Haar Jeet - episode 18

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Arshics

@Arshics

Inactive

+ 6

Posted: 10 years ago

you know when the episode started I didn't quite like it

Sita directly intervening in the matters of the state

Janak changing his decision instantly, without thinking through

All happy happy - seems very simplistic and out of sorts

While the scenes in Ayodhya are well thought through

Rama is different from Dashratha, very much so

But we never see him intervening in the Sabha

Or challenging his father

Yet in Mithila little Sita is always seen to question and give her opinion in matters far beyond her

Again, it seems improbable that in that day and age such a thing would be possible

And anyway, Janaks decision to let the ex King live as an ordinary citizen in his own kingdom

Where his brother will trying to establish himself as a King is very ill thought out and naive

While as a question - who owns the earth, and so how can we lay claim to it, is fine

But the social and political order of a society exists as a management and control system

Which has given some rights and duties to the King to maintain law and order

And to give desh nikala to a losing raja, is a part of this order

Would he not, if he is living in the same kingdom

Muster his loyalists and

Conspire and plot against Kushadhwaj?

Not a well reasoned out scene at all!!!

Having ranted on the Mithila scenes,

Let me come back to the central message of the episode

Which was again beautiful

That true Jeet is to win with love, forgiveness and kindness

And not with force and might

The episode reminded me of the lines from the famous song from

The movie, Mukkadar ka Sinkandar

Woh Sikandar kya tha jisne

Julm se Jeeeta jahan

Pyaar se jeeta dilon ko

Woh jhuka de aasman

Joh sitaron par kahani

Pyaar ki likh jayega

So, we saw human virtues at play today

Through giving as a way to win hearts, as opposed to snatching as a way to win wars

So, janak allows raja sudhanva to live in his own land

And wins over his heart

shanta's forgiveness brings happiness and togetherness to Dashratha and Kaushalya

Rama's love wins over the dhobi, and melts away all his defiance

That was brought about by Mantharas arrogance

And Sita, brings peace to Rishi Gautamas son, but giving him hope of his mothers revival

We also saw surfacing of the beautiful Hindu philosophy of niyati

What happens to us, is meant to happen

We cannot always control the events

But it's how we look at these events

That brings sorrow or joy, that causes turmoil or peace

Man ke Harare Haar hai

Mann ke jeete Jeet

( you are a winner, if your heart feel like a winner

You have lost, if your heart feels defeated )

And today kekeyi's heart tells her she's lost her husbands love

And so, she radiated ill will

Sumitra looked at Kaushalya and Dashratha's bonding as a Jeet

Look at the calm and peace she radiated !

Scene of the day : of course for me it was Rama and the dhobi

Look at the way it was shot :

Manthara standing at a height, looking down upon the dhobi

Who is on the ground

Rama approaches dhobi at the equal level - on the ground - showing how grounded he is

So apart from the jarring note of Sita playing the chief advisor to raja Janak

It was another beautiful episode

Edited by Arshics - 10 years ago

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Jairamji

@Jairamji

Explorer

Posted: 10 years ago

Great analysis! Enjoyed reading it

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Justlikethat1

@Justlikethat1

Sparkler

+ 2

Posted: 10 years ago

Well written👏 You have covered my thoughts about Mithila so well...It lacked logic completely and I am baffled at how one can write such an illogical sequence..

Isn't letting Sudhanva live in itself a big forgiveness from Janak.. He afterall had come to battle without being provoked and was soundly defeated. But no. They have to write something oversmart to border on the stupid.. You said it all about Mutiny👏 and Janak, the wise king does not know this?🥱
Unnecessary sequences to establish an already established fact.. Sita was inquisitive, bold, fair, intelligent, etc., etc... this is established even if one follows the original.. SO the writers should stop trying to add on to perfection that is Ramayan😊

Ayodhya on the other hand is handled better, even if it shows Kaikeyi as insecure in her relationship with Dasharath. From my knowledge that is not true but I am not going to go there..

It was Sumitra for me all thro yesterday.. wow.. what a pure source she is.. So strong, so secure and so very empathetic to others... Ramayana has a lot of amazing characters and Sumitra is certainly one of them.

It was a comparison of how 2 wives reacted to Kousalya and Dasharath's change in dynamics today. Sumitra felt contented and happy while Kaikeyi's insecurities started to grow..

And the best for the last.. Ram's interaction with the Dhobi.. What a contrast between the king to be and Manthara, the daasi.. Ram won over the man with his humility while Manthara just added on to her own insults😆

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shruthiravi

@shruthiravi

Stunner

+ 2

Posted: 10 years ago

@Arshics I understand your uncomfortable feeling to observe Sita questioning in Sabha, to be frank even I felt so, but I have managed to take 2 perspectives from it. First one you can read in my post

http://www.india-forums.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=4527503

Second one I am putting it here. If you look both Ram and Sita are shown as questioning. But the difference between them is the fact that Ram is tactful, while Sita lacks the tact. To some extend this can be given to the upbringing both had. Ram was born into a kul where public decorum, behaviour of kings etc was held at utmost importance. In other words extreme use of rules and vachans defined Raghukul. Even if you hear the stories of Harishchandra, Dileep etc.. irrespective of human emotions, other's feelings rules were obeyed. harischandra sold his wife Chandramati and son Rohit to keep his word. So that is the extend rules are followed in Raghukul. Even if you see Shanta's case, Dasrath overrode his feeling as a father and allowed the king to rule. Raghukul looks perfect from outside. But within the 4 walls of that royalty human emotions and relations have always paid a huge price. Within this decorum Ram slowly learns the act of questioning, and it is the situation at his family that is bringing the tact in him.

Now if you look at Mithila it is more of a equitable society. We see a farmer even during drought willing to share his food with others, whereas in Ayodhya we see class difference. Dasrath does Putrkamesthi to get sons, while Janak is strictly against doing anything that is against nature's law. For 12 years of drought the man refused to do a yajna, but was willing to go to the farmland and till like a commoner. He took the child nature gave him and the nature blessed him with a biological daughter. So Sita is growing up in such an environment where everyone is considered equal. Little Sita runs to her father. It's Janak who prompts the question did you feel my decision unjust. Then the girl asks the question. See Janak could have told her, beta I will discuss after sabha on any questions you have, please go and sit with your mother now. Sita would have obeyed as it is clearly shown that the girl is not disobeying type. Even while she questions Gautham Rishi seeing her parents face the girl apologizes. So from such a free environment when Sita goes to a rule bound Ayodhya obviously with her questions she is gonna cross someone's path unintentionally. Because she feels if she is right she can question. Her upbringing has not teached her the tact. And what she faces with her unintentional mistakes of questioning is finally shaping up the woman Sita from the girl Sita. And that might include her remark at Lakshman hearing Ram's cry for help. Sita is growing up as indulged girl, but of course with right values. But there will be a headstrongness in her as her questions are making people retrospect. That attribute will be fine in an 8 year as many would treat it as child's immaturity. But in a 20 year old married girl that tactlessness can extract heavy price.

Now coming to Sudhama's punishment. You asked whether being in that city wont he raise mutiny. So will his banishment ensure he wont raise mutiny. Think again Arshi. After knowing Ramayan basic story we need to think twice before making that comment. Bali banishes Sugreeva from Kishkinda. What happens. Sugreeva gets an ally in Ram and he reclaims the throne that too when Bali least expects it. Ravan banishes Vibishan. He takes refuge with Ram. What happens. Vibishan plays the critical role in the killing of Indrajit and Ravan. Drupad insults Drona. Drona takes half of his kingdom using kuru princes. Drupad doesnt rest. He creates a son to kill Drona and ensures Drona's favorite pupil become his son in law. Arjun stand against Drona in the great war, corner stone of which is laid by Drupad's daughter. Pandavas let go of Jayadrath after insulting him. His plays the major role in the murder of Abhi after getting the boon from Mahadev. Sita actually jolted Janak's ego with her question. When we vanquish our enemies and move them out of sight, we believe they will not come back. But that is not true. Person who gives insult, person who won forgets but the person who got the insults and the one who lost never forgets. It is always better to keep him in front of your eyes. If Kushadwaj is intelligent he will use the power and resources at his disposal to monitor Sudhama and his activites on a continuos basis to ensure he does not do any mutiny. That is the worst punishment for Sudhama. To be in front of the eyes of his enemy as a common man and unable to do anything. Banishment would have helped him stage a mutiny.

And Ram I guess we both are sync. He gave the nice message today. Remember the help recieved. I will add one more thing. Remember the insults you gave, the defeats you gave. Because enemies never become friends, human greed never changes. My husband says we should always pray our enemies and person who envy us should do better than us, so that we can live in peace.

Edited by shruthiravi - 10 years ago

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Aditi Mehta

@enchanted23

Dazzler

Posted: 10 years ago

Arshi, you have analysed episode beautifully- I agree with your assessment about Sita's intervention in state matter were completely out of place at that point of time i.e. in the Sabha, however we have seen that Raja Janak has always encouraged her to question, reason, probe and search for justification to every action so in my opinion the question was valid- the time and place were not!

So coming to Sita's question about ownership of land could have been explained with some practical and simple reasoning-whilst it's true that every living creature had equal and unquestionable right to the prakriti - human by nature are self-seeking, covetous and acquisitive - If balance is not struck by way of rules and control there won't be any "seeker" only "giver" and to obtain equilibrium it is necessary for both to co-exist

I wouldn't have expected Raja Janak to change his mind on spur of the moment that was definitely low point of yesterday's episode - Mithila known for its intellect, knowledge-seeking, and peace-loving virtues can never stand ignorant to human folly of vengeance, retaliation, greed, ego and so to expect the fallen king to remain a silent by-stander in his own kingdom was nothing but self-defeating and foolhardy exercise that was unexpected from a wise, learned and experienced ruler!

Manthara, Rama and Dhobi scene did bring out the message about love conquering and winning hearts and minds of those who felt undone by arrogance and division of classes but it also highlighted something that we need to be vary off - again bringing your point about the height-from where Manthara stood -she had clear view of matter before her it's her arrogance and the class divide firmly rooted in her nature that was at fault from where Rama stood he was on par with Dhobi - a very valid point made about the remembrance of "upkaar" by the seeker - his giving equal importance to all by standing at the same level philosophy loses advantage of looking at the situation objectively from a height - In time we will know where these symbolisms are leading us but for now I am just enjoying this very different and thought provoking execution of our great epic!!

-Aditi

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Darkchocolates

@darkchocolates

Sparkler

+ 3

Posted: 10 years ago

Loved your analysis of the episode.

I quite agree with you.

Have similar thoughts about the scenes of Mithila.

I felt Ayodhya scenes were much handled better than the Mithila scenes.

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appukrish

@appukrish

Dazzler

Posted: 10 years ago

As always a great post from you Arshi.

I agree with you and the other posts about Sita's interference in the Kingdom and King's political affairs. I haven't been happy about this from the time Sita came into the Sabha and enquired about Army etc.., her questioning Gautam Muni about his curse and now this. Questioning is fine but the time and place matters.

And setting Sudhanwa free was a poor decision made by a King. Whether he is in the Kingdom or banished he could gather an army and fight back with vengeance.

All the Ayodhya scenes were good. Sumitra is such a good hearted person. For now Kaushalya's rona dhona is over. So we are seeing the build up Kaikeyi's jealousy and possessiveness.

I read that Manish Wadhwa will be playing the role of Vishwamitra. Looking forward to see him here after Mahakumbh.

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Mano.M

@Mano.M

Achiever

+ 3

Posted: 10 years ago

I felt the same watching the ep

I mean Sita questioning and Janak changing his decision

Though it was great to see Janak accepting criticism

with the whole Saba being the audience

But I did feel something was off

I should say Shruti's take on that here changed my 80% of opinion on that

But 20 % remains

When Janak has the right to punish someone

then off-course it's bcos he is the ruler

That mean that the Kingdom is his(though it's not permanent)

With power comes responsibility which he adhere's

So I don't think that mere mention of"my" makes Janak not following his words

Edited by -Mano- - 10 years ago

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shruthiravi

@shruthiravi

Stunner

+ 2

Posted: 10 years ago

@Mano the problem is Janak the dialogue didn't mention why he changed the decision. It should have included something more to get better clarity. Because you cant expect audience to deep dive. Like in Ram's case it was very clear why he went near dhobi without thinking class equations. Because we are talking about a time where class/caste equation mattered.

Also I would always say Janak as a responsible parent should take Sita to task. As I said 8 year old get away with such questioning, but not a maiden. Even now in our society whether it is girls or boys we have the right to question. But we should be knowing tact. Especially uncomfortable questions we should never ask in public.

I would have preferred that question in private and Janak pondering over it. Then changing his decision giving justification. That would have made it more clean.

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Mano.M

@Mano.M

Achiever

+ 3

Posted: 10 years ago

#10

Originally posted by: shruthiravi
@Mano the problem is Janak the dialogue didn't mention why he changed the decision. It should have included something more to get better clarity. Because you cant expect audience to deep dive. Like in Ram's case it was very clear why he went near dhobi without thinking class equations. Because we are talking about a time where class/caste equation mattered.

Also I would always say Janak as a responsible parent should take Sita to task. As I said 8 year old get away with such questioning, but not a maiden. Even now in our society whether it is girls or boys we have the right to question. But we should be knowing tact. Especially uncomfortable questions we should never ask in public.

I would have preferred that question in private and Janak pondering over it. Then changing his decision giving justification. That would have made it more clean.

Yes this make sense

As a child when u question everyone pats u and admires u

Same thing becomes arrogance or disrespect when grown ups do

Ur right