Friends, the wait is over. All of us had spent hours today, collectively trying to see how Adham may wriggle out of the new child-marriage law and turn the tables on Jalal. Between us we managed to cover diverse legal questions like:
Can laws be applied retrospectively or only forwards? Can Jalal get into a fix if he has to make the choice about applying a law backwards? Does this particular case of Adham merit such consideration? Can a general law for all of the kingdom, enacted today, apply to the Adham case or will his case escape the law by a whisker because its inception was just before the law was being enacted? Can the marriage of Jalal and Ruqaiaya be called into question if this law is applied backwards? Is Jalal as Emperor immune to the law or above it? What does Islamic Law say about divorce and what are its conditionalities? What would happen to Ruq's status as Begum-e-Khas if Jalal were to divorce and then somehow remarry her after a stipulated process or period of time? And finally what is history's version? Did Jalal really divorce and/or remaarry Ruqiaya at all, or will this too pass as one of those events introduced by Ekta, that shook the palace but did not end up breaking it?
The irony of this whole case in this episode today is that did not remain a legal case at all. Its crux lay not in its legality. All legal arguments were but mere stage-setting tools that Adham Khan used to soften up the situation so that he could deal a masterstroke at Jalal. In the end his masterstroke was: "Shahenshah, if you have the moral compunction, let's see if you can put your money where your mouth is!" All else that was spoken in that courtroom today was as nothing compared to that one central thought that Adham produced for which neither Jalal nor his courtiers had an adequate answer. Adham's challenge to Jalal was: "If you have that much conviction in your law and its importance let's see you apply it to yourself first and show us how well its done!"
Jalal, for all his astuteness, I thought, made one major tactical blunder, but it cost him a great deal of ground. Adham riled him up that if he did not have the guts to apply the law to himself, the people would make their own inferences about him. But even as his courtiers stepped in to say Jalal was above the law, Jalal fell into the trap of "defensiveness" and said: "I will place myself also under the law" ... and then the trap began to close around him.
Pushing Jalal step by step into a tight corner, Adham then delivered the coup de grace by demanding the divorce of Ruqaiaya since the Jalal-Ruq child marriage was clearly in violation of the principles of the new law. Notice how Adham did not say the Ruq-Jalal marriage was against the new law - he said it was in violation of the principles of this new law. Adham thus did not even have to get into this debate about whether the law itself was to be applied retrospectively. Although he mentioned the retrospective idea, he really only pressed Jalal to apply the law, if he had guts, to just his own one case, to prove his conviction about the law. Adham thus fought the battle not by legalities - but by challenging Jalal's guts, compunction, conviction, and courage to demonstrate by example!
Okay, so now Jalal is trapped and is having to face a furious Ruqaiaya without adequate explanations as to how he got her into this spot or how he is going to get her out of this spot. Her anger against Jodha is spilling over into anger against him and his mother as well (for always being there for Jodha), and Ruq is threatening to drag Jalal into the public gaze with her own shikayat against him! Meanwhile Jodha is filled with remorse that her good intentions have resulted in bad repercussions and she seems in a mood to pray to Kanha and try and rectify the situation with her usual sense of righteousness.
In her talks with Moti she refused to say who was at fault ... but I have a feeling that she knows that Jalal had erred tactically in the sabha, and she needs to help Jalal somehow wriggle out of that blunder. I have no doubt that the combined efforts of Jodha and Kanha will now somehow help Jalal recover lost ground and come up with an innovative solution ... and that in the end the divorce will not be needed, Adham won't get Tasneem either, and the three - Jodha-Jalal and Ruq - will all get closer than they were to each other before. I don't know if all this will happen by tomorrow but it may go on upto midweek next week. This is my reading of the overall situation.
Okay, one tiny point before I get on to the detailed analysis: how many of you got the same feeling that I did, that when Ruq was fuming away at Jalal, he looked nonplussed, yes, but he also was not as affected as I thought he should be? There was some hint of detachment there in his eyes, a bit of distance from Ruq that I've never seen before. As I saw this I was thinking that Ruq should not also overplay her hand because situations like this do have the potential to break relationships if too many hot words are dished out that the other person's ego cannot take. Jalal too has his limits to how much he can tolerate no matter how distraught Ruq may be! I thought he didn't like some of the threats she made today, and I don't know if he'll hold a silent grudge for that!
Now onto a little more detailed analysis of the scenes ...
Adham with his unusual smartness put Jalal in a tight spot
If Adham Khan was not such a boor, I would have to admire his strategy and game play today because he was spectacular. We have to give him credit for managing to outsmart Jalal who is himself the "teda technique" specialist! At the beginning of the scene at the sabha, Jalal held all the aces. He got Atga to bring out the ready legislation, got the maulvis to assent to it, and then put his seal on it. He then proclaimed that henceforth in the Sultanate no child below 14 years can be married, and thus he declared Adham's marriage plans with Tasneem as not possible under the law. Smiles of triumph and pride at Jalal's cleverness were seen on the faces of Jodha, Ruq, Hamida et al.
Adham then asked for an opportunity to speak, which his mother seconded, and despite courtier protests, Jalal allowed it. Adham first started his arguments saying there was injustice being done because his case was already in motion while the law was still in the works, and so the law couldn't quite apply to him. Even as the law was being shaped, till the previous day, many other marriages of children must have taken place at Agra and even at Amer, perhaps, that did not fall within the law proclaimed only today. So why was Adham's case, that started a couple of days ago, being singled out for nullification?
Adham's second argument was that if this law was for everybody then why was it not being applied to the Shahenshah also? Adham insinuated that the praja would be judging Jalal by his readiness to follow the laws he makes! Courtiers of all sizes rose in protest to say the Shahenshah was above the law, but then Jalal , in a fit of defensiveness played a poor hand and accepted that he too would subject himself to the law, and thus he would henceforth not ever marry a girl below 14 years. Maham and Adham exchanged fleeting evil smiles, because they knew Jalal had fallen for the bait. Jalal himself was so lulled by the courtiers hailing his high "tyaag" that he wasn't able to quite see that strategically he had made a wrong move!
Adham then started clapping derisively, saying "Okay, now that you won't in future marry a girl under 14 years, what about showing us how you can rectify an act done much earlier that violates the principles of this new law? Is your childhoood nikah with Ruq not a gunah, or illegal, according to the principles of this new law?" At that point Jalal's eyes widened with shock, and he knew he had lost the advantage. Maham acted as if she wanted to hit Adham, but there was no stopping him from even showing her her place!
Adham then went swiftly for the jugular. He said "If you are so convinced of this law, how about having the courage to apply it retrospectively and declaring all earlier marriages illegal too. And if you can't apply it at least to your own one case, then I don't don't accept this law. You can take my head for this if you wish!"
Ruqaiaya came running out from behind the purdah to scream at Adham. He said he regretted having to do this to her, and then with a very sarcastic "I leave it in your hands Shahenshah", he withdrew from the sabha leaving the audience and Jalal gobsmacked! What a performance!
Ruqaiya fumes and frets but Jalal also is too trapped to help!
In the very next scene we saw Jodha, Salima, Hamida and her gang all assembled with Jalal in his room, but with Ruquaiya losing all self-control. She was shaking violently from the shock of the events at the sabha, feeling mortified that her marriage to Jalal was being callled illegal, and most of all blaming Jodha for having brought all this upon the family! Hamida tried to calm her, but Ruquaiya jumped at her saying "To all of you Jodha is the ultimate one! Why would you all care about me?" When Jodha herself tried to get a word in she asked Jodha point-blank to just shut up.
The mistake Jalal made here was to chastise Ruq slightly for being rude to Jodha. Immediately Ruqaiya pounced on him. "Oh so you can't hear a word against your favorite Jodha? And you and I cannot even discuss a matter private to us without this Jodha around? She's become so important that she can come between us? This is not even about you and me, its about me and her!" Jalal looked as if he was not liking this tone and tenor one bit and he seemed a bit curt as he said "When I talk to you Ruqaiya, look at me. I've said before that you are not just my wife but also my friend and confidante.No one can come between us. As for Adham, this time he has crossed all limits and I have no more patience for him."
Ruqaiaya lunged at Jalal saying "Then why did you not kill him there and then?" and Jalal had to say "Because I was the Shahenshah dispensing justice there I could not have used my sword on him at that place."
Ruqaiya then broke down and asked "So does that mean our marriage has no hope of being saved?" Jalal seemed to have no answers. That made her so mad that she then said "Okay, so Jodha's complaints have brought matters so far. Now I'll start complaints myself that will ring amongst the praja. And Ill make sure the Shahenshah becomes majboor to handle my complaints because my complaints will be against him!" And with that she walked out leaving Jalal with a face in pain and yet also in some sort of private disgust. I still have a small question in my mind whether he was disgusted at the whole set of events that led to this unsavoury diatribe from Ruqaiya, or whether he was disgusted with the way Ruqaiaya had threatened him with consequences. We will know tomorrow!
There is a bit more of Ruqaiaya and Jalal in the precap where she is seen saying "I have given my whole life to you, and yet you give me this advice?" I wonder what advice Jalal has given her. Has he asked her to go along with the divorce? Has he also been left with no plans other than to ask her to do that? She seemed really broken in the precap, but again, folks, I couldn't help seeing that wee bit of detached distance from him as he heard her ranting. Its true he looked like he was also bereft of ideas to save the marriage, but where there should have been empathy, there was a withdrawn look in his eyes that was somehow catching my attention and filling my mind with question marks!
Adham rises into a son that Maham can now feel proud of!
In a much smaller scene that I don't want to detail too much, a drinking Adham is met by his mother. At first he expects that she would slap him and in fact he even invites her to do so. But his mother kisses him instead and says he deserves her salaam - because for the first time she has seen her own smartness in him and he has come through as a true a chip of the old block.
What Maham then says to him seems to sum up their game strategy. She says "Whatever the outcome of Jalal's decisons we are bound to win. If he divorces Ruq, as per Islamic Law she has to then marry someone else, live with him for a while, and divorce him, to be then able to remarry Jalal. That should make Ruq so mad that she herself will shred Jodha to bits. If on the other hand Jalal decides not to divorce Ruq, then you can marry Tasneem with impunity!"
I have a feeling though that Jodha will come up with a third option very soon that leaves Maham and Adham wondering why they did not have a Plan C!
Jodha to the rescue? Can she save Jalal-Ruq and grow closer to them?
The last scene I want to cover is the one where Jodha is sitting in her room with Moti and expressing a lot of remorse that her good intentions always seemed to backfire. She seems genuine in her sorrow for Ruqaiaya and says "How it has all hurt Ruq and I know how much she loves Jalal! It all feels like my fault!"
Moti hastens to add that it was not Jodha's fault - to which Jodha then says "Yes, it was not my fault. I know whose fault it was ..." but when Moti asks whose fault it was, Jodha demurs and says I'll tell you another time. But for now please go." She almost pushes Moti out of the room saying she wants to rest, and then cries bitterly and folds her hands in prayer. It felt to me like Jodha was hatching some plan in private.
Who did she think was at fault? At first I thought she meant Maham as the person who had instigated Adham. But then one dialogue came back to me that Jodha had many episodes ago with Hamida. Hamida had give Jodha a test to analyse Jalal's performance at the Diwan-e-Khas in respect of some maulvis who had overstepped limits onthe religious conversion case. At that time Jodha had frankly assessed Jalal's merits and demerits in handling that case and told Hamida that while he had done some right things, he had also done some wrong things.
I suddenly remembered that episode because I felt that since today Jalal had erred in strategy at the sabha, if anyone had noticed that slip up it must have been Jodha. So if indeed she has seen that Jalal had done the tactically wrong thing, she would want to help him rectify that and save the situation. The solution needed was this: he had to see to it that his own marriage was no longer on the line and that he was again above the law.
I think by tomorrrow we will see Jodha in some readiness mode with some innovative idea to help Jalal recover lost ground, and from there he will be able to protect his marriage, prevent Adham from marrying Tasneem and also saving face with the praja on the new law. I also feel that somehow this idea of Jodha's may help Jalal and Ruq get closer to Jodha. That should be the most logical and fittng end to this saga!
The idea currently is inside Kanha's head, I think, and by tomorrow if he decides to give it to Jodha, nothing will be able to stop her from running to save Jalal!
Pushpa Impossible
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