Posted:
Disclaimer: This post is based on my observations and impressions of characters as portrayed in the show and may or may not apply to real life ones.
I've been wanting to write about Bamni and Anusuya and their parenting issues for about a week now, but was waiting to see how things went on the show and have enough material for analysis.
The last three episodes especially, have been wonderful for a viewer like me, who had originally taken interest in the show because of the Bamni-Anusuya dynamics pre-Puru and Alexander. The story had unfolded beautifully showing how two warring kingdoms had their rivalry temporarily paused because of the courage and foresightedness Anusuya had shown. From Bamni's shortsighted and spiteful plan to marry and humiliate Anusuya to avenge Ambhiraj's insult to Shivdutt, to her steadfastness winning over Bamni, to the way this couple had, after several misunderstandings, put aside their differences and taken a stand for an akhanda Bharat.
Anusuya was the light in Bamni's life, a true consort who not only loved Bamni the husband but also Bamni the king, a shatrani who felt she was equally responsible for the wellbeing of their subjects. She had seen through Darius and had succeeded in persuading Bamni to make him leave the country. Bamni went along, largely due to the influence she had on him, and less because of his own conviction. The moment Anusuya was out of his life, he was easily influenced by Shivdutt and Darius.
After their reunion 21 years later, upon discovering that Bamni had again unknowingly become entangled in Darius and Shivdutt's dirty plans, she continued to warn him but he did not trust her judgement. Kadika had officially been the queen for 20+ years but she had or showed no authority and did not seem to have much influence over the way Kanishk was raised or how Bamni was being influenced. There were several instances where Anusuya was torn between her duty as a mother and queen and wife of Bamni. She had to do what was right by the two most important people in her life as well as her kingdom, and as she advised Puru, if you cannot find a way, then make one.
Again, we saw Bamni's short-sightedness when Puru was about to be hanged as a traitor. Yes, he needed to be a fair king but his heart was also screaming about Puru's innocence. Still, he gave up hope and let things proceed without doing anything radical or trying to find a way out that would help him remain fair but also save his son from punishment.
This is where Bamni has often lacked wisdom - his inability to think outside the box, to explore long-term options, and to assess situations from multiple angles. All traits that are essential for a good king to possess.
Anusuya had faith in her son's character, that he would never betray Paurav Rashtra, that he would never join Taxila and wage war against his own father, but Bamni did not have the same conviction. Sure, he does not know his son Puru - he missed his childhood and has no idea how Puru developed into the person that he is. This, however, does not excuse him from being unable to tell that Puru's core was not made to engage in such treachery, if not as his son then at least as another human being. Bamni the King has proved over and over to be a poor judge of character.
But what about the son that he raised from day 1? The one he had the fortune of holding in his arms as he came into the world, of watching grow over the years, of training to be a soldier and future king? How did he not know how Kanishk's character had been developing? Bamni claims that the day he first held Kanishk, the baby had become his entire world, so how could he not see where his son was headed?
As for Anusuya, yes she's a great woman with lofty ideals but I don't know why she keeps talking about her parvarish of Puru, when she didn't raise him. His foundation in life was set by the wise and valiant Ripudaman and she kind of received a ready-made almost-finished product. Obviously, because Hasti's mother (who he thought was his own until recently) was never warm with him, there was hole in his life that Anusuya filled with her maternal love eventually. However, any core values he has learned came from the way Ripudaman raised him. She fuelled his desire to see a Bharat free of outside rule, but deep down he already had this trait of being a protector/defender.
Had Ripudaman still been alive as Puru became a prince it would have made for great dynamics - Puru with two fathers with two different ideologies. I had been wanting to see Puru's loyalty and sense of self being tested in the mix, knowing that Puru's "nurture" father is and always will be Ripudaman and not Bamni. It was only when Bamni refused to let his son go to Persia, that Puru had felt a sense of the father-son bond. I only wish the CVs had not killed Ripudaman off. To me it feels like they took the easy way out and missed out on great tracks.
I would not go so far as to say Bamni is weak or spineless, that would be unfair. He has taken some good decisions, but he does not have the strength of character that Shivdutt does in terms of staying solid and taking strategic decisions. If only Shivdutt had used his super intelligence to do good for Paurav Rashtra, he would have been a great king, no doubt. For once, I sort of agreed with him when he said he regretted giving up the throne for Bamni, thinking his younger brother would be the better ruler.
While in prison, as Bamni cursed himself for the pain he had caused Anusuya and for being unable to provide her the happiness she deserved, Anusuya restored some of his confidence by showing him that she would always be by his side, and that she loved him for him, for the man that he was. Even if his status changed, her love would not.
Reposting some of what I wrote a few days ago on the Bamni-Anusuya-Their Helplessness thread
Anusuya drove home a couple of truths today:
- Despite what happened to her, she never blamed her husband for her misfortunes. She's his queen, and his life partner, sukh dukh ka saathi in every sense. I can't imagine Kadika being in this position.
- She loves him in spite of his faults. She loves him for his pure heart and sense of fairness - I have to agree with this. He might not be the smartest king but he tries to take the best decision based on the situation. Even when he had to order Puru to be hanged, he knew his son was not guilty but as a king he had to uphold justice.
Anusuya has always tried to bring in positivity and hope in Bamni's life in the darkest of situations, whether it was refuting the news of Puru dying or trying to find a way to hold hands across the prison walls even when they couldn't see each other, or counting on Puru when they heard their death sentence being announced. Bamni again took the "tragic" route, accepting defeat right away despite Anusuya trying to boost his morale. Kanishk's betrayal has broken him completely, and he is unable to see how things can go uphill from here.
We have seen Anusuya's suffering after being forced to flee from Shivdutt that many years ago, but there hasn't been much focus on the pain and loneliness that Bamni went through at the loss of his wife and son. Anusuya was the love of his life, and no one could take her place. It is this grief, in part, that dulled Bamni's senses further and for 21 years Shivdutt used it to serve his own interests and abuse his brother's trust. Bamni may have married Kadika as part of a king's duty, but Kanishk was not just his heir. In those years of darkness after Anusuya's "death", Kanishk was the little ray of hope that made his days bright again.
And this recurring theme of moments of joy amongst a lot of sadness was brought out superbly in Bamni's lament, his last words before being executed at his son's orders. Anusuya remained silent, but as with everything else that had happened, she was once again a true consort who stood by him, who silently observed his self-deprecating demeanor while her heart bled for his pain. The more Bamni spoke of his mistakes, the more her eyes beseechingly looked at Kanishk to understand his father and realize his.
This is what makes Anusuya who she is and at that moment we also saw who Bamni is: a good man at heart who has always struggled with finding the right balance in life in terms of the different roles he has had to play: king, brother, husband, father. A man who is not afraid to acknowledge his shortcomings in front of his wife, son, brother, and everyone else, who laid bare his soul without inhibition. I felt that through his lament, Bamni found an outlet for his torment.
I found his entire speech extremely touching, as did Kaniskh and the entire court. Not all is lost, then - he hasn't become a 100% monster yet. Earlier, he was reluctant to punish his father on Shivdutt's instructions and even when he ordered Bamni and Anusuya to be presented in court, he ensured that the decorum was maintained so they could have a "fair trial".
Can I just say, I was actually impressed by Kanishk's demeanor as the new king. He had the right amount of authority in his voice, his body language, and his words, wanting people to see how he'd begin his rule without disrespecting existing laws that provide the defendant a final chance to prove his or her innocence.
Kanishk articulated the accusations against Bamni and Anusuya in a detached manner that did not betray to the court the civil war between his heart and mind. Kanishk is fully influenced by Shivdutt, but as an "adult" and now a king, he is responsible for what happens in his kingdom, good and bad. I love how the CVs made this concept the running theme for Episode 135, both in the Paurav Rashtra track and in the Bactria one. (I will refrain from talking about Alexander in this post.)
There was an uncanny parallel here with the incident where Puru was sentenced to death and presented in court to provide his final defense in front of Bamni. As Puru had pled guilty then, so does Bamni now. In both cases the presiding king knew that the defendant was innocent - Bamni then, Kanishk now. Bamni was willing Puru with his eyes and all his heart to get himself out of that situation with a good defense, as was Kanishk hoping that somehow his father would say or do something that would give him an excuse to stop all this. Whether he was conscious of it or not, his eyes said it all. Yet neither of them as king could break the hold that an external influence had on them to stop what they knew deep down was wrong. Bamni's words in court melted his heart. It touched that part of him that had been wanting to have his father back again, all to himself, the way things had been before Puru arrived. We saw that little boy again, to whom Bamni was making this address.
Bamni finally acknowledged out loud that he was to blame and began to list where he was guilty: of trusting his brother and son, of failing in his duty as a king while trying to uphold his relationships, of marrying an outsider to avenge the humiliation of his brother, of making Kanishk the center of life when he first held him and wanting nothing more than a good future for him.
There was a beautiful moment where, even though he is standing with his love, Anusuya, he turned to acknowledge Kadika as his queen, wife and mother of that precious gift in his life, Kanishk. He reminded her of the oath he had taken to be the best father possible but that he was guilty of failing to do that, of failing to find a balance between being a good father and a king. He was deserving of the chains around him as he had been unable to break free of the emotions that blinded him from the truth around him.
He blames all this on his own inability to provide the right environment and upbringing for Kanishk, his failure to teach him the difference between right and wrong. In a nod to the recurring theme of this episode, Bamni, as a father and as a king takes full responsibility for all that has happened, good and bad.
And I quote:
Hamne tumhaari ungli pakad kar tumhe chalna to sikha diya
Kintu uchit maarg ki disha bataana bhool gaye
Jab tumhe chot lagi, to uske upchaar mein hum ne koi kasar nahin chodiKintu yeh samjhana bhool gaye ke kabhi bhi kisi ko bai unavashyak chot nahin pohonchaniTumhe talwaar chalaana sikha kar yoddha to bana diyaKintu yeh seekh na de sake ke kab, kiske liye aur kiske viruddh iss talwaar ko uthana hai
And finally, my favorite line:
Raaja ho, accha laga dekh kar ke kathod nirnaye lena seekh gaye ho
Bas aasha hai ke uchit nirnaye bhi lena seekh jao
The last line sums up what Bamni thinks his shortcomings are and where he went wrong. It sounds like parting advice to his son, wishing him no ill in spite of everything, showing only love and concern. đ
The moment Bamni began talking about the importance of Kanishk in his life he began to make a dent in the new king's fragile barrier of firmness. The resentment he had been feeling of late was overpowered by the love and affection he'd always had for his father, which had somehow become muddied by Shivdutt's influence. Shivdutt saw the threat so of course he is about to do something to swing the pendulum back to the unforgiving side of Kanishk that will not hesitate to make his mother a widow.
I could be totally wrong, but there was so much finality in Bamni's speech that I felt his end was near, as if things had come full circle for him. What I loved most was that while we are used to seeing mothers communicate their boundless love for their children, fathers are rarely given such moments of expression. It is only a shame that Bamni's turn came too late. Had he reassured his son of his undying love for him sooner, and instilled in him the confidence of being a true prince, crown or not, things might not have come to this state. Perhaps Kanishk would not have resorted to patricide to get and keep the throne. Aditya Redij did a fantastic job in Episode 135 - it was a heart-wrenching lament, with the episode ending beautifully on close-ups of a tearful father and son.
This post has become longer than I had intended so I haven't had a chance to proofread it - please excuse mistakes.
