Originally posted by: sashashyam
Dear Jamy,
I see that you not only have impeccable comic timing - your take on Bhanumati on Duryodhana's shoulder is hilarious! - but depth as well. This is a very perceptive assessment the situation as it stands at present, though I have not read The Handmaid's Tale.
And your extended, multicoloured take on the 'sutas' was dazzling; I have not taken it in properly yet!
Here, as I wrote to Sabita above, Uruvi might think she is going to be Karna's conscience keeper, but the aforesaid conscience is firmly locked and the key is not with her, it is with Duryodhana. In this context, I appreciated your noticing, and interpreting, Duryodhana's outstretched arm coming between Karna and Uruvi. I didn't really take that in myself.
That is never going to change, for Karna has sold his soul for friendship (though I am not sure if it is friendship, or a very astute purchase by Duryodhana) and in gratitude. One can say that Uruvi should accept and love him as he is, but as things develop, that is going to become increasingly difficult. For Uruvi is not one of the spoilt, pampered princesses who think of nothing beyond their shringaar. She has a clear notion of right and wrong, and that is a most uncomfortable thing. She is also an uncompromising female, witness the dressing down she gives Arjun. A potentially very difficult situation.
There were some other things I failed to understand yesternight.
One. Karna is a raja now in his own right. Does he not deserve a seat, even if it behind Duryodhana's ? Why does he have to stand there like a servant or a bodyguard? It would have been humiliating if he had perceived it in that light, but he is not yet used to his new status, and where Duryodhana is concerned, he has no qualms in accepting any kind of status. So he stands there like an aide de camp.
Two. When Uruvi calls out to Karna and beseeches him to stop and not do this - her eyes plead eloquently even after she has stopped talking - he comes back to the barrier of arrows. I would have expected his face, especially his eyes, to reflect the turmoil that one would presume is raging within him - the conflict between his loyalty to his friend and his consciousness that what they are doing is very wrong.
But there was absolutely nothing. He just gazes at her the way he does all the time. It is only after she mentions Arjun that the resentment boils over and shows on his face.
The contrast between her anxious, bewildered, beseeching eyes and his stony face was sharp. I know that most here might not agree with me, but this Karna has to shape up in terms of emoting.
Three. What is this sheer gauze doshala type thing Karna was wearing when he went to deliver Duryodhana's message to Bhanumati? It was clumsy and inelegant, making him look, with that leather crossbelt, like a captain of the guard .
Four. Why is every movement in this show in slow motion? Even when Karna takes the arrow out of the quiver to shoot at the bells above, it is in slowmo. When he walks out of the room, it is not with the quick, straightbacked stride of a warrior. He moves excruciatingly slowly, his shoulders are hunched, and his body language is completely off.
Incidentally, do men parade about with their bows and arrows even when visiting royal ladies? And how does Karna get into that room, oe even near it, anyway?
I don't know what Uruvi plans to do with that dagger. I hope she does not end up stabbing the wrong man!😆
Shyamala
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
