Posted:
Writer-e-khaas,
Great to see you back after your brief hiatus ... Now I need to apologize for the delay in responding.
As soon as I read Chapter 12, my first reaction was it was cinematic , it sucked us in, to experience what each character was thinking, feeling , smelling , hearing, and experiencing. It was like a series of fleeting images that came together to create a panoramic view on the screen and brought a high in action and movement chapter to life.
Hence, that is the theme for my take ... fleeting images that created the whole.
1. Changing emotions of Harka: while her personality is cool and poised on the surface, one could feel the "ups and downs" she experienced throughout the chapter:
- Initial preoccupation with preparations for the feast in honor of her sister
- The sardonic laughter when she heard the news of Gauri being suspected of robbery .. she couldn't believe it
- Soon replaced by an unsettled feeling as the seriousness of the issue at hand loomed
- The cool, poised, and proud entry into the Khan residence with her guards even as she observed the horrendous scene around her
- The disappointment that Khan Sahib would allow this treatment of women in his residence
- The perception of the storm in Akbar's eye ... that cannot be for the 60 silver coins alone
- The amusement at Akbar's confidence ... he would do what he had to on his terms and was not threatened by her guards
- The tact to first try to diffuse the issue with sarcasm and then switching over to a more pragmatic approach
- The instinctive pride of recognizing the smell of the coins ... as she silently watched as she knew Akbar was onto something ... or rather someone
- The natural alarm that took the color from her face and brought his name to her lips seeing the blade at Akbar's throat
2. Anger of Akbar: while anger was a common theme for Akbar throughout the chapter, there were subtle changes in what was driving that anger throughout the chapter
- An anger of annoyance with the robbery of the 60 silver coins distracting him from more pressing matters ... a splitting headache indeed
- The anger of frustration that the seemingly obvious suspects were not budging
- The anger vibrating through the slam of his hand that stopped the Kotwal from touching Gauri and her veil
- The mounting anger at Harka's sarcasm ... he was not going to be told what to do
- The cooling tempest due to the effect of Harka ... only replaced by the new anger that she had that effect on him
- The rising anger as he finds the true culprit ... Gafhoor ... his voice rising as his questioning continued
- The quick reflex amidst the anger that left his attackers' hand broken as Akbar smoothly walked out ... as it was just another day of danger ... nothing new or unusual
3. Strength amist distress of Gauri: her firmness was another common thread throughout the chapter no matter how the circumstances worsened
- Firmness that she would invite Chaacha Sahib to the meal and be polite to any others who wanted to attend no matter how much Bindiya protested
- Firmness in first questioning the little boy for being in the cabinet
- The firmness in protecting him as she felt a "soft wave of sympathy" due to his seemingly innocent words and theft of only two coins (and what a hint the word "seemingly" was- I almost missed it the first time)
- Firmess in defending herself and how she did no wrong in front of the Kotwal and other men; the key word here was "undaunted"
- Firmness when she first recovers from the shock of how she was tricked by the boy
- Later the firmness with which she admits to being tricked by the little boy during an opportune calm lull ... unlike the random ranting of Bindiya
- Firmess in not revealing the name of Panarghar ... even as her situation was getting worse and as she raised Bindiya from falling at their feet
- A firmness to not crash into a heap like Bindiya by remembering her Harka Bai's comforting face
- Firmness in not bending as the Kotwal came towards her to search ... even as the blood stopped flowing to her fingers, she only uttered a prayer that was first answered in the form of Akbar's slamming hand and then her Bhaisa
4. In contrast, Bindiya was an apt foil for Gauri with her restlessness:
- Her resistance to invite the Mughal men to the feast
- The wide eyes and alarm as they stumble on the little boy stealing
- The growing alarm at the accusations against Gauri ... beseeching Gauri to reveal the truth
- The frantic wail as she protested they did not have the 60 coins
- The blurting out of how it was the little boy who had stolen the coins
- Her random rantings that they were innocent
- The helplessness as she fell at Akbar's feet pleading innocence
- The disheveled look as she was covered by the ink that had splattered on the floor when Harka entered
5. The guile of Gafhoor: that is lutking throughout the chapter but has clear meaning in the end
- The flurry of accusations on Gauri ... as if he had seen what had happened
- The shouting to deflect any proper investigation and discusson
- The heated statements of them being liars to goad the Kotwal on ... while Akbar angrily tried to silence them
- His first attempt to cover up how he didn't know anyone who worked with leather ... though he swallowed hard
- His second cover up of his brother being out of town ... when Akbar began to see through his pretence
- His third cover up deflecting the blame to his eight year old brother ... to Akbar's further annoyance
- And just when you thought he had submitted in defeat, a flash of metal emerged like his presence of mind at the throat of Akbar
- and even with his hand broken he only complained at how he had been hurt ... overlooking what he had done to deserve it
All these moments came together to create an enthralling movie scene ... where I could see, touch, and feel each moment. It truly brought the high-action chapter to life through each of the characters.
Akbar left the scene seemingly "cool", however, I am left wondering what Harka's next course of action will be and how their equations will further shift after this tension-filled chapter. Thanks as always writer-e-khaas for drawing us in.
Great to see you back after your brief hiatus ... Now I need to apologize for the delay in responding.
As soon as I read Chapter 12, my first reaction was it was cinematic , it sucked us in, to experience what each character was thinking, feeling , smelling , hearing, and experiencing. It was like a series of fleeting images that came together to create a panoramic view on the screen and brought a high in action and movement chapter to life.
Hence, that is the theme for my take ... fleeting images that created the whole.
1. Changing emotions of Harka: while her personality is cool and poised on the surface, one could feel the "ups and downs" she experienced throughout the chapter:
- Initial preoccupation with preparations for the feast in honor of her sister
- The sardonic laughter when she heard the news of Gauri being suspected of robbery .. she couldn't believe it
- Soon replaced by an unsettled feeling as the seriousness of the issue at hand loomed
- The cool, poised, and proud entry into the Khan residence with her guards even as she observed the horrendous scene around her
- The disappointment that Khan Sahib would allow this treatment of women in his residence
- The perception of the storm in Akbar's eye ... that cannot be for the 60 silver coins alone
- The amusement at Akbar's confidence ... he would do what he had to on his terms and was not threatened by her guards
- The tact to first try to diffuse the issue with sarcasm and then switching over to a more pragmatic approach
- The instinctive pride of recognizing the smell of the coins ... as she silently watched as she knew Akbar was onto something ... or rather someone
- The natural alarm that took the color from her face and brought his name to her lips seeing the blade at Akbar's throat
2. Anger of Akbar: while anger was a common theme for Akbar throughout the chapter, there were subtle changes in what was driving that anger throughout the chapter
- An anger of annoyance with the robbery of the 60 silver coins distracting him from more pressing matters ... a splitting headache indeed
- The anger of frustration that the seemingly obvious suspects were not budging
- The anger vibrating through the slam of his hand that stopped the Kotwal from touching Gauri and her veil
- The mounting anger at Harka's sarcasm ... he was not going to be told what to do
- The cooling tempest due to the effect of Harka ... only replaced by the new anger that she had that effect on him
- The rising anger as he finds the true culprit ... Gafhoor ... his voice rising as his questioning continued
- The quick reflex amidst the anger that left his attackers' hand broken as Akbar smoothly walked out ... as it was just another day of danger ... nothing new or unusual
3. Strength amist distress of Gauri: her firmness was another common thread throughout the chapter no matter how the circumstances worsened
- Firmness that she would invite Chaacha Sahib to the meal and be polite to any others who wanted to attend no matter how much Bindiya protested
- Firmness in first questioning the little boy for being in the cabinet
- The firmness in protecting him as she felt a "soft wave of sympathy" due to his seemingly innocent words and theft of only two coins (and what a hint the word "seemingly" was- I almost missed it the first time)
- Firmess in defending herself and how she did no wrong in front of the Kotwal and other men; the key word here was "undaunted"
- Firmness when she first recovers from the shock of how she was tricked by the boy
- Later the firmness with which she admits to being tricked by the little boy during an opportune calm lull ... unlike the random ranting of Bindiya
- Firmess in not revealing the name of Panarghar ... even as her situation was getting worse and as she raised Bindiya from falling at their feet
- A firmness to not crash into a heap like Bindiya by remembering her Harka Bai's comforting face
- Firmness in not bending as the Kotwal came towards her to search ... even as the blood stopped flowing to her fingers, she only uttered a prayer that was first answered in the form of Akbar's slamming hand and then her Bhaisa
4. In contrast, Bindiya was an apt foil for Gauri with her restlessness:
- Her resistance to invite the Mughal men to the feast
- The wide eyes and alarm as they stumble on the little boy stealing
- The growing alarm at the accusations against Gauri ... beseeching Gauri to reveal the truth
- The frantic wail as she protested they did not have the 60 coins
- The blurting out of how it was the little boy who had stolen the coins
- Her random rantings that they were innocent
- The helplessness as she fell at Akbar's feet pleading innocence
- The disheveled look as she was covered by the ink that had splattered on the floor when Harka entered
5. The guile of Gafhoor: that is lutking throughout the chapter but has clear meaning in the end
- The flurry of accusations on Gauri ... as if he had seen what had happened
- The shouting to deflect any proper investigation and discusson
- The heated statements of them being liars to goad the Kotwal on ... while Akbar angrily tried to silence them
- His first attempt to cover up how he didn't know anyone who worked with leather ... though he swallowed hard
- His second cover up of his brother being out of town ... when Akbar began to see through his pretence
- His third cover up deflecting the blame to his eight year old brother ... to Akbar's further annoyance
- And just when you thought he had submitted in defeat, a flash of metal emerged like his presence of mind at the throat of Akbar
- and even with his hand broken he only complained at how he had been hurt ... overlooking what he had done to deserve it
All these moments came together to create an enthralling movie scene ... where I could see, touch, and feel each moment. It truly brought the high-action chapter to life through each of the characters.
Akbar left the scene seemingly "cool", however, I am left wondering what Harka's next course of action will be and how their equations will further shift after this tension-filled chapter. Thanks as always writer-e-khaas for drawing us in.
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