‘Victoria made sure Maharaja Ranjit Singh had no descendants’

Today, I saw a startling report on how British controlled Indians. How they managed to fool us and keep Indians under their control.

An Indian-origin writer has made a startling claim that Queen Victoria forbade the wife of the only married grandson of Maharaja Ranjit Singh from having children so that the British Raj could tighten its grip on Punjab.

Peter Bance, a specialist in the history of Sikhs in Britain, writes about the reported instruction by Queen Victoria in his latest book, Sovereign, Squire & Rebel, a biography of Duleep Singh, son of Maharaja Ranjit Singh.

He also claims that Queen Victoria may have been motivated by the desire to ensure that Britain’s hold over the massive and profitable Sikh kingdom remained unchallenged by any future Sikh royal descendant.

The Sikh kingdom, among the fiercest opponents of the British Raj, is today among the few — if not the only one — of the erstwhile major Indian kingdoms without any direct royal descendants.

Duleep Singh had six children from his first marriage and two from his second. All eight, including four who were married, died without issue, a fact that the writer says fanned his curiosity.

In his book, the London-based Bance says Queen Victoria gave the instruction to Lady Anne Alice Blanche — the aristocratic English wife of Duleep Singh’s eldest son Prince Victor Albert Jay — in the summer of 1898. Lady Anne was the youngest daughter of the 9th Earl of Coventry.

The reported instruction came 12 years after the British army physically stopped a disgruntled and rebellious Duleep Singh from returning to India from England, where he had been taken as a 12-year-old boy king after being converted to Christianity.

Like his father, Prince Victor too had tried to visit India in 1898 — if only to spend his honeymoon with Lady Anne, who had taken the name of Princess Victor Duleep Singh — but they too were stopped by the British in Colombo.

On their return, they attended a ball thrown by Queen Victoria at Buckingham Palace July 8, 1898, where invitees included Prince Victor’s sister Princess Sophia, younger brother Prince Frederick and several other royals visiting from India.

“The ball was soon followed by a request from Queen Victoria for a private audience with Princess Victor at Buckingham Palace, where she received the most distressing and chilling of orders,” says the book.

“She was told by the Queen that she must not have any children with the Prince and that she must live abroad with her husband. Princess Victor followed that command faithfully all her life.”

Bance, a Sikh, said he obtained the startling piece of information from a close “Coventry family source” of Lady Anne, who died in 1956.

“This person, who told me not to mention his name, asked Lady Anne once, ‘why didn’t you have any children?’ and that was when Lady Anne spoke about Queen Victoria’s instructions.

“Of course Lady Anne, being an aristocrat herself, went by those instructions.”

Bance said the main reason why Queen Victoria would have given such a harsh command was the nascent Indian nationalism that had showed in Duleep Singh — otherwise a thorough ‘English’ country gent — throughout the late 1880s.

Mounting expenses for the upkeep of the family would have been an additional factor.

“There is no doubt that the family was always a thorn on the side of the British establishment,” said Bance, who has being researching the life of Duleep Singh since 1996.

“They (any descendants) would be constantly staking a claim to the Punjab throne.”

After the failed bid to visit India, Maharaja Duleep Singh told a British journalist in 1888: “In less than three years — in less than two perhaps — I and my 250,000,000 (250 million, 25 crore) fellow-countrymen will have driven them (the British) out of India.”

Duleep Singh, who had a legitimate claim to a kingdom whose powerful Sikh army very nearly over-ran the British in 1849, also boasted that 90 percent of Indian princes as well as the Russian government were behind his plan to oust the British.

Although Queen Victoria was very fond of Duleep Singh, he had been increasingly distressed by the failure of British authorities to honour financial and other pledges made to him.

In later years, some of Duleep Singh’s children, particularly his youngest daughter from his first marriage, Princess Bamba, were to show strong feelings for India.

The book goes on to refer to a second startling claim about an alleged British plot to stem the royal Sikh bloodline.

It says Princess Bamba had told members of the Fakir family, who were former ministers in her father’s court, that when they were children their English cooks would put “substances” into their food so as to make them infertile.

“The story seemed a bit far-fetched, but nonetheless not one of the Duleep Singh children had any issue,” says the book.

“But this is really what struck me as being very odd – a man with a big family, eight children, and no grandchildren,” Bance said.

Prince Mohsin Ali Khan, a member of the erstwhile ruling family of the princely state of Hyderabad, said he was shocked by the claim about Queen Victoria’s reported instructions to Lady Anne.

“It is quite shocking, but it is plausible,” said the London-based Khan, who is on the Council of the Constitutional Monarchist Association, a non-government body that supports and defends the British monarchy.

Blame Nehru for partition, not Jinnah, says Jaswant Singh

Indian former defence, foreign and finance minister of India and also a former soldier Jaswant Singh released his book Jinnah: India – Partition – Independence on Mohammed Ali Jinnah. I think the conventional notion India holds about Jinnah as a communal leader who caused the bloody partition of the subcontinent will receive a deadly blow.

The book will defenitely attract considerable attention and may be even a fair amount of controversy.  Though Jaswant Singh seems like going one step further than L.K. Advani who made similar remarks three years ago in Pakistan, it is a fact that unlike others, Jinnah created success for himself. Jaswant Singh may have drawn another battleline within the saffron party after releasing his book.

It took five years of research before the book could come out. “If I were not drawn to the personality I wouldn’t have written the book. It’s an intricate, complex personality, of great character, determination,” Jaswant Singh told in an interview to a TV channel ahead of the release of his book.

It was historically not tenable to see Mr Jinnah as the villain of 1947, Mr Singh said. “It is not borne out of the facts… we need to correct it… Muslims saw that unless they had a voice in their own economic, political and social destiny they will be obliterated.”

Mr Singh said the 1946 election was a good example to show the fear held by Muslims. That year, he said: “Jinnah’s Muslim League wins all the Muslim seats and yet they don’t have sufficient numbers to be in office because the Congress Party has, without even a single Muslim, enough to form a government and they are outside of the government.

Jinnah and Nehru

“So it was realised that simply contesting elections was not enough… All of this was a search for some kind of autonomy of decision making in their own social and economy destiny.” Mr Jinnah was a great man because he created something out of nothing, Mr Singh said of his newfound hero.

“He single-handedly stood against the might of the Congress Party and against the British who didn’t really like him … Gandhi himself called Jinnah a great Indian. Why don’t we recognise that? Why don’t we see (and try to understand) why he called him that?” Mr Jinnah was as much a nationalist as any leader in India.

“He fought the British for an independent India but also fought resolutely and relentlessly for the interest of the Muslims of India … the acme of his nationalistic achievement was the 1916 Lucknow Pact of Hindu-Muslim unity.”

Among the aspects of Mr Jinnah’s personality Mr Singh said he admired his determination and will to rise. “He was a self-made man. Mahatma Gandhi was the son of a Diwan. All these (people) — Nehru and others — were born to wealth and position. Jinnah created for himself a position. He carved in Bombay, a metropolitan city, a position for himself.

“He was so poor he had to walk to work … he told one of his biographers there was always room at the top but there’s no lift. And he never sought a lift.”

Jinnah & Gandhi

Demolishing the belief that Mr Jinnah hated or disliked Hindus, Mr Singh said the claim was totally wrong. “His principal disagreement was with the Congress Party.”

Going by his interview shown on CNN-IBN on Sunday, Mr Singh holds Mr Jawaharlal Nehru as more culpable than anyone else for the division of the country.

It is not just Jinnah’s anti-Congressism that Jaswant pays a tribute to in his new book. He also writes admiringly about Jinnah’s elegant dressing and suave lifestyle.

The book reassess Nehru’s role in Partition, and sheds fresh light on the relationship between the Mahatma Gandhi and Jinnah.

Can Thiruvalluvar statute put an end to the fight over Cauvery water?

Will the war over sharing of the Cauvery waters between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu end through unveiling of the statues of saint poets Thiruvalluvar in Bangalore and Sarvajna in Chennai on August 9 and August 13 respectively?

The Karnataka government has decided to go ahead with unveiling of the statue of Thiruvalluvar, writer of Tamil masterpiece Thirukkural, on August 9, 18 years after it was installed, amidst protests by pro-Kannada organisations.

Four days later, the statue of Kannada poet Sarvajna will be unveiled in Chennai.

Thiruvalluvar, believed to be born 30 years before Jesus Christ, wrote Thirukkural in the form of couplets (two line poems) expounding various aspects of life.

Sarvajna, believed to belong to the 18th century, is known for his Tripadis (three-line poems) on life, religion, beliefs and problems of daily living.

Pro-Kannada organisations, including Kannada Rakshana Vedike, had stalled the unveiling of the statue of Thiruvalluvar, saying that Tamil Nadu has been unfair to Karnataka over the Cauvery water sharing.

Tamil Nadu’s decision to start the Hogenakal drinking water project to supply drinking water to two of its districts only added to the tension between the two neighbouring states.

Adding fuel to the fire came a petition by a Tamil Nadu advocate in the Madras High Court last year, challenging granting of classical status to Kannada language by the Centre.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi, who is in Bangalore for the last one week, has been invited by his Karnataka counterpart B.S. Yeddyurappa to be present at the unveiling ceremony.

To placate the agitated pro-Kannada activists, Yeddyurappa has promised to arrange a train journey to anyone from Karnataka wanting to go to Chennai to attend the unveiling of the Sarvajna statue on August 13.

One has to wait and see if unveiling of statues will improve the condition between two states.

Thinking practically, how many people in Karnataka really know about Thiruvalluvar or how many know about Sarvajna in Tamil Nadu? Sometimes, actions and decisions of politicians seem to be mere vote bank politics. If statues could improve ties, why not install statues of other great men of our neighbouring states also? But for an ordinary man, there’s much more to think and worry about. He will not worry about whether it is right or wrong to install the statues, but he’s more concerned about his life and livelihood. If the statue of Thiruvalluvar helps in getting justice to our farmers by fetching the due share of the Cauvery waters, the state will be more than happy and thankful to both the governments for their action!

Love Aaj Kal

Though I told Vij that I’m not interested to watch Love Aaj Kal, he was insistent that we catch the movie in a theatre with Rajeshattan and Viji. We really wondered after all, what did the hero and the heroine really wanted? Not just we four, even others present in the theatre screamed when Rahul Khanna screamed at Deepika Padukone and asked her to make it clear what she actually wants in life. Throughout the film, we were confused about what do they really want?

Jai Vardhan Singh (Saif Ali Khan) and Meera Pandit  (Deepika Padukone) strive to be different than run of the mill couples. So when their career takes them away from each other they decide to call it off for practical reasons. One of Jai and Meera’s regular hangout is a restaurant owned by Veer Singh ( Rishi Kapoor). Veer disagrees with the current generation’s outlook on love and relationships. He advises Jai against letting Meera go away from his life. Veer and Jai have polar views on love and relationship. Veer tells Jai about his ardent love for Harleen Kaur (Giselle Monteiro) back in 1965 based in Delhi. Meera and Jai never really get over each other even when Meera starts seeing Vikram (Rahul Khanna) and Jai is dating Jo (Florence Brudenell Bruce). As parallel love stories of Veer and Harleen and Jai and Meera realize that though lovers may speak and behave differently true love culminates into the same end in every era.
The opening scenes portray how Meera and Jai hook up, establish their relationship.

Meera’s character is well etched out depicting the outlook and approach of a modern day woman. Meera is a girl who carries her relationship with thorough dignity not once imposing her feelings or begging for commitment from her boyfriend. Later, she walks out of marriage, truly coming of age.

Veer and Harleen’s love story is cute with stolen glances, unspoken words and covert gestures.

While we were sure about Jai and Meera’s reunion, we had to wait till the end to know the fate of Veer and Harleen’s love story.

We had seen movies with flashbacks, parallel editing but Love Aaj Kal has parallel stories culminating into similar joyous climax.

For the first time, we saw something of a so called break-up party. Who knows people might throw a party to break up also!

It’s a feast to see some nice locations.

Passenger

It was most unexpected for both me and Vij. When we reached Manoranjan theatre at 9 pm to watch Passenger, there were no people. When Vij asked at what time does the show starts, the person at the ticket counter coolly said: “We will start the film when people come!” We had gone all the way from MG Road to Mekhri Circle to watch that Malayalam movie.

We went for a small stroll along the road and went back after 10 minutes. We had lost hopes of watching the film and then came a Santro car with a couple and a small kid. The answer they got at the counter might have amused even those couples and the kid. The kid kept on eagerly looking at the gate to see if anyone else came to watch the film. Then came another car with four people. The kid was happy to see four more people and asked his mother: “Give me a five. People are coming!”

We stood wondering at the situation. If we had got seat, we would have just watched Hangover, but bad luck, it was housefull.

At last, the person gave the ticket. It was a small theatre which could hardly accomodate around 100-150 people. The person asked all of us to sit in the last row (supposedly balcony according to him). The rest of the seats were plastic chairs.

Three more people joined a bit later and totally, there were only 12 people in the theatre.

Sathyanath ( Sreenivasan), who works in a private company, has some strange habits. He travels from his native town to Kochi, where he works, by train. The moment the train crosses a bridge he dozes off. And he wakes up at a particular point. One day, after an over time duty, he wakes up and gets acquainted with Nandan Menon (Dileep).

Nandan Menon, who is an advocate, always stands for truth and justice. He respects the law and always thinks of the welfare of the people around him. Nandan Menon’s wife, Anuradha (Mamta Mohandas), is a television journalist. Nandan meets while heading towards a hotel room where he will be alone for the night, as his wife s away on an assignment, covering up a news story of a politician (Jagathy Sreekumar) that has been rocking the state. Anuradha comes to know the other face of the politician and escapes from the hotel with her laptop, which has the evidence. The politician kills the guy who helped Anuradha to get the evidence and put the blame on her and her husband.

Police are hand-in-gloves with the politician and look out for Anuradha. Menon is assaukted and kidnapped in front of Sathyanath in Guruvayur. Sathyanath rushes to help the lawyer whom he met in the train a few hours ago.

At last, he succeeds in getting the video taken by Anuraha published in television channel and help Nandan from the clutches of rowdies.

The movie is different from the usual “thrillers” in which an inevitably invincible hero fights against all odds and conquers evil. The story gives a refreshingly different perspective, that of a common man used to an uneventful life, who does not hesitate to jump into the strangest adventure in his life, out of compassion for another human being.

‘Sach Ka Saamna’

Many times I and my hubby have watched ‘The Moment of Truth’, an American reality show on TV. The truth sometimes startled us and sometimes we wondered what if it enters Indian television. And so did it happen. Star Plus channel began to air ‘Sach Ka Saamna’ (Face the Truth).

The questions asked by the anchor in the programme were startling. They ranged from simple to complex, simple because they are about our won life, complex because they are about infidelity, incest and other taboo subjects. We feel that those questions are not suitable for unrestricted public exhibition, especially keeping in view Indian culture and ethos. The answers can ruin relationships, ruin the lives of participants in future.

A polygraphic test indicates whether the answers are true or false. A false answer means an exit from the show.
Though as audience, we feel it is the world’s simplest show, one has to realise that it is still the most difficult game show as one has to speak nothing but the truth to survive through each level. Each passing level questions get tougher, more personal and increasingly edgy, putting the contestants and the family and friends in trouble.
On the very first day, host Rajeev Khandelwal grilled Smita Matai and extracted all truth from her. At the end, when she was asked if she wanted to have affair with another man without her husband’s knowledge, she said NO. But the Polygraph machine termed his answer FALSE, much to the shock and surprise of Smita and his family members including her husband. Her husband looked dejected, while Smita kept claiming that it was not true.

It’s sure that participants can win a sum of Rs 10 million, but at what cost? Revealing personal information in public! How can money won in such shows bring about a positive change and help the contestants shed their baggage and lead a better life?

Many suspicious men and women among audience would be thinking sending their partners to the show to know the truth. But will they be able to tolerate the truth coming out in front of all? Will the relationship survive? Will a man or a woman accept that their partners had cheated or will cheat them in future? How many men will accept their wives if they come to know that they have had an affair (physical) with another man? I and my hubby had a long debate over the issue and he keeps telling me that past doesn’t matter if the woman is faithful in the present as well as in the future. Bury the past and look into the future. But far is it possible? I remember Thomas Hardy’s Tess of the D’Urbervilles here. Tess tries to confess about her past to Angel Claire before the wedding, but in vain. But after the wedding the first thing she wants to do is reveal everything about her past. But before she could confess, Angel confesses to her that he once had a brief affair with an older woman in London. When she hears the story, Tess feels that Angel will forgive her own indiscretion, and finally tells him about her relationship with Alec and about her baby Sorrow, who died within few days. Angel, however, is appalled by Tess’s confession and spends the wedding night sleeping on a sofa. Tess, although devastated, accepts the sudden estrangement as something she deserves. After a few awkward, awful days, she suggests that they separate, telling her husband that she will return to her parents. Angel gives her some money and promises to try to reconcile himself to her past, but warns her not to try to join him until he sends for her. After a quick visit to his parents, Angel takes ship for Brazil to start a new life. Before he leaves, he encounters Izz Huett on the road and impulsively asks her to come to Brazil with him, as his mistress. She accepts, but when he asks her how much she loves him, she admits: “Nobody could love ’ee more than Tess did! She would have laid down her life for ’ee. I could do no more!” Hearing this, he abandons the whim.
Not just in novels, many such incidents do happen in our life also. When men confess about their extra marital affairs or their past affairs women, accept them open-heartedly, but there are very few instances where men have accepted women unconditionally. A man wants his wife to be solely his. He will not be ready to share his love. He wants to be the first and the last man in the life of his wife.

Under such circumstances, how can a man tolerate if his wife tells the truth that she had an affair or wants to have an affair, or is living with her husband only because of the children and not because of love?!

Cowell to meet 17 ex-girlfriends at his birthday bash

How many people can move on with their life and still maintain a cordial terms with ex-girlfriends/boyfriends? The sweet/bitter moments haunt us and we rarely get people who are on a good friendship like that. Today, I saw a report wherein, I learnt that ‘American Idol’ judge Simon Cowell had not only 17 girlfriends earlier, but also is on good terms with all of them.

What surprised me even more was that he will confront all his 17 ex-girlfriends at a special bash organised ahead of his birthday.

Cowell will be turning 50 in October, but the bash is being organised this weekend. Hosted by his ex and close pal, model Jackie St Claire, the star has been told to “expect the unexpected” at the white-themed party in West London.

Some of the guests include Terri Seymour, singer Dannii Minogue, Cheryl Cole, ‘American Idol’ judges Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson.

“For most men this would be an utter nightmare, but luckily Simon has the gift of the gab. If anyone can pull it off, he can. And, if truth be told, he’s actually on exceptionally good terms with nearly all of them so there shouldn’t be any waterworks or embarrassing tantrums — either from the girls, or Simon,” said a source.

Australia (2008)

I wanted to see Australia not because it was a great movie, but because Hugh Jackman was in it. I saw and liked him when I saw X-men years ago. I became a fan of that guy and today, I saw the movie sitting for over 3 hours just to watch Jackman.

Lady Sarah Ashley (Nicole Kidman) travels from England to northern Australia to force her husband to sell his faltering cattle station, Faraway Downs. Her husband sends an independent cattle drover (Hugh Jackman), called Drover, to Darwin to fetch her. Lady Sarah’s husband, who was trying to sell 1,500 cattle to the military, is murdered before she arrives. Meanwhile, manager Neil Fletcher (David Wenham) is trying to gain control of Faraway Downs so that Lesley ‘King’ Carney (Bryan Brown) can have a monopoly in the Northern Territory, which will give him leverage with the Australian army. Fletcher claims that the murderer of her husband is an aboriginal elder with magical powers, ‘King George’ (David Gulpilil).

Childless Lady Sarah is captivated by young boy Nullah (Brandon Walters), who was born to an aboriginal mother. Nullah tells her that he has seen her cattle being driven onto Carney’s land. Nullah proves to Lady Sarah that Fletcher is a liar by showing her that the windmill, which Fletcher had deemed broken, is fully functional. Fletcher loses control and attacks Nullah, his mother and another aboriginal woman, forcing Lady Sarah to fire him.

Sergeant Callaghan arrives to try to take Nullah away, so Nullah and his mother hide from him in a water tank. One of the officers accompanying the sergeant tries out the water windmill, and Nullah’s mother drowns while saving him. Afterwards, Lady Sarah comforts Nullah by singing “Over the Rainbow” from The Wizard of Oz. Nullah tells her that King George is his grandfather and like King George he too is a ‘magic man’.

Lady Sarah persuades Drover to take the cattle to Darwin for sale so that Faraway Downs can be saved. Drover, a white man, is friendly with the aborigines. He had married an aborigin, but she died after being refused medical treatment in a hospital because of her race.

Drover leads a team of six riders, including Lady Sarah, Drover’s aboriginal brother-in-law Magarri (David Ngoombujarra), Nullah, and accountant Kipling Flynn (Jack Thompson), to drive the 1,500 cattle to Darwin.
Carney’s men set fire to make the cattle stampede, and Flynn is killed. At the last minute, Nullah stops the cattle from stampeding over a cliff by using the magic learned from his grandfather.

Lady Sarah and Drover start loving each other. Carney’s men poison all the water sources along the cattle-drive route and still the group risks driving the cattle through the dangerous Never Never desert with the help of King George.

Nicole and Hugh

Delivering the cattle in Darwin, the group races them onto the ship before Carney’s cattle are loaded. That night, Lady Sarah and Drover attend a ball for the Children’s Island Mission, where she unsuccessfully attempts to make the upper class whites realize that half-aboriginal children belong to their mothers and not to the government.
Two years later, Lady Sarah, Nullah and Drover live together at Faraway Downs. Fletcher kills Carney, frames it as an tragic accident and marries his daughter Catherine Carney.

It is determined that Fletcher killed Lady Sarah’s husband and Fletcher is the father of Nullah. Nullah is drawn to perform a ceremonial coming-of-age walkabout with his grandfather, but is instead captured by the authorities and sent to live on Mission Island with the rest of the half-aboriginal children. His grandfather is thrown into jail, accused of murdering Lord Ashley.

Lady Sarah vows to find Nullah again, and begins working as a radio operator in Darwin during the escalation of World War II. Lady Sarah prepares to sell Faraway Downs to Fletcher, believing that it will aid her in gaining Nullah back. The sale is interrupted by the Japanese bombing of Darwin and Mission Island. Lady Sarah fears that Nullah has been killed.

Drover, who had quarrelled with Lady Sarah and gone droving never to return, hears that she has been killed in the bombing. In fact, the dead woman thought to be Sarah is Catherine Fletcher, who volunteered to take Sarah’s shift at army radio headquarters so that Sarah could go to Nullah.

Drover finds out about Nullah’s abduction and sets out with Magarri, Ivan, the hotelier, and the only member of the Children’s Island Mission to volunteer himself to help, Brother Frank, to rescue the children from the island.
When Japanese soldiers arrive, Magarri sacrifices himself to save others.

Lady Sarah and the inhabitants of Darwin prepare to evacuate on the last convoy out of the city. When Drover and the children sail back into Darwin, Nullah plays his harmonica with the tune of “Over the Rainbow”. Lady Sarah hears the music and reunites with the three.

Fletcher knows that Nullah is the one link that can relate him to a past that would ultimately ruin him. He also doubts that the boy must have cursed him. So he attempts to shoot Nullah. King George sees Fletcher from the top of a tanker just as Fletcher is about to fire and spears Fletcher through the chest just as he pulls the trigger. As Fletcher is dying, King George reprimands him for trying to kill his own son, and his magical grandson.

Lady Sarah watches as Nullah falls to the ground and Drover rushes to him. As Drover holds him in his arms, Nullah opens his eyes and smiles, revealing that the bullet was a blank.

Lady Sarah, Drover, and Nullah return to the safety of remote Faraway Downs. On the way back to Faraway Downs, King George calls for Nullah to go walkabout. Lady Sarah embraces Nullah and lets him go to his grandfather, who tells her that they will return to his land, and then looking at Lady Sarah, says “Our Land”.

Far from the madding crowd (1998)

Thomas Hardy has been one of my favourite writers and I loved almost all his novels since my degree. One among them was Far from the Madding Crowd.

Today, I saw the movie based on his novel.

Bathsheba Everdene (Paloma Baeza) is a beautiful young woman without a fortune. She meets Gabriel Oak (Nathaniel Parker), a young farmer, and saves his life one evening. He asks her to marry him, but she refuses because she does not love him. Upon inheriting her uncle’s prosperous farm she moves away to the town of Weatherbury.

A disaster befalls Gabriel’s farm and he loses his sheep; he is forced to give up farming. He goes looking for work, and in his travels finds himself in Weatherbury. After rescuing a local farm from fire he asks the mistress if she needs a shepherd. It is Bathsheba, and she hires him. As Bathsheba learns to manage her farm she becomes acquainted with her neighbour Mr Boldwood (Nigel Terry). On a whim, she sends him a valentine with the words “Marry me.” Boldwood becomes obsessed with her and becomes her second suitor. Rich and handsome, he has been sought after by many women. Bathsheba refuses him because she does not love him, but she then agrees to reconsider her decision.

That very night, Bathsheba meets a handsome soldier Sergeant Troy (Jonathan Firth). Unknown to Bathsheba, he has recently impregnated a local girl Fanny Robin (Natasha Little) and almost married her. Troy falls in love with Bathsheba, enraging Mr Boldwood. Bathsheba travels to Bath to warn Troy of Mr Boldwood’s anger and while she is there, Troy convinces her to marry him. Gabriel has remained her friend throughout and does not approve of the marriage. A few weeks after his marriage to Bathsheba, Troy sees Fanny, poor and sick; she later dies giving birth to her child. Bathsheba discovers that Troy is the father. Grief-stricken at Fanny’s death and riddled with shame, Troy runs away and is thought to have drowned.

With Troy supposedly dead, Mr Boldwood becomes more and more emphatic about Bathsheba marrying him. Troy sees Bathsheba at a fair and decides to return to her. Boldwood holds a Christmas to which he invites Bathsheba and again proposes marriage. Just after she has agreed, Troy arrives to claim her. Bathsheba screams, and Mr Boldwood shoots Troy dead. He is sentenced to life in prison. A few months later, Bathsheba marries Gabriel, now a prosperous bailiff.

Tess of the D’Urbervilles (1998)

Thomas Hardy’s immortal tale of love — Tess of the D’Urbervilles — abandoned and virtue lost has been captivating readers for over a century.

And I was more than happy to watch the unforgettable intensity and tenderness of the treasured classic in a lavish adaptation. It was in my degree I first read the novel and later in my post graduation.

Her luminous beauty blazing against the bleak background of rural Victorian England, Tess remains one of literature’s best-loved and most memorable heroines.
Violated by one man and forsaken by another, she refuses to remain a victim. But her struggle to endure despite the abandonment of her true love and her desperate attempt to attain happiness propel Tess toward a tragic end.

Tess (Justine Waddell) is a girl of the working class and learns that her father is the descendant of the noble family, the d’Urbervilles. Her family sends Tess to a rich relative in nearby Tantridge to get money or marry well so that her parents will be taken care of. Her meeting with Alec d’Urberville (Jason Flemyng), one of the relatives, seals her dreadful fate. He is attracted to Tess and seduces her and she returns home ruined. Alec promises to take care of her if she ever needs anything, but she dislikes him so much that she’d rather suffer than have any contact with him.

Soon Tess bears a child she names, Sorrow, and the child dies only days after it is born. Tess leaves home to try at independence again knowing now to be wary of men. She goes to Talbothay’s dairy and falls in love with Angel Clare (Oliver Milburn), the son of a pastor who is learning about farming at the dairy. Although she thinks herself unworthy of such a sweet man because of what happened to her, Tess and Angel fall in love and decide to get married. She refused his proposals for quite a while trying to find a way to tell him about her past with Alec d’Urberville, but she couldn’t do it. Shortly before they are supposed to be married, she writes him a letter and slips it under the door of his room. He never gets the letter because it is stuck under the edge of the carpet. Tess realizes this mistake on the morning of their marriage, and she is not given an opportunity to tell him before they are married.

That night he confesses that he’s had one sexual encounter and she forgives him, knowing that he’ll forgive her what happened with Alec. But when she tells Angel about it, the way he feels about her changes completely. He feels betrayed and tricked, so they agree to separate.

He goes to Brazil to try his hand at farming there, and Tess works at hard job after hard job rather than asking his family for money as he’d instructed her when he left. While she’s working herself to the bone, she encounters Alec d’Urberville again and he begins visiting her, relentlessly trying to convince her to marry him. She finally gives in when her family is evicted from their home after her father’s death and they have nowhere to go. Alec provides them a home, and Tess agrees to be his wife.

Angel returns from Brazil and comes to find her, knowing that he has treated her unfairly. When he finds her, she is distraught that the only man she ever loved has come back, and once again, Alec d’Urberville is standing in her way. She stabs Alec with a knife, and she and Angel spend a week together hiding out and being as they were before they were married. Then Tess is captured and executed. (Later Angel marries her younger sister, Liza Lu, which the movie didn’t show.)