My dear Sangeeta,
You are welcome, and after reading this post, I am glad I did that.
A very perceptive and convincing analysis. I need to spare my wrist, so I will simply mark,in blue, the parts that specially appealed to me. As you can see, they are numerous.
Jodha is all that you say she is, but she is also
kaan ki kachchi when it comes to Jalal, Even that Motibai once points out that Jalal might not even have known about all the misdeeds Jodha lays at his door, and for the daughter of a ruler, Jodha seems to have not even an inkling of this possibility,
Only one more point, when she matures, and eventually shifts her point of view re:Jalal, Jodha's very idealism will make her see and value the best points of his character all the more readily, and then work to build on them. .
Shyamala Aunty
Dear Mansi--I would have to agree with Shyamala Aunty in that your posts are always an insightful read. This one no less. And now with Aunty's rich response, it's become quite an interesting discussion. Worthy of it's own thread really...
I really enjoyed your theme about the wars, both external and internal, and I think that the internal wars will continue to rage for sometime. At least for me, that's the most compelling part of the show--Jalal's own internal war about his feelings for Jodha and continuing to confront the relationships around him; Jodha having to take off her rose-colored glasses in order to see the shades of grey and like you aptly put learn how to truly love someone (Jalal) and not just her idea of someone (Suryabhan). And that would probably be the one thing I would add to your analysis of Jodha, that she is an idealist in addition to being sheltered and naive.
And I would posit this idealism is different than just blind faith (though in Jodha's case they do go a bit hand in hand)...
She's an idealist that is not grounded in reality. Remember, she loves reading books and is very learned. She also had some speeches to Bharmal about how to properly rule and thanks to her intervention on the code of conduct towards prisoners she saved Abdul's life. I could picture her today as an ivory-tower academic almost--who at this point has a lot of theoretical knowledge, but lacks the life experience (and yes, practicality and pragmatism) which grounds ideas and ideals in reality bringing the depth needed to truly apply them to life.
I do believe her idealism will be a positive characteristic once the naivete is removed. Jodha, as Shyamala Aunty points out as well, has a strong core character that will cope with the changes coming to her. Eventually, she'll see the shades of grey and appreciate her husband while grasping a true understanding people and life; but I think what will still give her some charm and what will be something Akbar will appreciate will be her idealism (no longer blind idealism, but tested by time, experience and reality). I am not saying all her ideals are correct, but hopefully as she matures, so do they.
The discussion about Jalal as a ditherer and now preferring more subtle methods and S. Aunty's response to it also clears up some questions I had about Jalal's seemingly sudden change in character as well. It makes sense to me that he would've had the 'right stuff' within him all along--or else I just can't buy that he's suddenly ruling in such a different, less violently aggressive way as they first portrayed him. I like to also think that it's not just BK's absence that enables Jalal to start acting independently and with more subtlety, but even the final reconciliation and BK's death seemed to inspire Jalal to want to be the great shahenshah he was destined to be (I keep flashing back to that scene where he's praying after learning of BK's death). It seemed to me Jalal became more serious about his role as a shahenshah (what does that mean? how do I do it? what's the best means to rule, etc.) and I feel like that type of thinking is what makes him want to bring the Rajputs into the fold via marriage alliance vs. just slaughtering them on the battlefield.
Great post Mansi! Thanks for it. And thanks Aunty for bringing my attn to it and your brilliant reflections on it as well.
Sangeeta
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