Originally posted by: sashashyam
Arshi,
Nice going, as always, and I am pleased to see that your enthusiasm for the naga pramukh has been toned down a bit. As I noted the first time he appeared, he tries too hard to be deadly cool, pun intended.
Oh yes Shyamala, pehli nazar ka pehla impression tha! Like a pretty dress in a show window...
The only memorable takeway for me from last night's horrors was Daadi doing a Jatayu, holding death at bay by literally tightening her belt (pallav+shawl) and waiting for Rudra to arrive so that she can tell him what has happened and forewarn him.
As for Rudra, his reaction to Punnu landing up covered with blood was worse than inadequate. He seemed shell-shocked and unable to even think,not to speak of doing anything worthwhile. It was not till Thappadiya Mai pushed him that he even thought of going out to see things for himself.
I could not understand why one of Rudra's special talents, the gift of second sight, which worked wrt Maimuyi 12 years before she was actually murdered, seems to have failed completely when Ganga and Daadi were murdered and when his Baba was taken prisoner.
Why does it fail? The only possible answer is that it was because he was drugged by the maya of Maya.
For whatever it is worth, here is my take on last night.
Shyamala
Mahakumbh 59:Murder most foul
Folks,
As for last night, I do not know about the aficionadas of Game of Thrones and of the other show whose acronym seems to use up most of the alphabet. Or about the Rahil-philes.
It sickened me, the murder of Daadi. it was the sheer enjoyment that Dansh took in doing it, and the way the frail body rocked with every one of the three thrusts of his knife. Ghastly.
I have tweeted Utkarsh: What has happened to you? Daadi's killing was so sadistic I almost threw up. Is it necessary to revel in murder most foul?
He has noted on his FB page that all these events were written long ago, and even as he was doing the writing he wished it could be changed. And that he was not planning to watch those episodes.
What a cop out!
I do not care about Sahadev, who was hardly there, anyway, or about Punnu, who specialises in a pop-eyed look to depict shock and horror, or even about poor totally under-utilised Ganga. But Daadi is different, and the leisurely, deliberate manner of her killing was unbearable.
Especially because of all the hand-kissing, the obeisance, the seeking of aashirwaad et al that accompanied it, and sought to rob her death of any dignity. I simply cannot see any reason for such scripting, pandering to the least common denominator of fans of violent Western shows.
But Daadi lent her death the dignity of which Dansh sought to rob her. I had goose pimples watching her rise, almost like one rising from the dead, and summon up the last vestiges of her strength by tying her pallav and shawl firmly around her midriff, to staunch the blood flow and postpone the inevitable blackout of her senses.
It reminded me of Jatayu holding his death at bay, as he waits for the arrival of Lord Rama. It is the same here, Daadi is waiting for Rudra, and to tell him what has happened before letting go of life. She was really one strong lady. And Surekha Sikri made her farewell scene one to remember. It was the sole, memorable take-away from among the horrors of last night.
As for Shivanand, it seems his fate is to be stabbed periodically with injections and end up trussed up in captivity. Now that he is out of circulation, the Garuda think tank has been paralysed and there is no one to get hold of the First Book, collate its contents with those of the Second Book, and learn where the amrit will emerge. Plus their total disarray, of which I have written above. which makes one wonder how on earth they are going to regroup. Even Rao is out of reach, on a nonsensical "research the poison" mission.
I do not know what Rudra is going to do now, but the general reaction of the 4 garudas present to Punnu's sudden appearance left a lot to be desired.
It will not be enough for Rudra to howl Baba!!! to the heavens (after doing a Salman for no discernable purpose! ). He has to regain the (then deceptive) Zen-like calm he displayed after Maya was poisoned, only this time he has to make it purposeful and focus on a much more threatening situation.
Charles has had the good sense to call the DM. But what can he do? He is a follower, of Rao and now of Shivanand. He is not a leader. Nor has he been shown to have any dramatic powers, though I suppose that being a garuda, he must be having some.
Rudra, not having had the good sense to talk to his father about his mission, and instead, been following his Daadi and Maya about like Mary's little lamb, is a blank. He can roar and beat people up, but that is not going to work against guns.
Charles too is as ignorant as Rudra about Mission Amrit, and bar his street smartness, he has, so far as one knows, no other talent that will stand him and the garudas in good stead now.
Thappadiya Mai will be of no use in the coming battles, for her utility will come in only when the amrit is almost at hand.
Katharine is perhaps the best informed of the lot, especially about the plans of Greyerson and Balivesh, the joint and the individual plans, to collar the amrit. It is not clear of they, and thus she, knows about the advent of the nagas.
But which side is she on at this point? Apart from her horror at the poisoning of Maya, there has been no indication that she has seen the light and is going to switch camps. When she does so, she will a huge plus for the garudas, but how far away is that point of time?
All this dismal analysis leads us to only one conclusion. Maimuyi has to appear, and at once, and use her astral powers to help Rudra counter Dansh and try and rescue Shivanand.
For without Shivanand, not all of Rudra's brawn, or Charles' cunning, or Katharine's karate stunts can help them get at the amrit and protect it from the nagas.
As for me, I hope that after having exhausted the possibilities of murder for enjoyment, the script does not now turn to the other fertile area of torture for enjoyment, of course of Shiva Uncle.
Greyerson at least never looked as if torturing Shivanand was a source of amusement or pleasure to him. It was all strictly business. But with the naga pramukh, pleasure comes hand in hand with business. I shudder at the prospect, and if something like that starts, I shall follow what Utkarsh said he was going to do, and switch off. Then I shall save some time and you too, for you will no longer have to wade thru my marathon post come Sunday!
Shyamala/Aunty/Di
