Mahakumbh 37-40: A triangle of an unusual kind: Episodes 42/43 on p.9 - Page 7

Originally posted by: sashashyam

Well, young ladies, I do not want us to be hauled up for being off topic, so here is a bit that is definitely on topic but ties in with your speculations as well.

Daadi asks Rudra to come to his Daadisa if and when he feels like unburdening himself. Now the
Sa suffix is used only in Rajasthan, so Daadi and her family must be Rajputs (not Rajvanshis! ).

Surely she could have been Jodha in her tenth last birth. Not Moti, for Daadi exudes an air of command effortlessly, so in her previous birth, she must surely have been a queen, nothing less!

Shyamala Aunty/Akka

Originally posted by: sp108

Very interesting analysis on what is indeed an unusual triangle. I loved the way you have analysed each character.

And as you rightly pointed out - Dadi is too obsessed with her Panth. And I have nothing more to add, because you have described her very well and accurately.

Someone described to me the word "swarth" - as "swa ka arth" - meaning of the Self. So to Daadi I would say, it is always good to be swaarthi - because there can be nothing greater than knowing the true meaning of the Self. Shiva knows the purpose of his life, of his Self. If that is selfishness, then so be it.

Shiva - You have described him very nicely 👏. He has that "Shiva" kind of quality about him. Beyond everything, almost like nothing can touch him, or distract him or conquer him. I feel that the writers have given him the name with good reason. To get all the Garuda's on board, Shivanand will need to do a bit of Lord Krishna as well - me thinks.

I feel Shiva's wife may have an important role in shaping Rudra's realisation.

Rudra - He is eternally seeking affection and anchors. The few resemblances to Lord Shiva, is that like the Lord, Rudra was raised in the Smashaan and his anger can have devastating consequences (ok...not always the case with Maimui's bachwa). To me, Rudra is turning out be an anti-climax. I was clapping for him when he said "Kaasi ko bhasm kar doonga" and look at what we got. I was cheering for him when he told Dadi that he would take revenge, and look at what we got. Anti-climax thy name Rudra. I strongly feel Rudra needs to grow up. He needs to find his sense of security within and not from other people. I do not mean to say that human relationships weaken one's self. In fact they provide a silent strength at all times. But if they are weakening the self, it is more because we ourselves are not strong enough. In fact he can learn a thing or two from Daadi. Look at how she is anything but self-pitying. In some ways Shiva too has inherited his mother's inherent strength of mind. Shiva too doesn't waste much time pitying himself. Strangely, even his Guru - Prof Rao, does not seem to drag Shiva into pitying mode.

Thapadiya Mai - How well you described her. She has the remarkable ability to see that which is not obvious. Is it because she knows a lot more than it seems, or is it her ability to read people well? Either way, Ketaki Dave has done a fantasic job with Thapadiya Mai. Inspite of spouting the "narak ke keede" line a zillion times, we take her words seriously.

Katherine - I loved Katherine, the Garud. She skilfully handled the goons, and then showed off her tattoo. Loved her re-introduction. But I still feel that she is Greyerson's mole. She needs to be in Rudra's good books rather than Balivesh's good books if she needs to deliver the Amrit to Greyerson. I think it would be interesting if she is aware that she is a Garud and also siding with Greyerson.

Charles and Tiwari have a nice chemistry 😉. Looking at the Garud Chinha positions, looks like the 7th Garud will have chattees ka aankhda with Thapadiya Mai 😛. My sympathies with Shiva 😉

Originally posted by: SayaneeH.Lecter

Very well written post .. I have a lot of things to say but time is short so will only talk about Shivanand .. I completely agree with you here .. he is definitely the best character of Mahakumbh .. Intelligent, Knowledgeable and motivated .. like his name - SHIVA- he is the only one who can see the things in parts as well as in whole .. He and only he knows how science & belief goes hand in hand .. I am somewhat irritated with Dadi and her limited knowledge .. he conservative mind and restricted views can't understand the wide perspective of the crisis and Shiva as well

Originally posted by: appukrish

Shyamal di, a quick note that long back there was an article which stated 'Maya to bring back Rudra's mother'. Hence many were able to quickly connect the dots. Releasing these articles, showing OLVs removes the surprise element from a show.

Originally posted by: Kitsin

Hello Shyamala. Hope your knees get better soon. Sorry for the late reply down with flu.

Lovely analysis as usual. Have not read the other takes yet.

I feel each is thinking of their own goal or kartavya as such.

Daadi is focused on kartavya nistha of the panth. Which is all good as without values there would be no meaning in life but warriors are needed to go about that way of life peacefully. It is sad that she has understood Rudra's emotional pain but not felt for her son's difficulties. She is still not willing to believe that there could be any truth to Shivanand.

Shivanand is very worried about saving of the amrit, finding the garuds and making them one. That is indeed a tall order for him as except for himself and Tiwari the other garuds do not believe in the amrit ki raksha. Charles openly disbelieves that he is Garud. As for Rudra what to say about him. Shivanand has so much to do and yet he does not panic, is calm and yet determined.

( It feels like the Indian war of independence. Gandhiji with ahimsa on one side and Subashchandra Bose with his war tactics to get freedom at any cost on the other.)

Rudra is lost in his own pain and its like he has lost all sense of purpose. What is it going to take to shake him out of this cocoon of pain and ignorance he has wrapped himself in. As Shiva tries to explain to him and guide him his pain is foremost in his heart and mind.

Originally posted by: sashashyam

I feel Shiva's wife may have an important role in shaping Rudra's realisation.

Yes, and I am waiting eagerly for her to resurface. Shruthi had an interesting idea, that when Thappadiya Mai tells Rudra that the very thing that made Maya leave would be the thing that brings her back to him, she means the loss of a mother. First Maimuyi, who was lost to Rudra because of Maya, even if unknowingly. Then Rudra's mother, who will now be restored to him by Maya. I feel sure her interpretation is correct.

The curious thing, as I noted earlier, and Shruthi too has flagged it on this thread, is that though Daadi casually informs Rudra that his mother was not in the ashram when the 'Veshes attacked it, and she did not know where she was now, he does not make the slightest move to try and trace her. And this is the same Rudra who tracked down Udiya Baba's wife as he lay dying, and brought her to him in time to ease his passing. What happened now. when his own mother is concerned?

Not just that, he does not pass on this info to his Baba either, who is thus left believing, courtesy Balivesh, that she was killed by the fire that raged thru their house during the attack. If he had had any idea of this, Shivanand would have left no stone unturned to locate her, with Sahadev's help

Yes, very strange indeed. Rudra was so concerned about Dadi's safety when he found her. And he immediately placed her under Sahadev's care. In that case, shouldn't he be worried about his mother's safety too? Maybe a scripting blooper 😕. Daadi is a stern matriarch and many other things too, but not a heartless woman. So her curious unconcern for her bahu does seem incongruent.

Originally posted by: -Swetha-

- Why Katherine is a REAL Garud and not a Fake one ( ie she has fake tattoo and she knows martial arts )

I have watched yesterday's episode twice - regular time and repeat time also. 😛

1. Rudra bought Charles, Katherine and Thapadiya mai to meet his Dadi.

2. Dadi gives talk with Charles and Katherine.. , she hugs Thapadiya mai 😳😳 She gives ladoo to all of them. Thapadiya mai takes ladoo's.. and dances and goes out of Rudra's dadi's house... 😲😆

3. Rudra's father uses GPS to see 3 Garud's together.. 😲😆 ie Rudra , Katherine and Charles. Thapadiya mai was not there in the room when the GPS was functioning.. else he might have seen 4 Garud's together? 🤔 He decides to go and see them.. 😛

4. Rudra's father closes the GPS and leaves.. Thapadiya mai goes again in Rudra's Dadi's house asking for food.. 😳😆

^ This shows that Katherine is a REAL Garud.. I have a feeling.. she is a mole.. and she will cheat rest of the 6 Garuds.. and deliver Amrit to the Secret society.. 😡

- If Thapadiya mai had been in the room when Rudra's father used GPS.. he might hav seen 4 Garud's together in one place.. 😕

No Devdas for me!:Now I am a pragmatist, for as a professional diplomat for the 38 years of my working life , I looked out only for the interest of our side, and this approach is carried over into anything I do even now. Thus my takes on this and any other tale are always four square, and stand flat footed on the ground. I am not given to hairsplitting about esoteric concepts like the kinds of mithya that Shivanand might have been referring to. Nor am I compassionate enough to sympathise with this Devdas remixes that Rudra has been treating us to, minus only the jaam and the tawaif as props!😉 There is a job to be done, and all concerned have to get on with it; I have only limited patience for all this dawdling and backtracking and self-pity.

So in this episode, I found Rudra disappointing, to put it mildly. There was a sense of unease as I contemplated this vague, aimless, clueless, disconsolate, moping 28 year old. Traumas might have been there, but the tough ones get over them and move on, especially as there is a great mission awaiting him, if he is to believe his baba.

I was more in despair than Shivanand when Rudra gazed with mild curiosity at Shivanand's celestial display, clung to his sole obsession these days, Maya, who he declares in not mithya but the greatest truth and, finally bolted. To cap it all, he left the entrance open😡. He did not seem to understand that they are both talking of different things.

Besides, Rudra, who, outside at the mela campgrounds, did not even ask his father where he had been held prisoner for 24 years, was barely interested in the fascinating display put up inside Shiva's lab. Anyone else would have peppered Shiva with questions, but not Rudra. He is still content to moon about his missing Maya.

In Shivanand's place I would have been tearing my hair and climbing the wall, but he merely sighs and takes a long look around his room. A real satthvik, this chap!

I do agree that the drill sergeant approach needs to be fine tuned for our Majnun, but it is not as though Shiva does not show his son a tenderly affectionate side. As when he describes to Rudra, in the mela grounds, how he had longed to meet his son again, knowing that when he did so, 24 saal ke ghaav ek kshan mein bhar jayenge.

And he does not dictate to his son, he asks him ever so gently if he would help his father attain the goal he had been working for since 24 years. Rudra says yes, but then he behaves like a skittish colt which is afraid of the bridle.

Unconvincing prem katha: This apart, the whole aashiqui track between Rudra and Maya looks highly artificial. He has suddenly fallen in love with her because Utkarsh has decided that he should be😉! Gautam was excellent as the shy lover boy Saras, but with this Rudra, that would hardly be fitting. I do not know how long Rudra is going to look mopey or blank or both. It is getting to be boring.

Finally, how come this so-called secret hideaway of Shiva's has not yet been spotted by the opposition? They would do anything to get hold of his Garuda Positioning System. The way in which he, and then he and Rudra, clamber openly down the baodi at the Pandey residence is an open invitation to snoopers. Shiva's luck can hold out only for so long!😉

Some miscellany that might interest you folks, given that the story hinges at times on minor details.

The mystery of Sector 53: The problem sector for the Project Ganga is sector 53, the one which was allocated to Professor Rao, an allocation that was ferociously opposed by Balivesh. Now , Prof. Rao tells the DM to organise that sector, and use the funds that will soon be available for the Project Ganga, for their own secret work in that sector. Which he proceeds to do, for when Shivanand calls him to check whether it was not Tiwari in the Brahma Nisht Panth tent, he is actually holding a meeting in Sector 53, in Daraganj.

That is also the sector about which Balivesh is pressurising Tiwari, to give it to the Sri Santh Panth. Before his conversation with Rudra, he was telling a sidekick to tell the DM that the permission was needed immediately, and if it was not forthcoming, he would go to the DM's office not with an anurodh, but with an aagnya!

Now Daraganj was the place where, the first time Shivanand was shown using it, last Monday, the Garuda Positioning System showed TWO garudas. Who were they? One might have been Shivanand, but the other? It is all fascinatingly complex, and one has to keep track of all these bits and pieces.

The Dark Garuda: Re: our Kill Bill Katharine, I believe she is a Garuda, but what could be called a Dark Garuda for now, since one presumes she does not yet know that the elaborate sign on her lower back means something special. Also that Greyerson has not seen it, not even between a tank top and her jeans!

As and when she does get to learn all about that, she might turn, and become a garuda mole in the Greyerson camp. Right now, we had that ridiculous bit in the precap about Katharine apparently (I use the word as it might well turn out to be a red herring or hoax, as is often the case) trying to stab Shivanand from the back. I thought Greyerson wanted him back under his control?

As I noted somewhere above, the way in which she was sticking spycams into the straw of the roof and the walls was also very funny. They could fall out in a strong wind, or if a passing cow took a fancy to the straw and decided to brunch off it!😉😉

Lastly, one extra sawaal that has been bothering me, though it does not concern this episode.

Rudra's mother: Though Daadi casually informs Rudra that his mother was not in the ashram when the 'Veshes attacked it, and she did not know where she was now, he does not make the slightest move to try and trace her. And this is the same Rudra who tracked down Udiya Baba's wife as he lay dying, and brought her to him in time to ease his passing. What happened now. when his own mother is concerned?

Not just that, he does not pass on this info to his Baba either, who is thus left believing, courtesy Balivesh, that she was killed by the fire that raged thru their house during the attack. If he had had any idea of this, Shivanand would have left no stone unturned to locate her, with Sahadev's help

Incidentally, probably, for security reasons, Prof.Rao is very likely allowed no visitors but Tiwari and Shivanand. Which might be why Charles needed that doctor's coat and the stethoscope to get in, and I bet that would work in most places any time😉! Charles was charming for once, with his cagey affection for his "old man".

Shyamala/Aunty/Di/Akka

Folks,

Arshi has rated this one as So-so, but to my mind, this is too kind an assessment. I found myself fast forwarding all the parts of Rudra wandering around, and I almost did the same with the scene of him moping and weeping all over an empathetic daadi, who of course was only too glad to lend him a shoulder for this purpose.

I am not given to facile tears, and I do not like men, or boys, who weep all the time like a watering pot, and by now I am tired of Rudra mourning his losses.

The only good parts tonight were

(1) the Greyerson-Katharine interchange, hinting that he has some hold over her and (b) that he knows that she is a garuda, which is why he wants her to tell Shivanand that and thus insinuate herself into his plans (her refusal is intriguing and the reason she offers appropriately cryptic and confusing),

(2) the scene between Prof. Rao and Shivanand, where Shiva betrays the depth of his disappointment with his son and his emotional weaknesses. It showed that even an iron man can have his moments of depression, and finally

(3) the precap where Shiva shuts up a pleading Rudra, who wants him to toe his mother's line and presumably junk all the research he has been doing. His line Parivaron ke rakshak hote hain, rakshak ke parivaar nahin hote!, is classic by any standards.

Incidentally, Rudra's plea put paid to the argument advanced here after he sided openly with Daadi against his father, that it was merely a tactic that he had adopted in order to effect a reconciliation between Daadi and his Baba. It was clearly no such thing. Rudra is on the same page as Daadi, and he has, as of now, no stomach for or interest in his father's mission.

I suppose another dozen episodes, if not more, will be consumed in getting Rudra to swivel by 180 degrees on this issue, for the pace is far too slow and has been so all this week. That will bring us to near the mid-point of 60 episodes.

For now, I simply cannot stomach all these lachrymose goings on, and if Maya, after denying all knowledge of him, begins a weeping competition with Rudra, I shall be strongly tempted to run away.

I cannot understand why this unconvincing love story, between a pair with zero chemistry (what a contrast with Saras and Kumud!), is being force fed to the viewers; this Rudra is no Saras, not by any manner of means. Surely Utkarsh could have found other reasons for Rudra being reluctant to join in his father's crusade? Is it that just because they have named her Maya, she has to haunt not just us but Rudra as well?