First things first. It was a peach of an episode. All the masala anyone could have wanted was there, blended as expertly as in a Khana Khazana show. There were all the navarasas of classical Indian theatre, and more: fear, trepidation, gnawing worry, arrogance, mischief, malice, shock, disillusionment, grief, courage, resignation, innocence, and even a tadka of comedy with the rotund halwai from Amer who is such an excellent advertisement for his wares. Plus gorgeous sets and costumes. When Jalal and his entourage are coming in for the muhdikhayi, the overhead shots show richly covered walls gleaming in dull gold, setting off the lavish dresses of the principals. Especially Jodha's dream outfit, which is opulent and yet tasteful, a none too common combination.
It was also throughout like a game of chess, whence my title. At one time, as after the kangan bandhan, it was advantage Amer, but then, with his insistence on the muhdikahyi (Rose, we were all wrong, for it is a muhdikhayi after all) , it becomes advantage Jalal. Again, with the face-in-the-water gimmick, Amer gets ahead, but the wind plays spoilsport, and as Jodha's veil is blown off her head, Jalal smiles in unmistakeable satisfaction: this move was his.
But the real opening gambit comes not at the beginning or in the middle, but at the very end, as a demurely veiled Jodha, looking all the lovelier for that, sets out her two sharts. The second one brings Jalal to his feet in a sudden reaction - but of what? Is it anger, or is he merely taken aback? His face is indecipherable as he turns it over in his mind, and the assemblages on both sides of the dividing curtain (why make it like some sort of town assembly from both sides? It was done better in the film, where the two met alone in a tent) hold their collective breath.
We, of course, let ours out in the normal course, for we know that Jalal is going to agree. But the question is whether he will agree right there, or later. My bet is that he will do it right there, and Mahaam Anga will be making a worse face than ever before at this unheard of indulgence towards a kafir so obstinate as not to see the light. Would that the wind would change right at that moment, and as the fairy tales have it, she is stuck with that grimace as her personal wallpaper in perpetuity😉!
The developments today were all predictable in the broad sense, but it was the detailing that made them fascinating. The highlights, again in no particular order:
The most charming vignette: The delightful encounter between Jalal and Mansingh. Jalal is greatly taken with the boy's innocence and his principled courage ' in his determination to defend Jodha, his Buasa, and Amer, he reminds Jalal of, whom else? Jodha, of course. I loved the way in which Mansingh, who does not hide his disapproval of the marriage, nonetheless shows due respect towards both the Shahenshah and the soon to be javaisa of Amer, by backing out of his presence, as Jalal gravely does an aadaab. WhenSharifuddin turns up immediately thereafter, full of questions which Jalal, characteristically does not bother to answer, there is a strange faraway look in Jalal's eyes.
Is he perhaps ruminating about the uncomplicated courage and the simple but rigid code of honour that are the keys to the Rajput psyche? Fitting them into the idea that he had tossed to his ministers the other day after Bharmal had left - that the bravery and martial skills of the Rajputs should be co-pted to serve Mughal interests? Or is it plain and simple admiration, tinged with indulgence, towards one so very young and yet so fearless? Whatever it was, it is no wonder that in later years, Mansingh became Akbar's right hand man, the one who was constantly at the receiving end of Akbar's stentorian roars, Mansingh! Hukum ki taameel ho!
The Muhdikhayi: While Jalal's demand for this is a pure power play, part of his plan to teach Jodha a lesson, Amer turns up trumps on this one. The face in the water idea was brilliant diplomacy, for it preserved the sanctity of the kangan bandhan ritual, and yet met Jalal's demand as well. I would bet that it was the Dadisa, who had earlier thought of the kangan bandhan ploy, who was the one who came up with this as well, for it needed plenty of IQ, a commodity not plentiful among the Amer royal lot😉.
Jalal's face, as he waits for Jodha to approach the water, is full of what the Germans would call Schadenfreude, the mischievous, indeed malicious delight in the discomfiture of another. He watches her like a cat at a mouse hole, and when she takes the reflection of his face, so much like the one she saw in the water during the Gangaur festival, to be a projection of her own fears and draws back, his wide smile shows puckish satisfaction. To make sure that she grasps the truth, he remarks audibly, Subhanallah! Badi fursaat se khuda ne banaya hai tumhe!
As her panic mounts , her veil is blown off by a gust of wind, and she stares at him in agonized disbelief, the watchful, smiling stillness in his face is infuriating. When she turns eventually and bolts from the hall, he smiles again in pure triumph. He is not angry, nor does he feel humiliated, for this was exactly what he had wanted, and Jodha's reaction has exceeded his expectations.
Incidentally, Jalal seems to have a sound intelligence network; the Mughal spy who reports back to him about Dadisa's kangan bandhan ploy is as like a Rajput as could be.
The Tilak ceremony: This was fascinating, and also a landmark scene for two reasons. The more important one: Jalal's acceptance of and his readiness to participate in a typical Rajput/Hindu ceremony, and this without the slightest hesitation, marks the beginning of a far-reaching process of cultural assimilation with the Rajputs, and then with the Hindus as a whole . It was this which, in parallel with political accommodation, was the bedrock of Akbar's inclusive Mughal empire. No wonder the fanatic Mahaam Anga winces in dismay, though by now, she knows better than to open her mouth!
The second and more personal reason has to do with Myanavati, still haunted by the memory of Shakuni Bai's shrill pronouncements. As Jalal leans forward and offers his forehead for the tilak, for the first time ever, there is a slight smile on her face. As she finishes the aarti, she looks up at him, and her eyes meet his, ever so fleetingly. It seems that the look of grave regard on his face reassures her, for she seems calmer as she turns away.
Also striking was the fleeting expression on Jalal's face when Bharmal, welcoming him, addresses him as Shahenshah (no more Agra ka Sultan!)
Jalal ka sar: Just when I thought that this stock phrase had become redundant, it proved to be a hardy perennial by reappearing in full strength. Jalal refers to it with a solid dose of Schadenfreude, and when he was talking of Jodha's jhuka hua sar, I was in splits, thinking Some hope you have, young man!
Jodha, however, was back in full form, sounding exactly as she had done 5 weeks ago, making me want to shake some sense into her. No wonder poor Bhagwan Das was on pins to get away!
This piece of tenacious folly apart, Paridhi was very convincing when projecting the blind panic that seizes Jodha at the very thought of Jalal . The eyes, the mouth, the whole face. all work in an agony of apprehension as she implores her brother to do something, anything, to prevent Jalal from sabotaging her marriage to the man who she believes will lay him low (and of course bring her that sar). Lovely stuff.
Kanya paksh: It was very interesting, the kneejerk fears that take over Bharmal & Co at the very idea that Jalal might be upset at Jodha's abrupt departure from the muhdikhayi, and see it as an insult to him. And it is not just the timorous Bharmal. Bhagwan Das too, despite his initial, strong opposition to the marriage, is now on pins to avert any such calamity and to somehow placate the son-in-law to be.
Of course here, over above the traditional subservience of the kanya paksh (nowadays steadily becoming history, thank God!) there is also the fear of what an enraged Jalal might do to Amer. It was also striking how quickly the three newly liberated princes accept the idea of Jodha marrying Jalal, after just a token protest.
Mahaam Anga & Sharifuddin: She was trying desperately to get some sort of disapproving hold on the proceedings, and failing every time, especially with her complaint to Jalal about Jodha's bolting from he muhdikhayi. Left to herself, she would have vetoed the tilak and the aarti, not to speak of Jodha's radical demands in the precap. But no one is going to ask her for her opinion, and when Jalal agrees to the Krishna mandir in Jodha's palace in Agra, they had better place a chair behind Mahaam Anga, for her to collapse into from sheer shock😉.
She must be rueing the day she pushed Jalal to make his own decisions independently of his Khan baba, for now he has started making them with a vengeance, and very undesirable ones from her point of view! No wonder she vents her frustrations by talking down to the hapless Bharmal when she brings Jalal's gifts for Jodha.
Sharifuddin, being no Adham Khan, but rather a true blue apparatchik ( Russian for a bureaucrat) seems to have adjusted swiftly to the changed circumstances. He is seen busily ingratiating himself once again with the Shahenshah, by lauding his dedication to sword practice, among other things. It is revealing that he never dares to call his brother-in-law Jalal, as his foster brother Adham Khan does, but sticks to the respectful, even obsequious Shahenshah.
Jodha resurgent: By episode end, the desperate, tearful, shattered Jodha has picked herself up, aided no doubt by the blunt clarity of her mother's warning about the likely fate of Amer if she were now to jib at the marriage. Her face is a mask as she wipes her tears and looks up at her mother, who has just finished reminding her of the responsibilities and duties that fall to a royal's lot. The eyes are clear, full of a new determination to face whatever comes and master it, despite the cost to herself.
She will go out now and deal with the arrogant Mahaam Anga , and accept the dazzling array of lavish gifts that Jalal has sent her (the list is fascinating,whether it is the Dacca muslin, the Masulipatnam chunaris, or the Pashmina shawl - shades of Ruqaiya at the Meena Bazaar!- or all that jewellery) .
What remains to be seen is what she does with the shaadi ka joda that Jalal insists she should receive personally, as proof of her complete acceptance of this marriage. There seems to be no fire handy for her to drop it into, as apparently shown on SBB. Moreover, her mother's warning about Amer's safety would apply doubly to the shaadi ka joda. How then can she burn it, a most irrevocably insulting thing to do? Let us see.
I for one very much hope that Jodha avoids this kind of childish folly, and concetrates instead on ensuring that her personality remains intact even after marriage to the Mughal emperor. That would be in keeping with what she should be, brave and steadfast even in the worst adversity, and above all, as dignified as a princess has to be, no matter what.
The opening montage raises one's hopes in this regard. Though Jodha is shown standing,with what might seem at first sight to be wifely subservience to her lord and master, seated and radiating imperial arrogance, a close look at her face shows a cool remoteness and self-possession. Atta girl!
Shyamala B.Cowsik
Ye Hai Mohabbatein
Anupamaa
Dr Aarambhi
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