Maryada: Vidya-Gaurav FF - Updates. p. 145 (6/29) - Page 23

Absolutely love the story so far.

I am all the way Team Vidya but in this instance loved the reference. So if the Salome in the story is That Salome. Who will be the Baptist? Seems like it is Gaurav so far but something makes me think I could be wrong.

My favorite update thus far. Loved it Devi. Is having a crush on a fictional character merely based on their choice of reading normal...😳?

ahh! loved it! you named all the books on my shelf!

Chapter 24: Salome – Part 2

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhZBVmoE7Q8] – This is a Malayalam song, but there is something haunting about this tune that goes with this chapter.

"Salome" she repeated, the name somehow absorbing her even more into the painting, and she walked up closer to it.

"It's an old painting of an ancient story from the Christian Bible." Her husband started and she listened intently as she took in the woman in the painting.

"Salome was the daughter of Herodias who was the granddaughter of Herod the Great, King of Judea. Herodias fell in love with her husband's half-brother, Herod Antipas, ruler of Galilee. Herod Antipas later divorced his wife and married Herodias. John the Baptist, a prophet of sorts at the time, and one of Herod Antipas' subjects, openly criticized this marriage, which angered Herodias. Antipas imprisoned John, refusing to take a harsher step, but Herodias wanted blood. Her opportunity for vengeance came when her daughter Salome was asked to dance for Antipas at a banquet. Salome danced so beautifully that Antipas promised to give her anything that she wished for. When Herodias heard of this, she advised her daughter to ask for the head of John the Baptist. And he was executed."

She heard his voice almost turn melodious half-way through as a strange haunting tune materialized as she stood transfixed by the woman in the painting. She thought that she could see this woman preparing herself excitedly, eagerly… not knowing yet that her gift of dance would forever be tainted with the blood of a man.

"There have been many many illustrations of Salome with John the Baptist's head over the last 2000 years. Many of them show her with a slight smile, some of them with a blank expression, yet others with submission, and still others with the lure of a wicked harlot. Yet, this one by Luini* is one of the very few that shows this reluctance in her. That maybe she was just a very beautiful pawn in her mother's cunning display of vengeance… who didn't realize her part in the tragedy until it was too late…"

She reached out a hand to touch the edge of the painting and finally said, "Yet her life has been immortalized in this one moment…"

"What is this? An art history lesson? I have told you, Gaurav, how much I hate that abominable hideousness that someone mistakenly thought was art!" She pulled her hand back and looked towards the doorway at this sudden intrusion and found that Gaurav was right by her side. His father was now standing in the doorway looking up at the painting in anger.

"It is not in your rooms." She heard her husband say and looked over at him surprised at the controlled anger that she heard in his voice.

"It's an eyesore! And it is too graphic. It is bound to scare the women in this house." Brahmanand replied, still agitated.

"There are worse things in this house that the women fear." Gaurav replied coldly and she tried to consciously even out her breathing so that she would not make a sound or give an inkling of how disturbed she was by this open show of animosity between father and son.

She saw Brahmanand's eyes brighten and his nostrils flare with rage at this insinuation. After several minutes of waging their silent war, her father-in-law suddenly walked off and away from them.

Sometime later, she saw Gaurav's shoulders ease slightly. He turned to her then and said with a smile that didn't reach his eyes,

"For all that he is SSP Brahmanand Jhaakar, my father is afraid of Salome."

*The Luini painting copy that is hanging in Gaurav's parlor (viewer-beware: this may be too disturbing for some):

https://www.oceansbridge.com/paintings/artists/recently-added/march-2006/museum-fine-arts-boston/europe/big/Bernardino-Luini-xx-Salome-with-the-Head-of-Saint-John-the-Baptist.jpg

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i love what Vidya had to say about it

when i was first introduce to Animal Farm my first tot was like Vidya, confusion, animals in a farm what's so interesting about it. But i must say it gave me a pleasant surprise.

loved the second update even more.

Loved the second update! I can't believe I didn't remember Salome from my thirteen years of Christian school teaching. I've never thought of Salome being an unwilling participant, I always saw her as a partner in crime with her mother. Thanks for the update and the PM! You're an amazing writer! :)

Ahhhh Devi...awesome update...stimulated my brain cells that were dying a slow death from watching mindless soaps! Enjoyed reading it! 🤗

So the SSP is the Baptist, in a matter of speaking, really looking forward to see how his head is served. Can't wait to be introduced to Salome's mother.