Friends, yesterday's episode saw the Big Baby Lie of Bakshi Bano (BBLBB) burst out into the open in two different ways. First, Jodha, trying to change the wet bedclothes of the baby discovers it's a girl child and not a boy. She is gobsmacked and accosts Bakshi about this lie. Bakshi seems terribly frightened of Sharif and explains that she had to lie for fear of his killing her or the child, for he was fixated on wanting a boy child! She gets Jodha to swear to keep the secret from Jalal and Hamida. But later when a distressed Jodha is praying to Kanha for help with this whole issue, Salima overhears her prayers, and decides that Jalal has to be told. Jalal not being found anywhere, they then go to Hamida's room, where Hamida, Ruq and Gulbadan are there, and thus the whole gaggle of ladies gets to know the sordid truth. This was on one side.
Meanwhile the very Sharif that Bakshi was so scared of then discovers the huge lie himself by the most horrible means possible. He carries the baby off proudly to the maulvis for the "circumcision ritual" that all Muslim boys undergo in childhood, and when the maulvis are ready to perform the surgical procedure, lo and behold, they see it is a baby girl. They round up in disgust at Sharif and accuse him of making a mockery of them! Sharif, boiling mad, is then seen carrying the roughly bundled up baby back to Bakshi in the precap, looking thunderous! What the fate of the baby girl is we can only guess at!
Beyond this whole lie breaking out into the open in such explosive ways there was not much else to the episode. The only two important points to note were that Jodha got Jalal to postpone the jashn date, giving the excuse that the baby was yet too small, and Jalal agreed. Jodha must have said "Phew!" to herself for managing to get Jalal off the baby subject for a while.
The other ugly incident that surreptitiously happened was when Sharif was pretending to cuddle the child and hand it over to Jodha ... he seemed to revel in the unseemly act of bushing his hands over Jodha's showing that he had lost none of his lecherousness despite now having a child in his life. In fact, at night, he was seen leching some more at Jodha's painting and looking forward to the day when he would grab the takht from Jalal and make Jodha his Queen.
Leaving the baby topic aside, there was one other interesting development to take note of. Mansingh brought word to Jalal that some Rajvanshis had gathered their forces under Maharana Pratap and were in the surrounds of Agra, lusting for war. Jalal heard this news with some consternation but also with some complacency. He said "So far as I know Maharana Pratap, I know he itches for war with me, but he is a straight soldier with honour and he doesn't believe in stabbing from the back. But anyway, if they all want war they will get war."
But on the question of Mansingh going for this war, Jalal said a point-blank "No". He said "I don't want to pit one Rajvanshi against another". Mansingh acted very affronted as if his wafaadaari was in question - and started wheedling Jalal to let him go to war, saying he would forget who he was fighting against and wage a fair war with his loyalties in the right place. Eventually, Jalal relented but said "In that case, I will also go to this war with you ... and Sharif needn't come along. He can look after the Palace and his wife and new child." Sharif looked generally pleased with this outcome.
Meanwhile, for those who want it, here's all that happened in yesterday's episode:
After Jodha discovers that Bakshi's baby is a girl she accosts Bakshi on why she lied. Bakshi says she fears Sharif may kill her and the baby as he wants only a son. Jodha too overhears Sharif telling his men proudly about his son. Bakshi takes kasam on the baby from Jodha not to tell anyone about the truth.
Meanwhile Sharif comes in and picks up the baby to talk to it and then tells Jodha to hold it. While giving the baby to her, he tries to touch Jodha's hands unnecessarily. He says he has decided on the baby's name as Sarfaraz. Jodha feels uncomfortable around him, and gives the baby back to Bakshi and goes out of the room. At night, Sharif tells himself he will own the takht one day and get Jodha as queen.
The next morning Jodha is in uljhan to hide this truth from Jalal and Hamida. Jalal comes to her hojra to meet her and is thrilled to be talking about the jashn for Bakshi's baby.Jodha diplomatically says the baby is too small and the jashn should ideally be a bit postponed. Jalal agrees and then seeing Jodha's drawn face, he says "if you are perhaps still unhappy from my decision yesterday to attend your delivery, I will stay away ... but let me see you smile." Jodha smiles for him, although guilt about Bakshi's baby plays across her face.
At the DEK that morning, Jalal proudly says to all "The next generation if Mughals has now been born." In happiness he gives an extra subehdari to Sharif. Meanwhile, Mansingh comes in with a message of importance. He says some Rajvanshis under Maharana Pratap have come near Agra to wage war. Jalal says he knows Pratap well enough and is sure he will never backstab Jalal, although he desperately wants war. But if the Rajvanshis want war they will get war.
Mansingh wants to fight the war but Jalal refuses to pit one Rajvanshi against another in this war. But Mansingh insists on his wafaadari and is adamant. Jalal says "Ok, I will also come with you for this war. Sharif can stay back to take care of the Palace, his wife and child." Sharif looks pleased.
Jodha meanwhile prays to Kanha with a burden in her heart. "What am I to do, Kanha?" she prays, "Bakshi has lied to every one about her baby' s gender and she has even sworn me not to tell Jalal and Hamida. Help me God, for I am stuck!" perchance Salima comes to Jodha's room just then and hears this prayer of Jodha's and she is shocked to know about Bakshi's lies regarding the baby. She tells Jodha "We cannot keep this from Jalal and Ammijaan. The praja will make a laughing stock of Jalal if this news gets out. Bakshi has sworn you to secrecy bbut not me, so we both will have to tell Jalal about this pronto." Salima and Jodha thus head for Jalal ... but they find out he has gone out on work and is unavailable, so they go to Hamida instead.
Hamida, Ruq and Gulbadan are all assembled in Hamida's room, when Salima tells them all about Bakshi's dangerous lie. Hamida then makes jodha tell all. They call the hakima for further confirmation - and Ruq slaps the hakima for abetting Bakshi in this huge lie. But Hamida says "It's not the hakima's fault but it sure is Bakshi's fault, done from fear that Sharif may kill the child in anger." They all plan to go and see Bakshi and talk sense into her.
Bakshi is cuddling her child fondly when, meanwhile, Sharif comes to hher and says the baby boy is now due for the "circumcision rasam" and he takes the baby away for that. Bakshi is now genuinely terrified that the truth will come out. She starts praying to God bitterly for help when Hamida and the rest of the ladies come to her room and scold her - and then see her distress.
Meanwhile Sharif takes the baby to the maulvis for the rasam, and after prayers, the surgical man is ready to do the circumcision for the baby - but discovers it's a girl child. The maulvis are aghast and berate Sharif for making a mockery of the rasam. Sharif is by now boiling mad with Bakshi and her lie. The episode ends there.
In the precap, as all the ladies are standing by Bakshi's bed, aghast that Sharif has taken the child for circumcision and will find out the truth, Sharif himself enters the room with the child all bundled up, and he has a frightful expression. We don't know what he may have done to the child!
My comments on the episode:
I think I would see this episode in the light of things we know may happen very soon in the future. I anticipate that Sharif is fast going to fall foul of the Mughal royals and flee away from his wife and her family and become one of Jalal's worst and most active enemies. Given this historical background, I guess we now have to see how the current set of events may soon lead to this fallout with Sharif ...
There are at present two ways this can happen. Sharif may so ill-treat Bakshi and murder the baby and be caught that he has to flee. Or alternatively, he may despatched to war by Jalal, where he may discredit himself by doing more of his "peet ke peeche se war" against the Rajvanshis, and thus be thrown out by Jalal from his band of courtiers.
What this sudden war is about and why it is so timed as to land on Jalal's doorstep just now is a key question and I feel strongly that it will have something to do with Sharif since he is dead against the Rajvanshis. How it all connects up with the baby issue exploding and then carries Sharif into a situation where his less-than-honourable warfare methods are displayed has to be seen.
Meanwhile I am glad of one thing: thank God Jodha is not carrying this secret of the baby with herself alone, and it's become publicly known to Salima and all the other women. That now excludes the possibility of it becoming a misunderstanding between Jodha and Jalal. That is one dread less for me now! Phew!
One more thing before I wind up: this Ruq habit of slapping people at the slightest provocation is getting out of control. This time the recipient of the slap was the elderly hakima! Forget all the provocation, does Ruq not have the decency to spare an elderly lady of such disgusting treatment?
What is the difference between Sharif and Ruq if they both have the same brain-defunct responses to anything they don't like to hear? He goes on a slapping spree as does she! That arrogance of power looks worse on him because he is a man, but if you really compare both Ruq and Sharif, there are so many similarities. There is this extreme jealousy, this power-mongering, this streak of impatience, this knee-jerk physical abuse of others and this two-faced personality that swings from one extreme to another at the drop of a hat! Yesterday it came home to me that Ruq and Sharif are two of a kind!
