Yes of course, and that spat would have reflected badly on the prince. Moreover, he would make it a point to keep Khalil in the dark for as long as possible simply to drive home the key take away for Khalil, that he is dependent on the Shehzaade and not vice versa, and that the prince owes him no explanations for anything he might choose to do.
As for the "clue", it is simply too much to expect anyone to make the connection based on the above. It is really that your description of the Ustaad as a man of great military experience, whose opinion on such matters is valued by the prince himself, and that he now trains fresh recruits for the prince's army - all this suggests not a 25 year old, but a greybearded old warhorse, though one still fit enough to put Khalil in his place.
What one would normally think is that the Ustaad, having grown more and more exasperated at Khalil's impertinence even before the prince, had decided that the third time was once too much, and had thus moved swiftly to stop him.
One can say at the most that Akbar is like that, and his men are selected by him to be similar in their lifestyle, so as to please the Shehzaade. Of course this is not so - Akbar is that way because he likes it that way, and the same is true of the rest. But this similarity in their private notions of morality is hardly evidence of any kind.
Anyone who says she guessed the Ustaad's identity based on this passage is either clairvoyant or is indulging in hindsight, which as we know is always 20/20!
Agree with the bolded...
And Periyamma... when I meant clues.. I hadn't deliberately had them inserted for people to pick on... they were the only 'commonalities' or 'aspects' that could be picked on... much like in the first 3 chapters there were hardly any pointers to show that our Heera is partially blind.. that's all...
I would've actually been quite disappointed if many picked on these points and guessed the identity of AMK so early on... then, I would've definitely second-guessed my ability to write mystery
I did wonder vaguely about the "guilt", for what? But I did not follow up on it, partly because I never analysed Chapter 11 - where this figures - and Chapter 12 properly, in fact at all bar a small post as soon as the first appeared. If I had gone into that chapter in depth, I would have asked you why he felt any guilt. But it would never have occurred to me to deduce from this wisp of a clue that Akbar was the Ustaad!
That's true... I debated for a while if I must insert the word 'guilt' there... but couldn't NOT have AMK feel guilty when he saw the funeral procession... he's not responsible for her death, but feels responsible for cheating those who are in mourning
Lashykanna, for that, you get as many standing ovations and curtain calls as Rudolf Nureyev and Margot Fonteyn did for their iconic Romeo and Juliet ballet! That was a record number, 27, if my memory does not fail me. I cannot even begin to tell you how delighted I am with you, child!Delighted, and proud too.I shake as I read this... truly...
My darling child, you deserve all of that and more!
>>> ☺️
Having said that... mystery is a big element that keeps interest going.. I hope story doesn't lose its pace/wow factor after this
No it won't. In fact it is now that the tensions of the two cat and mouse games between Akbar and the Shehzaade, and between Akbar and Khalil, will surface and become worse and worse as Akbar walks a tight rope that goes higher and higher. To save a woman who haunts both his waking hours and his dreams, but who might any day, if she learns the truth about him, turn against him completely and shut him out of her life. And what would be worse, turn for help to the very villain who had sold out her jijisa, and was now planning to sell her out to the prince.
How beautifully put... 👏
isn't this even what rivals like shrewdest businessman or the most ruthless rival druglords are forced to do.. since there is no other way, but hope that the other one keeps his end of the deal...
Oh yes, Lashykanna, I can see all this; after all I was trained to always aim for the best attainable deal, and to adapt swiftly to changed circumstances.
So if I had analysed your Chapter 11, I might have written pretty much the same thing. But then I did not know that Mahendar had actually told Khalil to go into the Parnagarh haveli and get the farman. He knew Khalil well, so what did he think would happen? Durga being murdered was almost a dead cert, even if not the other horror that was visited on her. If he had offered to get the farman himself, going in masked at the dead of night, perhaps, or getting a maid in there who would be his spy, I would have minded it much less. But what he did was unforgivable. I expect he rationalised it to himself as a sacrifice of his honour that he had to make for the greater Hindu cause in the changing Mughal empire.
How would the prince of an entire kingdom enter a house masked in the middle of night? It was entertaining to watch an emperor do that in JA, but not realistic na🤔
... yes, he might have sent his spies etc... but don't you see Periyamma... his clever plan... he was happy to let Khalil do the raiding.. and place the blame on him... so he'd get greater support from Parnagarhis when he chooses to take them over/lead them etc in future... as it is, they're all so wary of the Mughals.. Mahendar could've conveniently blamed the Muslims for everything when he cuts a deal with the Shehzaade in future etc...
And no, he truly didn't expect Khalil to do what he did to Durga, mainly because of her position/rank.. which is why it shocked so many.. had such repercussions right up to the capital... and which is possibly the only guilt Mahendar feels, if any..
Oh yes, and if he had been caught, his sar would have been kalamofied without an instant's hesitation. And Heera's as well. It would have been the same for her if the contents of her scrolls had been revealed. Now Ibrahim knows about this holding back. and that worries him. As time goes by, more and more aspects of Akbar's behaviour will disturb him more and more. What he will do then is the big question.
yes
Well, my dear, I have never seen a scene of the hero saving the heroine from drowning done quite this way, with an abrupt dismissiveness that was quite startling. But then one is used to gruff leading men who are chronically wary of women, so I put it down to that and passed on!
As for fast paced, even bold love scenes in this kind of set up, they would look and sound totally out of place. As I have noted elsewhere, the manner in which you handle them makes them not only more appealing (to me at least!) but also more credible. Think of Elizabeth and Darcy nearly 160 years later, and in England! No one says that their romance is not fast paced or "hot"!😉
Awww... I am not saying that the temperature does not rise as the story goes 😆 but at this point, as you said 'credibility' warrants that the temperature stays at this point... but whatever the temperature, it will be in sync with the storyline... 😃 promise... [readers of NJAPA would know... I'm stubborn... the heroine hadn't confessed till an exasperating 27 chapters😆...] thing is, even if I want to, cannot change a story or its pace because it'll have a domino effect on everything else... and it'll all come crashing down!
Not monogamous, child, the correct word would be celibate. The Shehzaade is married and so he is monogamous, but Akbar is still unmarried, so how can he be monogamous?😉)
No no monogamous was the futuristic term you'd used then to say... how AMK instantly sounded more appealing to the mordern reader than a Mahendar
You don't get it, my pet! A devil is basically a term used to indicate disapproval of some degree, and a sort of resentment at being fooled. A witch , with the implied power to creat magic, is quite different. It conveys only admiration of your cleverness in running rings around your readers.
OMG I love being called all of that... so don't have to explain Periyamma... 😆🤗
OK, now I am practically dropping, but a few quick questions. I might ask you more later, but separately.
- What happens to Heera's messengers who must have been intercepted, and from whom Akbar's men seize the scrolls she is sending out? Are they all killed?
- If not, would they not have come back to Aidabad and narrated how they had been overpowered by (presumably) masked ruffians and the scrolls seized from then?
Well they are not all Heera's messengers... yes its a big mission and a lot to risk, but practically not feasible to send out her own soldiers to diff parts of the Empire, or Heera would be left with no men at this rate... since she's not a queen with a huge workforce under her..
They're hired messengers... but Periyamma... of what I've read, these messengers were very trusted men...that's how they earned their repute - since it was a business, they did this for a living... and had a good network...(were the basis of the mordern postal system of today)
(And that's why Heera makes doubly sure with Kaka that the men are reliable)
Btw, these men are out to far destinations, Heera doesn't expect to hear from them anytime soon...
But the one Heera had sent out to Bansi was a personal messenger... on horse... which is why she is worried about not hearing back
No they haven't been killed... they're being held in safe-houses... and will be held there till Akbar deems it's safe to have them released... since if he went about killing them all, too many dead bodies to cover up... plus those men don't know what was in the sealed scrolls!
-I am sure Akbar has no notion of ever briefing the prince about the content of the scrolls, for that would have been a death sentence for Heera. But what if the prince asks to see them? Will Akbar respond that since they were innocuous, he had let them be delivered?
He hasn't even mentioned about the scrolls yet... except that they were condolence letters.. so the Shehzaade takes his word for it...
Of course, this is probably his first slip in 10-12 years of service... so the man let it go... he hasn't still got a major doubt about the Sahiba-Ustaad connection... in fact, the Shehzaade had a half-mind that his trusted Ustaad was really just plain tired that evening... and thus, not up to his usual self ... he did test the waters by bringing up 'Khalil' again.. but Ustaad had his head on his shoulders while reacting to it then.. and later too, by showing the man he might be distracted, but he had an eye on the game all through!
I don't know if it was obvious or not.. but the card game was an analogy to the situation/characteristics of the main players in the story.. 😳
I am not going to ask you whether Khalil has actually left for Kabul, for I am sure he has not, and is instead making haste very, very, very slowly!
That man is a powerful general, periyamma.. with lot of men sucking up to him purely because he is so powerful... even if he is in Kabul, he'd have his own network of men to keep him updated.. like AMK has his own and Mahendar his own..
I only imagine AMK's network is more tight-knit, more loyal, more intelligent and more human than the the other two... after all, they're his OWN men.. not with him for power... but there with him because he is worth being with... 😊
Anupamaa
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