Mahakumbh 69-72: Opening moves & Episode 74 Page 5 - Page 6

My dear Shreya,

I am very pleased that you enjoyed this one, including the bit about Greyerson, which showed up his vulnerability. Not many noticed that!

As is very often the case, I agree with most of what you have said here, especially about MB, where the best part is @blue.. She is mostly a guru, and a very strict and demanding one. See how she withholds her aashirwaad till Rudra has got all the 7 garuds together and of one mind! She can see the incipient civil war brewing, something Rudra seems blind and deaf to.

One needs a backgrounder about MB, for she is clearly not your garden variety of garud - more in the Lord Krishna category - and about why Drish is so afraid of her powers, but I bet we will get nothing till the end. They simply do not have the time, poor chaps, with just 44 episodes left as of now!

All the Garuds display superhuman qualities. Yes, my dear, but which qualities and powers? Till now, we do not know, and neither do 5 out of the 7 garuds. Not to speak of having these powers activated. As I asked Shruthi elsewhere, Kis mahurat ki prateeksha hai?

After last night, one got a hint of what the vilupt gyaan is. It is a crucial supplement to the knowledge contained in the Two Books (which Rudra seems to have rescued unscathed from the fire into which Drish had tossed them, though when he was lifting that shav vaahan, they were nowhere to be seen). The Books indicate where, when and how the amrit kalash will emerge. The vilupt Saraswati will presumably indicate how to get at the amrit kalash after passing thru those 7 doors.

I am beginning to be afraid that the final denouement of Mahakumbh is going to be neither neat nor comprehensive. They are already beginning to cut corners, as when Rudra suddenly blasted his way into the underground naga stronghold without any indication of how he managed it, seeing that the Garuda Position Locator had been stymied by Dansh's laser.

Too much time is being spent on these hallucinogen hijinks, that too a drug that can decide which specific hallucination the subject will have!! Dansh instead of Rudra once, Rudra instead of that poor murderee another time. It is beyond belief, even in a fantasy. The CIA and the KGB would pay a fortune for the secrets of naga alchemy!

I did not much like this last week's episodes, which did not have a single standout scene , and incidentally broke the pattern if there being something exceptional at the end of the Thursday night episode. Rudra has nothing significant to do bar punch the nagas and lift vehicles, and his looks seem set. Drish was better yesterday, but is generally tiresome. Leela has a very limited set of expressions, and Maya is still, happily, comatose. The only character, and performer, worth watching, is MB. I hope we get to see more of her this coming week.

As for the rest, I fear that we are going to end up with the good old holdall that folks used to travel with on trains in the old days. Everything left over stuffed in and the contraption strapped tight, despite all the odds and ends sticking out. Mark my words.

Shyamala Aunty

Originally posted by: sp108

Episode 72 was outstanding, and so is your take 😊

Loved your description of that very interesting talk between Guru and Shishya.

All the Garuds display superhuman qualities, but to me, MB is more like Divine than just superhuman. She is totally different from the remaining Garuds. She knows a lot, but reveals only that which is relevant and that too at the right time. I loved her sentence about how she is the Shakti who gives enlightenment. Reminded me of one of the names of the Adi Guru - Jeevasanjeevinaha - giver of life to the living.

So far she was equally a Guru and a Mother to Rudra. With a Guru the relationship is formal, but with a Mother who is a Guru, the relationship is more informal. A Mother can be soft, she can spoil a kid with her love, but a Guru cannot do that, so MB insists on Rudra seeing her real Roop, beyond Maimui. I am yet to come across such a layered, profound scene having such hidden meanings anywhere else on TV. Kudos to the writer.

Seemaji and Gautam were top class in that scene. Looks like for Seemaji, brilliance is the only way.

About Dhansh - after watching these vamps on the regular soaps, I am beginning to appreciate Dhansh a lot more 😆. Nice that the writer is bringing more layers to him, but keeping his blackness intact.

I enjoyed that scene between the Veshes and Greyerson. I liked this line of yours - "Greyerson's face registers not anger, but genuine distress at having been thus betrayed by the one he trusted the most." Love the way you pick up these nuances and remember to put them in your post as well. That's why it is such a treat to read your posts.

Aunty, I am a bit confused about the vilupt gyaan. Why would the Garuds need any books, if they are the ones destined to receive the vilupt gyaan from the Goddess Saraswati? I think I didn't understand that bit well.

Originally posted by: sashashyam

My dear Shreya,

I am very pleased that you enjoyed this one, including the bit about Greyerson, which showed up his vulnerability. Not many noticed that!

As is very often the case, I agree with most of what you have said here, especially about MB, where the best part is @blue.. She is mostly a guru, and a very strict and demanding one. See how she withholds her aashirwaad till Rudra has got all the 7 garuds together and of one mind! She can see the incipient civil war brewing, something Rudra seems blind and deaf to.

One needs a backgrounder about MB, for she is clearly not your garden variety of garud - more in the Lord Krishna category - and about why Drish is so afraid of her powers, but I bet we will get nothing till the end. They simply do not have the time, poor chaps, with just 44 episodes left as of now!

All the Garuds display superhuman qualities. Yes, my dear, but which qualities and powers? Till now, we do not know, and neither do 5 out of the 7 garuds. Not to speak of having these powers activated. As I asked Shruthi elsewhere, Kis mahurat ki prateeksha hai?

After last night, one got a hint of what the vilupt gyaan is. It is a crucial supplement to the knowledge contained in the Two Books (which Rudra seems to have rescued unscathed from the fire into which Drish had tossed them, though when he was lifting that shav vaahan, they were nowhere to be seen). The Books indicate where, when and how the amrit kalash will emerge. The vilupt Saraswati will presumably indicate how to get at the amrit kalash after passing thru those 7 doors.

I am beginning to be afraid that the final denouement of Mahakumbh is going to be neither neat nor comprehensive. They are already beginning to cut corners, as when Rudra suddenly blasted his way into the underground naga stronghold without any indication of how he managed it, seeing that the Garuda Position Locator had been stymied by Dansh's laser.

Too much time is being spent on these hallucinogen hijinks, that too a drug that can decide which specific hallucination the subject will have!! Dansh instead of Rudra once, Rudra instead of that poor murderee another time. It is beyond belief, even in a fantasy. The CIA and the KGB would pay a fortune for the secrets of naga alchemy!

I did not much like this last week's episodes, which did not have a single standout scene , and incidentally broke the pattern if there being something exceptional at the end of the Thursday night episode. Rudra has nothing significant to do bar punch the nagas and lift vehicles, and his looks seem set. Drish was better yesterday, but is generally tiresome. Leela has a very limited set of expressions, and Maya is still, happily, comatose. The only character, and performer, worth watching, is MB. I hope we get to see more of her this coming week.

As for the rest, I fear that we are going to end up with the good old holdall that folks used to travel with on trains in the old days. Everything left over stuffed in and the contraption strapped tight, despite all the odds and ends sticking out. Mark my words.

Shyamala Aunty

My dear,

I am really very sorry to be so late with this response. I cannot do all my responses at a stretch because of my badly arthritic knee becoming painful when I sit and type for too long, and in coming back the next day, I sometimes miss out on some posts.

I was pleased that you loved that MB-Rudra scene as much as I did; I seem to have taken 3 pages to analyse just that one sequence!

I am SO glad that your take on Rudra during that botched exchange operation is identical with mine. I was very disappointed with that one, And as for the part @blue, as you would have seen from my other responses here and elsewhere in this forum, Rudra's leadership skills leave much to be desired. No wonder MB withholds her aashirwaad, telling him that it is his responsibility to get all the 7 garuds together and on the same page.

And as for your Niyati-phobia, I share it. It is a cop out, that is what it is!

If you have the time, do see my responses to Shreya (sp108) above, and my mini-post on the Tuesday Episode 74 on page 5. They might interest you. I am beginning to worry about how this show is going to be wrapped up; there are only 44 episodes left and till now, at least 4 of the 7 garuds do not even know what their special powers are, not to speak of having them activated.😲

Shyamala Aunty

Originally posted by: .Veritaserum

Hi Aunty,

The Guru-Sishya scene in Episode 72 is one of the finest ever I've seen on Indian telly in all these years. Seema ji has an arresting screen presence, her sharp eyes literally glow and light up the vicinity. Such is her excellence in acting. Telly audience are very lucky to witness such talent in action almost on a daily basis. Gautam, is another wonder and I can go on and on and on about him too, but I am super pressed for time and hence let me cut short my rambling.

Rudra's morally absolutist deontological ethics are too one-dimensional. There's absolutely NO need to cut down the rescue operation to return to save an enemy even if she's fatally wounded. Rudra running in front of the mortuary vehicle, was, I guess a directorial glitch rather than a writing glitch. A person with an average IQ would possess the instinct to run after the mortuary vehicle to save the victim .

One thing that grates on my nerves is that Rudra seems to fall back at Bhairavi to make even the simplest of decisions viz., protecting Leela to procure the anti venom to save Maya. He doesn't seem to introspect on his decisions, but almost gives his word of finality to his fellow Garuds without bothering much about explaining his thought processes. This lack of communication will be detrimental in their mission to save the Amrit in the long run.

Your grouse about the foot and mouth disease of Shivanad, I think Shiva when he mentioned about Garuds being more powerful to take down the Nags when united, had meant it metaphorically to beat him in his own game; the verbal tug-o'-war; to hurt is false ego. I wonder why the Nags don't hire a Pali or Prakrit expert to analyze the books. Why must they depend on Shivanand to decode its contents? Now what I disliked in his speech to Danshhh was that, he again mentioned Niyati taking care of the fall of Nags. If that were the case, why must Nature or the Divine Power construct such an elaborate and tedious set-up where the Garud Pramukh is emotionally weakened by various sufferings. Why couldn't the all and knowing Bhairavi be the Garud Pramukh then? (of course, these traits make up for a good way to make the story interesting but the continuous usage of Niyati ad nauseum is plainly defeating the purpose of the deeper message the makers want to put across IMHO)

Coming to Danshh, the character is very, very, well written like I've mentioned elsewhere, but when I see Rahil enacting it, I just can not control my laughter. It's cringe inducing. I am sorry. I badly need a Simone Singh or an Alka Kaushal to portray a Nag Matriarch to balance the acting talent in both the sides.

My dear Kitsin,

I am really very sorry to be so late with this response. I cannot do all my responses at a stretch because of my badly arthritic knee becoming painful when I sit and type for too long, and in coming back the next day, I sometimes miss out on some posts. I am only glad that I spotted this onee now!

I agree with all that you have noted here, my dear, especially about the way MB handles Rudra, whose leadership qualities leave a lot to be desired. See hos strict and demanding a guru she is with him, withholding her aashirwaad till he has brought all the 7 garuds, together and of one mind, under the same roof, that of the Saraswati Kund!

As for what I feel about the recent episodes, especially Tuesday's No.74, and my fears for Mahakumbh, do take a look at my mini-post on that episode on page 5 above, and also my response of yesterday to Shreya (sp108) above. They would interest you.

Shyamala Di

Originally posted by: Kitsin

Thanks Shyamala di for the detailed synopsis of last week. Just loved it. You have presented all the points so beautifully.

Rudra - MB - Love their chemistry together. She guides him on the right path so well. A Guru who knows his pupil well his greatness as well as his weakness would guide him in the right manner wherever needed. Loved the last episode where he is impressed by her but she still guides him that he has to see the truth as is and not how he may want it to be. The way she goes about guiding him and the dialogues used for the same is awesome.

You are right in that Dansh's overconfidence and arrogance are the very traits that would lead to his downfall.But as the saying goes vinash kalay vipreet buddhi. The only hint of vulnerability as seen with Leela. The question is does Leela really not know about the whole Naga - Garud story or is there some more to it. Guess we will know soon.

The other Garuds need to come into themselves as you have rightly listed out, lets see if they would get to know about their powers this week or not. But one good thing is they all are with Rudra with or without his knowledge.

Shivanand as you said is learned but not practically proactive. If he had been then the story would have been something else. The precap shows him to be lucid enough to answer back Dansh. Whats the reason, has the poisoning stopped or has he found a way around it.

The Veshes and Greyerson seem superfuous now but I still feel Greyerson may have some hold on Katherine even knowing that she has sided with the Garud camp.

Originally posted by: sashashyam

My dear Kitsin,

I am really very sorry to be so late with this response. I cannot do all my responses at a stretch because of my badly arthritic knee becoming painful when I sit and type for too long, and in coming back the next day, I sometimes miss out on some posts. I am only glad that I spotted this onee now!

I agree with all that you have noted here, my dear, especially about the way MB handles Rudra, whose leadership qualities leave a lot to be desired. See hos strict and demanding a guru she is with him, withholding her aashirwaad till he has brought all the 7 garuds, together and of one mind, under the same roof, that of the Saraswati Kund!

As for what I feel about the recent episodes, especially Tuesday's No.74, and my fears for Mahakumbh, do take a look at my mini-post on that episode on page 5 above, and also my response of yesterday to Shreya (sp108) above. They would interest you.

Shyamala Di

Hello Shyamala Di, please do not apologize. Hope your knees are better soon. Please take care.


Agree with you in hoping that the show delivers what had seemed very promising in the start. The cutting corners as you said was very apparent in the Shivanand rescue mission by Rudra. It seems the case of too little too late. Some things need to be done at the right time and Shiva's rescue has gone astray too long. Wish we will get appropriate answers to the illogical loopholes.

Hope MB can bring back the Garuds on the right track. As its alright to be individualistic but when you need to fight the bigger fight then you have to do it as a team. And with Shiva in this state.That's a lot of responsibility on MB. Lets see how this coming week would shape up.

Still this show has been a lot different and more interesting than the other shows on Indian TV nowadays. Wish we get such shows with tighter scripts in the future too.