I just finished reading all 121 chapters and I was bowled by the beauty of this story.
The whole ambience, the sheer positivity and abundance of true love that you portrayed through Arnav and Khushi and their huge family filled my heart with optimism.
We witnessed the blossoming of love followed by a wedding through four different couples, each with different personalities, different tragedies and different ways of displaying their love. Arnav and Khushi, Akash and Payal, Anjali and Anand, and NK and Aarti.
This is probably the first story that I read that had no sort of vile or corrupt intentions in anyone. Yes, the characters and family members faced a fair share of conflicts and hurdles, but it was all shown in such a realistic manner giving the story some truth.
You generously gave space to all the characters apart from Arnav and Khushi which was a delightful surprise. I admit the loyal ArHi lover in me craved them at all times but I enjoyed the focus on Aarti and NK's love story and even briefly Payal and Akash and Anjali and Anand.
I cannot rave enough about how much I fell in love with Arnav and Khushi from the very beginning. Initially when Arnav proposed Khushi to be his mistress I figured that it'll have our typical Khushi with her innocent fiery but this calmly intelligent, strong child woman was a beautiful asset. I think hers was one of the strongest characters of this story. Her patience, her generosity, her open love for her family and especially her devars, her kindness to everyone; she was the epitome of good and innocence.
That particular love story was simply memorable, not because it was Arnav and Khushi's love story but because of the mutual pain that they suffered in their childhood, the honest love Arnav felt for Khushi from the very beginning, the trust that grew in leaps and bounds as Khushi opened up to Arnav and the sheer love and warmth that they had for each other and for their families.
There is so much I still want to say but can't seem to get all the jumbled words in order but I do need to say that Keeping Khushi wasn't just Arnav and Khushi's breathtaking love story, it was four different love stories, each with a different meaning, a different depth, yet all with the same emotion. Along with that we got the chance to experience a big family and all the relations a family can experience; Khushi, Akash and NK's heart warming bhabi & devar moments, Arnav and his brothers fierce loyalty and trust in each other, Mami and Nani's shared responsibilities towards their children, and many more.
This was a story I have no proper words to describe with. Simply all I can say is that I wish all families can experience this kind of happiness and togetherness held by strong ropes of love and that all girls finds their Arnav or Akash or NK or Anand at some point in their life.
Pria.
10