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"All games have morals; and the game of Snakes and Ladders captures, as no other activity can hope to do, the eternal truth that for every ladder you climb, a snake is waiting just around the corner; and for every snake, a ladder will compensate" - Salman Rushdie
Most of us would have played this board game or at least would be familiar with it, so there is not explaining the basics. EKDV resembles this game a lot with some "twists" of course.
The two players are Sumo & Shravan but the catch is that they have to reach the top "together" and I don't consider this wedding as "together" but I think this wedding is halfway through the story(not necessarily the show) so it is an important milestone.
Since they are the players, we don't have to consider them,thankfully 😉.
Lets start with the smaller players, the easier ones who can be classified without much thought.
1) Lalaji : Definitely a ladder. His words of advice to Shravan on multiple occassions and him asking her to tie Mata ji ki chunni on his hand etc. Lalaji will always stand by ShraMan.
2) Dabboo : The cutest ladder. In his innocence, he says the right things. I think in the entire Tiwari house, he is the one who actually understands Sumo. Take for example, the first time when Shravan came to meet Tiwari ji from London or when they were in the car after Shravan picked him and Sumo up, or the way he tells Adithya that Sumo & Shravan are best friends from childhood, he states matter of factly what Shravan needs to hear.
And let us not forget that he was the one who suggested that Sumo should gift him a best friend day and spend time with him before he went to London.
3) Maami : Ladder but with a different agenda. She wants Sumo out of the way, so she emotionally blackmails her, good for ShraMan.
4) Preekar : Ladder ofcourse but unfortunately they have remained so far in a part of the board that is not reachable. But for all you know, they can be the biggest ladder, if they (IF) put their heads together. They have a lot of "hidden" potential 😆
Let us ignore Maama ji, Maasi-Mausa, Vandy-Varun though Varun had a role to play earlier and get on with the rest. These are the ones who switch between snakes and ladders.
1) Kamini - Initially a snake, but now a ladder. She was the one who wanted Shravan to leave, the Urvashi track was because of her, but she became a ladder when she planned to bring ShraMan together, be it for her own selfish agenda but much needed, otherwise ShraMan looked like an impossiblity.
2) Naanu - Ladder to Snake to ladder. Ladder initally because he has been very supportive of their friendship, snake when he has caused the biggest MU by pressurising Sumo and now ladder again by confronting them he has stopped both of them from running away from each other.
2) Nirmala : Snake. Each time ShraMan come close, she inevitably comes back and seperates them. Most of Shravan's insecurity is because of her and to top it she has done nothing to explain her actions to him. The big question is, if she does realize what an impact she has on him, will she ever help ShraMan ? Will she turn from a snake to a ladder ?
3) Ramnath : Intially a ladder, then a snake but now ? I am quite confused about him actually. Ramnath knows Kamini very well. Why did he then tell her about the gurudakshina ? He played her. And then he overheard the conversation between ShraMan and he didnt talk to Shravan. Somewhere he knows that if he pushes the wrong button while talking to Shravan, he might do something unpredictable.
And when he spoke to Shravan later he never asked how Shravan knew about the gurudakshina.I haven't been able to understand his real objective. Daal mein kuch kaala hai, don't you all think ?
4) Adithya : Snake so far, but will indirectly become a ladder and then he will be a snake again.We all know why he is a snake, but the moment he comes back in the picture Shravan will be super protective of Sumo specially after what happened in the wedding. And to add to it, Sumo is his wife now, I can't wait for the track to play out. He is going to bring ShraMan closer but when he does talk about the bachelor party, he is going to cause a rift, so back to snake again. Symbolism, her returning his dupatta.
As if the characters aren't enough we have some inanimate things changing which can be snakes or ladders as well.
1) Shravan's letter to Sumo : Ladder when Sumo reads it and Snake when it falls into the wrong hands.
2) Daal : The ubiquitous daal, snake to ladder. Intially it created a small problem between them but in the end it is symbolic of their relationship. Remember what Shravan says, that Sumo is special to him and he doesn't think of her like the other women, but the important line comes after that, he asks her to add something (her love) in the daal , to make it hers and then he will eat it. He will never accept Nirmala and Sumo has the same qualities but her love makes a big difference to him and his love will transform her.
3) Memory box : Ladder, when (WHEN) it comes into play. I am tired of waiting for it. But the later it comes into play the better.
4) PCT : Snake now, ladder later ?
The interesting thing is how the dynamics and the interplay between the characters changes some ladders into snakes and vice versa, just as in real life.
Please feel free to add other Snakes and Ladders that I may have missed. Longish post.
Thoughts ?
Udne Ki Aasha
