Hey Vats, I had no idea that you would be mentioning my post in your note, had I known, I would have put in more effort in writing it :) I feel it was woefully inadequate in highlighting the reasons why you named the story the way you did. I would like to mention a few other significant details which I left out because I had basically tried to summarize everything up...
Firstly, in my book at least, "making" somebody yours is a desire, a wish, a goal. How you go about achieving it is not important unless it is done with evil intent, which in this case it wasn't. There are many paths to get to the same place, likewise there are many ways of "making" somebody yours IMO. One way is by being extremely sweet to them, singing odes to them, sending them flowers, "doing" things for them, showering praises on them, buying them gifts, wining & dining them etc. etc. so you can win them over and make them yours... Which, in my very humble opinion is the most common way of achieving things, because frankly, how many of us can resist that kind of temptation?? Who doesn't like someone who makes you feel so special... Nothing wrong in that , but that ain't the only way...
Another path, which is the way Arnav followed, was part manipulation, part coercion, part subterfuge, part subtlety, part sweetness, part kindness, part love & part trustworthiness... Now you may not want to fall for these kinds of acts, but the fact remains, one can, quite easily in fact, especially if if it is done with the right intent, and Khushi did. Now I understand completely not everyone likes being manipulated or coerced, nor do they have Khushi's kind patience & golden heart but that doesn't mean there aren't people out there in the world like that... The fact remains, Khushi did fall in love with her manipulative, ill-tempered, part recluse, quite loving & very cute Arnavji... Btw, I did too :))
Secondly, not everyone is comfortable expressing their feelings via standard run-of-the-mill ways... And your Arnav is everything but standard. He has a ton of baggage that he has been carrying around forever... It would look so out of character for Arnav to be showering praises on Khushi or buying her gifts etc... Those things are so alien to him that the only time the poor guy had tried doing that purposely, he ended up sounding so fake that he had riled up Khushi no end... :)
To me, little acts of kindness & thoughtfulness mean a lot more, than cliched words & gestures. Maybe that is why I have always been way more partial to your Arnav than I have been towards Khushi... I find him very genuine, not fake at all. At least, you know where you are with him. If he is angry, then he hasn't the slightest qualms in showing his displeasure, likewise, if he is pleased, then also he does not hesitate in showing it. Just like the time he gifted Khushi that antique piece of jewelry for her first rasoi rasam... His generous gift was not just because she had "cooked" for him, rather because it pleased him immeasurably to see Khushi cook so "enthusiastically" with so much gusto for him & serve it with so much pleasure, it had bowled him over!
And when Khushi changed her sari to go with the pendent & came to show him, Arnav was overwhelmed with her gesture & felt shy to say something nice about Khushi's looks even though he badly wanted to... The guy is so reserved, it would only take a monumentally persistent person like Khushi to make him utter things... Just like she had to literally pull words out of his mouth for him to admit, that yes, he was concerned for her safety, & was keeping tabs on her treatment & meds... Isn't that the sweetest kind of guy... In my world, he is :))
Perhaps the most significant detail that I had left out earlier was the fact that Arnav embraced her limp without ever thinking about it as a handicap, as an issue... How many men out there will do that?? In Khushi's own life, her groom deserted her on their wedding mandap & her other so-called BFF, had serious reservations about her limp from the very beginning. He wouldn't even date her lest he was ridiculed when they were younger, even though he "supposedly" liked her "a lot". It took a year of introspection after her wedding was finalized to another guy & almost lost her for good, for him to gather enough courage to overcome his hesitation & decide to pursue her... Too little too late IMHO.
But for Arnav, her handicap has been a non-issue from the get go. He never treated her special because of that, he cut her no sympathy, no slack. To him it was so insignificant, that he barely remembered about it half the time. And when he did, he lifted her in his arms proudly & refused to let it be an impediment for them to enjoy things together. Sorry, but I can't help but love your Arnav.
Yes, I do understand that he has an ill-temper which he has showcased on more than one occasion... But just as a recap let's go over the times he's lost it on Khushi...
1) He lost it when he saw her hugging her BFF, his nemesis numero uno, and rather than proclaim his feelings for her, he decided to leave India for good... Hmmm, I wonder why??
2) He majorly lost it, when RR proposed to Khushi right in front of him knowing very well that she was already engaged to him & Khushi replying to her "friend" that she will "think" about it after clearly telling Arnav earlier RR was nothing more than a friend... Really, is that his fault too??
3) He lost it again when he came over to pick her from work & surprise her, & what does she do, hug her BFF, knowing very well how he feels about her so-called "friend"... Stupidity on Khushi's part & nothing else...
4) He lost it big time when they bumped into that friend of hers again on his birthday & Khushi didn't go after him to get him back... I have never till date understood why she did that... Khushi who had always followed him around refused to go after him knowing very well he was probably fuming somewhere... That was purely foolish on Khushi's part to have ignored Arnav then IMO especially knowing his reason for not trusting that guy... If after that she says, I love you, it would seem to any man let alone a man as insecure as Arnav that she was just doing lip-service to save her back. No wonder he didn't believe her & took off to cool off & also to introspect on things... I know, I need my space when I am angry, & time to cool off, so I can totally get why he left when he did.
Feelings like love, should only be expressed when one feels comfortable saying it & not under some pressure or compulsion... Just like he did, quite out of the blue, when he called her his Tesoro & Mi Amore...
5) The last time he lost it was when he came to make peace with her in the office & letting her go to Mumbai for more days & to work around her wish to stay in Mumbai for longer, he walks in to witness her professing her "love" for her nothing-more-than-a-friend, I swear Arnavji... I won't say anything more, cuz, rest is history...
Hmmm, I wonder why Arnav lost his temper so many times??? Is there a pattern here? Maybe... Could he have lost it less violently?? For sure, but isn't he the one with huge anger management issues??
Maybe it had something to do with a feeling called jealousy & betrayal?? Maybe with the fact that when he had asked Khushi about her feelings for her friend before he proposed to her, she had assured him categorically that RR was just a "friend" & nothing more, only to see her "thinking" about her friend's proposal the next day... No man likes to be made a fool of, so I can understand why Arnav lost his temper, because all the times he had lost it, there had been a valid reason for him to do so... Maybe, he was expecting Khushi to pay more heed to his feelings & keep her distance from her BFF... And maybe if Khushi was more mature, she would have gotten it sooner...
I needn't rehash why Arnav is so insecure, why he finds it so hard to trust people, but the amazing thing is this, in spite of all his flaws & shortcomings, Khushi found it in her heart to see the man beneath the rude & angry exterior that his heart was of pure gold, he was just a wounded puppy within, starving for love. She has understood her man in bits & pieces, thanks to her extremely reticent husband but she did understand him finally, so kudos to her perseverance... That he is fiercely loyal, deeply compassionate & extremely trustworthy. A man of few words he maybe, but his heart is in the right place. Love her never say die spirit, if not for her, they would both be languishing in despair... It is no wonder they say that it takes two to tango, & now I want to see them waltz into the sunset...
And this Arnav achieved using all the tools at his disposal, not the standard, customary ones... His ways & methods may not be very conventional and may not be liked by all, but how does that matter to him?? He did achieve what he had set out to achieve, that is, Make Khushi His & he has undoubtedly done that & that is all that matters... :))
P.S. Extremely sorry for a extremely long post... :(
P.P.S. Vats so sorry for not thanking you here on this post about mentioning my post to your readers, but I was really touched! Thanks!
Edited by pixiegirl - 11 years ago
Anupamaa
16