split second behind in solving the math of travel time, but he was no less sharp ... catching her investigation in her compliments about his knife wielding skills or when he revealed he knew she had someone follow his men. And he was even sharper back in rebuffing her gratitude on saving her life, saying she was merely in his way.
5. Yet, behind this sharpness their lurked an even unknown mystery of softness- like the softness of the Persian carpets in the otherwise rough and tough house. The softness of Akbar who gave money to abandoned children of thieves ... saying that children should not be punished for what their parents did. Was that what made our Stranger the way he is as well? What made him only eat his Chacha Jaan's dry food over the Marwari delicacies they sent over? What was that "life changing incident" as Harka surmised that has sharpened his life and ways such?
And perhaps sharpest of them all is you, writer-e-khaas, adeptly carving a distinct emotional tempo of each chapter and making us on guard to what more is lurking ... and of course hooked as well with your beautiful writing!
Edited by divyavm - 9 years ago
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
CID
658