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A boy in white entered a dark stairway, with hope glimmering in his eyes, not devoid of uncertainty though. There was a girl in white in anticipation, who was startled to see him. NO. She was not expecting him. He was not who she had on her mind. But she was all he ever thought about. She is visibly disappointed.
Soon they are mysteriously locked inside (or not so mysteriously) and the lady is anxious. She collects her hair in a bun, while some of her defiant locks hang on her face partially covering it, apparently an attempt by her to hide an ugly pimple, but to spectators, it only complemented her unorthodox beauty. "Khoobsurat" as the lover boy soon echoed our emotions. "Tum andar se khoobsurat ho Sharon." Even though sweat beads appeared on her forehead, I've never seen a woman look so beautiful.
The two have a light conversation sans any inhibition- where Swayam tells her that being the Diva she can handle any problem, and Sharon finally tells him that she was upset over the rose counting fiasco as she DID trust Swayam. The boy was both elated and fraught with guilt hearing those words from his lady. "Tumhara trust... tumhara belief... main... are you serious?" As he buries his face into his palms grieving, the iron lady turns around to look at him, perhaps sympathetic and a little guilty too. She hesitates and then decides to offer few words of comfort. "Let's face it Swayam... bahat patience hai tum mein, mera temper handle karne ke liye..."
I don't quite know how this situation escalated into the saga full of pain, denial, guilt, anguish and above all disillusionment, turning the lover boy into the Swayam who could sport a straight face and burn all his gifts that he once lovingly gave Sharon.
"Tum aur main hum nahi ho sakte Sharon?" He asks her out of the blue, shocking the living daylights out of her as well as us. "NO WAY." Her instant rejection of his emotions yielded an even stronger reaction from him, which was very unlike of the lover boy.
He pinned her against the wall, and demanded for answers. Being a weakling, was he beneath her standards? How was it possible that they did not have any chemistry? Did she not spend some quality time with him in her inebriated state? He was not ready to take NO for an answer. "Kyun tumhari aankhen mujhse baatein karti hai, kyun tumhari dil ki udaasi mujhse chhupa nahi sakti?"
"Why, why Sharon why?" He retorted. "Chup rehne ki galati mat karna Sharon, cuz I'm not ready to listen to your silence."
She didn't know why, or she did. Sharon, the confused, tormented soul that she was, could only defend herself by directing her scathing remarks at him. She regains her spunk, although she too is scarred, wounded, but not as much as Swayam.
She cries out:- "Jawab! Jawab chahte ho na tum! is tarah, zabardasti, apne aap ko mujhpe thoup kar!"
They are both crying and they can feel each other's warm breath on their skin. They both knew that they went too far this time, to return to normalcy. Swayam realises he is hurting her- he is even ashamed for a moment to have imposed himself like this. He lets her hand go and takes a step back.
For the first time we see a glimpse of that Swayam whom we would see in classroom showdown episode- angry, dejected, fierce.
"Haan haan nafrat karti hoon main tumse aur tumse related har baat se... tumhare shadow ko bhi tolerate nai kar sakti main... Tum ek desperate stalker the aur wohi rahoge."
And she is still sobbing, unaware of the injuries she is stabbing into the other person's chest. She is standing, looking at her hurt wrist, while he looks on- an empty, devastated look in his eyes.
He did not know why suddenly she disapproved of all those gifts that once made her happy. He has been living in a bubble and now he was brutally abandoned to perish on the stony surface of reality. Nothing made sense anymore. On the other hand his anonymous gifts made her realise something that she could never acknowledge in words. If Sharon could, she would drown this entire episode along with his questions into the depths of the Arabian Sea.
"Ye chapter incomplete hi sahi, this book is shut now. I promise ye book tab tak nahi khulegi jab tum isse nahi khologi... and I'm sure, tum to yeh book khologi nahi..."
and he wipes off a few more tear drops and recomposes himself.
"... as you hate me." This also forms the prelude of the upcoming haaye rama episode.
Sharon is unable to bear it any longer and desperately tries to get out, out of Swayam's penetrating sight as her guilt was taking a toll on her.
"Sabke dekhne ka nazaria alag hai. Tumhe laga ki tum mere saath yahan bandh ho, aur mujhe laga ki waqt aa gaya hai mujhe tumhe iss bandhan se azaad kar dena chahiye." He sets her free breaking the lock of the door, as he steps into the stoic world of a recluse.
Much has been written about the transition of SwaRon- this post is not about that. It is about SwaRon, and the essence of SwaRon when I first fell in love with them. That is how I choose to remember and commemorate SwaRon.
Ek reth pe ghar banata hai, dusra usse todhke bikher deta hai.
This post draws inspiration from a late night discussion that we had in the TanHa/SwaRon AT. Thanks Archit, Prateek and Anu of course, for driving me nuts. 😛
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon
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