Smita,😊
Here is the interpretation to Section 2 of Part 11.
Seeing Arnav in the kitchen, HP who had been searching for him told that Anjaliji had been searching for him. Khushi who was dreading to answer his question got a reprieve and heaved out a sigh of relief. Arnav asked HP to tell his Di that he would soon join them. Once HP was out of earshot, he warned Khushi that he would get her answer either way by that night. Saying so he went to join the rest. Khushi held the edge of the cooking platform for support and was glad to be free from his magnetic influence.
Payal and Akash were stealing glances, both blushing every time. After Anjali and Buaji applied tilak and the Raksha dhaga was tied, the rings were exchanged. The family applauded, Akash and Payal were happy. Arnav noticed that even Mami was smiling at the pair along with the rest. Di was as expected brushing away her tears of happiness, Nani's face was filled with happiness and contentment, Mamaji was being congratulated by his circle of friends and acquaintances and Arnav thought what farce! It looked as though Mamaji was the one getting married! NK was munching away wafers with a smile on his face. His eyes paused at Khushi. She was battling for control over her emotions. She was trying hard not to give into tears. Arnav wanted to know why she wanted to cry when Sagai's were happy events.
Buaji went to Khushi and hugged her. She comforted Khushi by asking her not to worry as her sister will be entering into the folds of a good family. She would be missing her sister the most at night as she would be all alone on the bed that she had shared with her for the past ten years. She said that she knew about her fear to sleep alone and asked Khushi not to worry over that as she would sleep with her. Hearing her Buaji's words a ghost of a smile appeared on Khushi's lips. Buaji to cheer her up told her with a laugh that they would search a perfect groom for her who matched her in weirdness and who was as crazy as her. Hearing her protest, Buaji with a playful pinch on Khushi's chin moved away still laughing at Khushi's annoyance.
Arnav who had witnessed this byplay had to swallow the lump in his throat with utter difficulty. Anjali who had come near him with a lour, oozing out with fake innocence rolled a Thunderball, as to where he was when she had looked for him all over the house in vain. She knew that he would be the proverbial Dr. No if tackled head long. Nani and Mami who were eager to know his whereabouts, had their ears sharpened to this conversation between the siblings. Arnav who did not want to reveal that he was with Khushi, was at loss for words. He stammered that he was busy. Mami who was given A View To A Kill, would never let go of such an ideal opportunity to tease as well as elicit information from Arnav, which by itself was once in a blue moon occurrence. She told her mother-in-law that her Chotey was busy but what he was doing was the point to be noted and asked him so. Arnav squirmed at her prodding and probing. Nani who was quiet so far braving herself to withstand the Skyfall that he might subject them to later, knowing fully well that he would not stoop to take The Living Daylights out of them in front of the guests, spoke to herself as though she was the one possessing the Golden Eye making her able to see all that is going on around her. She said that even Khushi was missing as though solving that puzzle would give her a Quantum of Solace. All the three were playing a game of roulette at his expense, as though they were at Casino Royale. Knowing that his behavior had given them a License to Kill, he quickly left the scene only to have hearty chuckles bombard his back, leaving him with a feeling that The World is Not Enough to house all of them together.
Arnav found Khushi leaning against a pillar watching the guests dance. He asked her whether she was not joining the rest. When she shook her head to show her disinclination, he pulled her by arms and led her away and asked why she was not joining the rest. Khushi's silence made him utter that Payal will be just a few kilometers away from her after her wedding and she needn't miss her that much. It was his clumsy way of giving solace and as usual it had the opposite effect. Giving him a piercing glare, she told him that these things were beyond his scope of understanding.
Arnav who spoke with the intention of cheering her was rankled by her retort. With his eyes sharpened like a hawk he pounced on her saying, what would he not understand? Shagun, Sagai, all the rituals were utter nonsense. They were all to make others happy wasn't it? It was a formality to give the relationship a legal status. All the hullabaloo for a relationship that may or may not last. It was a just a deal, a contract based on an emotion, love that would change into hatred over the years. Arnav's look at her showed that she was pathetic to believe in things such as that.
"He does not believe that does not live according to his belief"
~ Sigmund Freud
Carrying on his ranting he said that love and marriage were a rigmarole meant only for idiots, who were vulnerable enough to think that this contract would last a lifetime and it means something more than what it actually represented. He placed before Khushi what his innermost thoughts were on the institution of marriage.
Khushi who was riled beyond belief at this tirade of his, attacking the very tenet that she cherished, offered a swift apology to her Devi Maiyya for going to break her promise of giving him a Royal Ignore. Once that was done, she switched on from the silent listening mode to the full blast with all guns going mode. In a deceptive voice she asked him then all these are meaningless isn't it. When Arnav concurred, she continued in the same vein and said that then it must be the correct thinking as he is the one known for sharp brains able to cut deals where none existed for the layman. He was the only one possessed with a brain that could deduce such tricky things as she was often reminded by him. Listening to her calm acceptance Arnav felt as though it was the calm before the storm. He was reminded of the placid ocean before a cyclone envelopes it. He watched her with suspicion. She repeated the jist of his harangue that marriage was stupid and living together was the ideal and sought his confirmation. Arnav agreed with her saying that it made better sense as there would be no expectations on either side that the relationship or contract would last. When he stopped his argument she took up and said that, then the next time some moron comes to his family with a proposal for his sister, he better inform that idiot that he would let her be in only live-in relationship and marriage was not an option even to be given any consideration. Khushi asked him to allow them to fall into that relationship. When needed introduce him as your sister's companion. Khushi threw an open gauntlet at the flabbergasted Arnav. He was speechless. All he could do was clench his jaw at being on the receiving end for the first time, that too from the chit of a girl whom he had accused of coming from a middle class and was of no status in the society. She was holding a mirror to his thoughts.
Even with a fuming Arnav breathing down her neck, she was relentless in driving home the bitter truth. Continuing, she said it was fine irrespective of the stance taken by the opposite party as it was his life, his sister's life and who are others to question them. If his Di would become lucky enough to become a mother, conduct a Godhbharai in his house. When the guests ask for her husband, then he could enlighten them that she has only a companion who may or may not be around her by then. After all, love is not a permanent thing and according to him it dies as time goes by. As love changes being a free bird he may as well walk away. He would be fine with that. Won't he?
Seeing him grit his teeth and clench his fists with a thunderous expression on, she said in pretentious surprise, what a rarity to find Arnav Singh Raizada getting angry? The lion who had kept quiet, though boiling with rage all along roared, ordering her not to dare, to say such preposterous things about his Di.
"When a man gives his opinion, he's a man. When a woman gives her opinion, she's a bitch"
~ Bette Davis
Khushi calmly smiled and asked, why was it not allowed? When he was ready to have a live-in relationship with Lavanya, why can't another man do the same with his Di? If he could bring in Lavanya to live-in with him, why not let Anjali's companion live with her in his house?
"Truth without love is brutality, and love without truth is hypocrisy"
~ Warren W. Wiersbe
Arnav moved towards her. But Khushi who was on a roll was not in a mood to relent. She said, addressing him as Mr. Raizada, that there was only one set of rules in this world. Both his Di and Lavanyaji come under the same rule. They both have been nurtured by the rays of the same sun, breathing the same air available without any hint of status. He had put Lavanya in embarrassing positions so many times without even a thought that he too had a sister at home. Just as his Di's honor was of importance to him, Lavanya's dishonor too should have been his concern. Khushi's tone that was dead serious showed that she meant every word she said.
Khushi had stated what is universally acclaimed as Laws of Reflection.
The incident ray, the reflected ray and the normal are in the same plane.
The angle of incidence is equal to the angle of reflection.
The incident ray and the reflected ray are on the opposite sides of the normal.
~ Rene Descrates
Just then she heard her Buaji calling out to her with her pet name. Looking at Arnav addressing him as Mr. Raizada, she told him that she would ask him a question in return. Does he really know what he wants from his life?
Arnav stared dumbfounded. He was in doldrums. His heart was all for the need that he felt for Khushi but his head kept fighting against it reminding him of his past and the pain associated with it.
"One thing you can't hide - is when you're crippled inside"
~ John Lennon
When once again Buaji called out to her, she replied that she was on her way and walked away leaving Arnav to ponder over the bitter dose of truth Khushi had dared to administer. The Lioness roared and the Lion had no option but to listen!
"Wherever you find a great man, you will find a great mother or a great wife standing behind him... or so they used to say. It would be interesting to know how many great women have had great fathers and husbands behind them"
~ Dorothy L. Sayers, Gaudy Night
This update is about Arnav Singh Raizada's and Khushi Kumari Gupta's thoughts on marriage.
It is a RETROFLECTION or RETRO REFLECTION of their thoughts.
What exactly is retro reflection?
A retroflection is the reflection from a retro reflector sometimes called a retroflector or cataphote, a device or surface that reflects light back to its source with a minimum of scattering.
A typical example is the cats eye placed on the road used to dividing the opposite lanes.
Both, Arnav Singh Raizada and Khushi Kumari Gupta, are firm in their belief but are at the different ends of the spectrum.
Arnav feels that marriage is a temporary contract that gives no guarantee of its permanence but doesn't help in life as it doesn't come with a warranty of a replacement when the emotion called love fizzles out. So according to him it was a Fool's Paradise.
For Khushi, marraige is a permanent bond in which love is nurtured and is on a growth plan. The profits and losses (ups and downs) only enhance the beauty of its growth and make it stronger. For her it is a Gateway to Paradise.
By airing his opinion Arnav has shown Khushi what exactly he feels on the institution of marriage.
By countering him with her opinion Khushi has held a mirror at Arnav's thoughts when reflected on him and his family how it would be!
She showed that all should be measured by the same yardstick and different strokes for different people cannot be applied on the same topic and it was not acceptable.
"I am not bound to win, but I am bound to be true. I am not bound to succeed, but I am bound to live by the light that I have. I must stand with anybody that stands right, and stand with him while he is right, and part with him when he goes wrong"
~ Abraham Lincoln
That is why it is RETROFLECTION!
"Courage isn't always a Lion's roar... It's also the silence of ant working patiently, persistently and never giving up"
That's it from me. Hope you enjoy it.
Anupamaa
Kabhi Neem Neem Kabhi Shahad Shahad
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