NOVEL~*Hiding behind a Stranger*~Thread 14~CHAPTER 19

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Shraddha

@lashy

Trailblazer

+ 4

Posted: 8 years ago

#1211

Originally posted by: sashashyam
Lashykanna,

I know exactly how you feel about the passing away of your cousin's grandmother, for I have been there myself with my own grandmother, my nani. The lazy summer holidays, with her scrumptious cooking and her fragile, beautiful presence - she was tiny, but as lovely as any film star- all these are living memories for me. I was out of the country when she passed away, quietly of old age, and I was glad I did not see her cold and dead. I much prefer to remember as she was when we were all kids whom she loved and spoilt.

Shyamala Periyamma

🤗

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Zhanna

@alffim

Navigator

Posted: 8 years ago

#1212

Dear Shyamala!
I recognize, of course, the exclusive right of Lashy on all the actions of her characters (but how many I want peace and love?! 😳 "Honor of a madman who evokes humanity golden dream!" (c))
But take my great admiration for your passionate and poetic protest! 👏👏👏
And I completely agree with you ... 😃

Originally posted by: sashashyam

Chapters 18-19: The sound of hearts breaking

Lashykanna,
Yes, you, Lashykanna, and many others, exasperated by my wholesale condemnation of Akbar, might well ask: But what else could he have done? Well, let me tell you what he could have done.
He could have apologized for taking what would have seemed like liberties with her the day before in the canal, while adding that everything he had done, and every word that he had not spoken but which she must have understood regardless, were nothing but a reflection of what he felt for her - the respect, the admiration, indeed adoration for a woman of her courage, her intelligence, her refinement and her beauty.
But they belonged to different worlds, and there was no place for him in hers. He would never wish to do anything that might lower her standing in her world. Nor did he have anything to offer her of what she deserved, above all stability and a secure life. There were things he was not at liberty to share with her, but they had no future together, and to no one was this more painful than to him.
Thus, in her interests more even than his, it was necessary that they part forever, with no looking back. He would not presume to think that she felt for him anything like what he felt for her, but if that was indeed so, he begged her pardon for having inflicted this unwarranted pain on someone for whom he had such high regard. He hoped that she would find it in her heart to forgive him.
He should have said all this from a safe distance, looking into her eyes only fleetingly. At the end, he should have turned and left the room. Finis.

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Shraddha

@lashy

Trailblazer

+ 4

Posted: 8 years ago

#1213

Originally posted by: sashashyam

Chapters 18-19: The sound of hearts breaking

Heartbreak :Heera: The most beautiful heart of all is the one that can still love even while it bleeds, and especially after its been broken into thousands of pieces.

Heartbreak :Akbar: When a heart breaks a substance spills out like cement and pours through the bloodstream, hardening everything. In time, I know my heart will mend and the rock inside will crack and crumble away. But for now I'm as solid as a column. And alone I stand.

Kept the best for the last..🤗

In all your analysis you pour your heart out, be it here or elsewhere... (it could be me) but I feel as though this phenomenon has never been more obvious as it has in this write up!

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harshal

@harshu27

Stunner

+ 2

Posted: 8 years ago

#1214

Originally posted by: melovesja

Mitali dear, wow , a double treat - keep them coming.👏
Thank you rose😃 😳

Chellam and Harshu - what do the winners of the OS competition get?

Edited by harshu27 - 8 years ago

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karkuzhali

@karkuzhali

Inactive

Posted: 8 years ago

#1215

Early to bed and early to rise

Makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise!

Good Night Friends!

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binduprasad41

@binduprasad41

Sparkler

Posted: 8 years ago

#1216

Originally posted by: karkuzhali

Early to bed and early to rise
Makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise!

Good Night Friends!

Good night sachu patti
sleep well

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Sandhya.A

@Sandhya.A

Sparkler

Posted: 8 years ago

#1217

Originally posted by: sashashyam

Yes, you, Lashykanna, and many others, exasperated by my wholesale condemnation of Akbar, might well ask: But what else could he have done? Well, let me tell you what he could have done.
He could have apologized for taking what would have seemed like liberties with her the day before in the canal, while adding that everything he had done, and every word that he had not spoken but which she must have understood regardless, were nothing but a reflection of what he felt for her - the respect, the admiration, indeed adoration for a woman of her courage, her intelligence, her refinement and her beauty.
But they belonged to different worlds, and there was no place for him in hers. He would never wish to do anything that might lower her standing in her world. Nor did he have anything to offer her of what she deserved, above all stability and a secure life. There were things he was not at liberty to share with her, but they had no future together, and to no one was this more painful than to him.
Thus, in her interests more even than his, it was necessary that they part forever, with no looking back. He would not presume to think that she felt for him anything like what he felt for her, but if that was indeed so, he begged her pardon for having inflicted this unwarranted pain on someone for whom he had such high regard. He hoped that she would find it in her heart to forgive him.
He should have said all this from a safe distance, looking into her eyes only fleetingly. At the end, he should have turned and left the room. Finis.
Now this would have had the same end result, but it would have left Heera feeling warm about the heart because of what Akbar had confessed about his feelings for her. Plus she would have been spared not only the pain of, as she would see it, unrequited affection for a man who did not reciprocate it, but the searing sense of shame at having betrayed her principles and her upbringing because of her love for him, and the humiliation of having been thus summarily rejected by a heartless cad.
OK, this is it, my dear. I do not suppose even one percent of your devoted readers will agree with me, but I stick to my stand regardless.

It might have been a gentler goodbye. But wouldn't that have left hope in her? Hope that regardless of their differences and stands in life, there is a safespot to return to if the need arise. That there is a man who cares for her and has chosen to stay off for HER sake - would it not compel her to find excuses to come back, especially after the canal closeness???

And if she comes back, if Khalil / Shehzade get wind of it, where would that leave them? Akbar out of the farmaan hunt job, Heer more exposed to Khalil when he takes charge.

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sashashyam

@sashashyam

Sparkler

+ 3

Posted: 8 years ago

#1218

No, Sandhya, you are here missing one vital point about Heera. She does NOT have any notion that they, she and Akbar, could have a future together. This is not 21st century Mills and Boon, this is 17th century India, and she has a huge responsibility, to care for Parnagarh and its people, which would always be her first priority. Which is as it should be, for she has been raised to always put her duty first.

The gulf between them would have been impassable even if the Parnagarh issue had not been there. She is a high born Rajput girl and he is a Muslim. Even the whiff of any relationship with him would have ruined her reputation for keeps, and any such marriage would have provoked violent reactions. Even today, there are honour killings in such cases.

Besides, how on earth could she have come back to Aidabad? Can you think of a single plausible excuse she could have given her guardians for doing so, once she had reached Bansi? She is not a footloose village girl, to run off with a handsome swain who took her fancy. She is a strictly reared young lady from a very good family, and what she has been up to with him already would have been unthinkable for such a girl had she not been alone. It would also have attracted very strong reprimands from her guardians had they learnt about it.

And if the least hint of the degree of closeness she had developed with Akbar had leaked out - and I honestly do not see how they covered up her standing there in the middle of the canal soaked to the skin, in full view of all those who had come to rescue Akbar - there would have been a first class scandal and her name, and the name of her family, would have been dragged thru the mud.

No, there is no way she could have sneaked back to Aidabad no matter what she felt. And after hearing him say what I had wanted him to say, no young woman in her social position, that too one with all that depended on her and which she was duty bound to tackle, would have ever thought of doing any such thing. Love is not the be all and end all of life, and definitely not for a girl in Heera's position. In fact, love was a suspect commodity in those days!

I doubt if you will agree with this either, as you are one of the never say die kind that does not accept counterarguments regardless of how much sense they make,😉 but all that I have said above is the plain and simple truth.

Incidentally, what do you mean by "it might have been a gentler goodbye" ? Can't you even acknowledge a sensible, humane alternative whole-heartedly? 😉 This is what I meant by a firm refusal to accept anything other than your own stand.

Shyamala Aunty

Originally posted by: Sandhya.A
It might have been a gentler goodbye. But wouldn't that have left hope in her? Hope that regardless of their differences and stands in life, there is a safespot to return to if the need arise. That there is a man who cares for her and has chosen to stay off for HER sake - would it not compel her to find excuses to come back, especially after the canal closeness???

And if she comes back, if Khalil / Shehzade get wind of it, where would that leave them? Akbar out of the farmaan hunt job, Heer more exposed to Khalil when he takes charge.

Originally posted by: sashashyam

Yes, you, Lashykanna, and many others, exasperated by my wholesale condemnation of Akbar, might well ask: But what else could he have done? Well, let me tell you what he could have done.
He could have apologized for taking what would have seemed like liberties with her the day before in the canal, while adding that everything he had done, and every word that he had not spoken but which she must have understood regardless, were nothing but a reflection of what he felt for her - the respect, the admiration, indeed adoration for a woman of her courage, her intelligence, her refinement and her beauty.
But they belonged to different worlds, and there was no place for him in hers. He would never wish to do anything that might lower her standing in her world. Nor did he have anything to offer her of what she deserved, above all stability and a secure life. There were things he was not at liberty to share with her, but they had no future together, and to no one was this more painful than to him.
Thus, in her interests more even than his, it was necessary that they part forever, with no looking back. He would not presume to think that she felt for him anything like what he felt for her, but if that was indeed so, he begged her pardon for having inflicted this unwarranted pain on someone for whom he had such high regard. He hoped that she would find it in her heart to forgive him.
He should have said all this from a safe distance, looking into her eyes only fleetingly. At the end, he should have turned and left the room. Finis.
Now this would have had the same end result, but it would have left Heera feeling warm about the heart because of what Akbar had confessed about his feelings for her. Plus she would have been spared not only the pain of, as she would see it, unrequited affection for a man who did not reciprocate it, but the searing sense of shame at having betrayed her principles and her upbringing because of her love for him, and the humiliation of having been thus summarily rejected by a heartless cad.
OK, this is it, my dear. I do not suppose even one percent of your devoted readers will agree with me, but I stick to my stand regardless.

Edited by sashashyam - 8 years ago

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Shraddha

@lashy

Trailblazer

+ 4

Posted: 8 years ago

#1219

@ Periyamma...

I loved your comparative description of 'heartbreak' 🤗

I will add more points as I think of it..

But I just wanted to get to the three points raised here...

First, how you wished Akbar had spoken -

Now imagine a Jalal... imagine a Chandra...

Jalal would have the 'diplomacy' to be able to speak the lines that you have written so eloquently... but would Chandra would be able to do so? I doubt. He is a recluse. He is socially awkward. And he has little experience with women. Isn't AMK the same?

When has his conversation lasted beyond a sentence... say, even with the person he is most comfortable with like Chacha jaan? He has always been to-the-point, curt, businesslike. Even in delicate matters. He is not deliberately rude, but he is incapable of being better with words than he is now simply because he hasn't grown up with women (a little more of why this is so, in chapter 21) ... and even now he never puts himself in the company of them/or deals with them unless he has to

He wanted Heera to leave without looking back - and this was the only way he knew how to do it... using her own 'ego' as a weapon...

Different readers have had different viewpoints about the breakup Periyamma... I find it's normal for you to find yourself unable to forgive Akbar at this point because you're so attached to Heera... and we get protective of our womenfolk... get angry with the men who hurt them (even if the men had their own reasons to do so)

I would hazard a guess and say that you wouldn't feel the same had Chandra had to do this to Nandini for the sake of his ambitions... why, even in Mahendar's case, you understood his ploys of pretending-to-be-in-love-with-Durga for the sake Parnagarh/Hindu supremacy (till you got to know of Khalil connection, of course)

But with Heera, it's difficult to see the same happen to her... because that's how she is!

As for the second bit...

Yes, they both always put their duty first... and with the current issues of Parnagarh/Shehzaade complicating everything, it's dangerous for this to go any further... but had circumstances been different, I can foresee AMK/Heera at least giving their future a try... why not? The alternative for both of them is to lead single lives forever... which is ok for him... but for her?

And it is to see how far he was invested in this 'unnamed relationship' that she went to meet him... she would have been ready to wait for years and years (if that's how long it took for their issues to iron out) if only he had given her a 'glimmer' of hope that he would give their relationship a name thereafter...

She went with the hope of 'maybe one day' in her mind... and came back with nothing.

I'm not saying a marriage would be easy - far from it. And surely it will give rise to scandal amongst her people - other Hindu kingdoms/her own folk would frown upon her... but riots/honour killings/forced marriages or more violent implications (like those that would have happened in other families) cannot be a problem in this case. Simply because, at the end of the day, they BOTH have a very peculiar advantage now - they have no one to question them really. He is the lone leader of his haveli/business/clan/people... she is the lone leader of her clan (other than her guardians, who could disown her at the most). And right from Akbar's era it was uncommon, but not unheard of, for Hindu daughters to be wed into Muslim families for the sake of peace.

Of course Periyamma... there is the norm and there are exceptions in every generation - this story would also have at least a few exceptions (within reason, of course) 😳

As for the canal scene - those who arrived at the canal were Gauri/Azeez/Sayyid/Ibrahim... the men respect them both too much to spread scandal. And Gauri respects Heera too much to say anything wrong.

Moreover, while Heera comes from a traditional family - both sisters (encouraged by their fathers) have also been forward thinkers... she is a doctor... despite following the veil system, she has touched and treated men before (of course purely for medical reasons only - e.g. Mohan/Daya)

And when it became obvious to these 4 who'd arrived there, that had she not jumped in right then Akbar would definitely have not been alive, they recognised it as a life-saving act... something that is accepted even in strict cultures... Just like if a noble lady was drowning, and there were no women around, chances are it would've been her guards or other men jumping in to bring her ashore, though in normal circumstances they wouldn't be allowed to touch her.

Of course, Gauri wished it didn't have to happen this way, but beyond that she can say nothing else... and she knows nothing else of what happened - same for the rest of them.

Edited by lashy - 8 years ago

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Shraddha

@lashy

Trailblazer

+ 4

Posted: 8 years ago

#1220

Originally posted by: alffim
Dear Lashy!
Please take my sincere condolences! Let your grandmother's soul rest in peace ...
It is difficult to come to terms with the death of loved ones. I'm trying to reassure myself believing that they are still alive in my memory.
Your grandmother will live now and in the memory of all who read your kind words about her.

It's my cousin's grandmother... but we cousins, as kids, were close to her ... she was a child-magnet!

Thank you Zhanna for your wishes 🤗