Until this one, I considered Jealousy and Truth the best-written chapters by far. But this one now tops the list. I could see the anger and the anguish in Indira's eyes; hear the disgust, anger and remorse in her voice. You penned (typed?) her words perfectly, the words of a woman who has finally had enough. I think the final straw was the fact that this time, it was Bhavna who disappointed her even more than Arjun; she has truly lost all hope. The revelation was quite the shocker. Honestly, while everyone blames themselves for how things have turned out, however rightly so, it is Bhavna who is most responsible for all of it. As the head of the household, as a woman responsible for the family and not just its eldest son, and most importantly as a mother, she is a miserable failure. If Arnav turned out well, it is because KBV took it upon himself to raise him. Left to Bhavna he would perhaps end up a lost soul. What does prick a little is why Indira chose to reveal all of this once everything was already done. Indira is now in her most dangerous form, and out with a vengeance; the Raizadas better be really damned scared. Indira's words : "Every time you take up for your sons Amma, when do we get our due? You only call us your daughters but don't treat us like one. I am waiting for the day you would take a stand and back us instead of your sons. Actually don't answer that, just let me know if it worth waiting for you to realize that" keep ringing in my head. It is a question many daughter-in-laws in this country wish to ask. They are expected to sacrifice everything in the name of family, is it ever worth it? When will they get their due? Feels like its time for KBV's prophecy about Indira to come true.
The way you discussed the whole fasting issue was also quite interesting, saw both sides of the coin. Khushi is doing it for the sake of herself and the kick it gives her, doing something for her husband ' and not because she sees logic and reason in what the priest it asking. Arnav's stance is understandable, his anger not so much. Atheist or not, he can disagree all he wants but all that screaming and that rough kiss were uncalled for. And I am so scared, he was so angry over a stupid fast; now that he has learnt about the Viren incident and that too in this manner, lord save Khushi from the wrath of Arnav. He is going to lose it this time, shit! And he doesn't even know about the Suraj incident yet. I really hope it is Khushi who opens up first about that one, don't want a repeat of this whole thing. I was right to be scared, Khushi is too late. Why did she push it this far, again ?
The last paragraph was so introspective in nature; it laid down the biggest problem in a nutshell. How easy it is to lose oneself in a whirlpool of societal norms. One begins with living in a society, and dies the second they start living for the society. Mirror test, very much warranted.
Give yourself a pat on the back, and take a bow. This was brilliant, K :)
PS ' I am usually not too much into first page res-es. But I really wanted one on this update. And look how far I am from it. So sad :(
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