Finally Arnav is back or is he?? Looks like, only his physical body is back, his heart & soul, he seems to have left them back in England, buried with his Lexie... This Arnav is a mere shadow of his former dynamic & charming self. This is an impersonator parading around in Arnav's garb. Where is the real Arnav we know & love so dearly??
Seeing this Arnav, reminded me of the first chapter of Srimad Bhagvad Gita -- Arjun Vishaad or The Grief of Arjuna. The chapter depicts how the great warrior Arjuna was overcome with overwhelming grief at the thought of killing his own brethren all in the name of winning their Kingdom. He refused to rise to the occasion & kill his own kith & kin. He was willing to forego their Kingdom rather than incur sin by killing his own relatives & teachers. And Krishna, took Arjuna to task by reprimanding him & mocking his cowardice at such a crucial juncture at the beginning of war. He urged Arjuna to get up & fight for righteousness & dharma & not for the people he will be killing as they are unrighteous & unlawful, & do not deserve to live. He tells Arjuna that unless he gathered courage & fought like a king he would be mocked & ridiculed throughout history as a coward who deserted the battlefield because he developed a case of cold feet due to his misplaced guilt.
Similar is the case here. Arnav is overcome with the grief at losing Lexie so pathetically to drugs & such loose, unrestrained, & unchecked lifestyle that he has lost his senses on what is wrong & what is right. He cannot just get over his "misplaced" guilt. And Khushi reminds me of Lord Krishna who is trying to knock some sense into the grieving & confused Arnav on what is right & what is wrong, what his Dharma should be.
Loved the way Khushi confessed of her feelings to Arnav. The way she dismissed Lexie as even a competition. Showing Arnav his true face, teaching him how to look at things clearly rather than the distorted image he has of his love for Lexie. I am pretty sure, Arnav had long realized subconsciously that he never loved Lexie in the way a woman should be loved, can be loved. Like Lexie's utopian outlook, his feelings for her also took a other-worldly turn & he never let go of that illusion. It was only when he was with Khushi was he beginning to realize the difference between the two, but unfortunately, before his thoughts & feelings for Khushi could solidify, life had other things in store for him, for them...
But now that he is back, & is behaving like a misguided person, squandering his blessings away, did his little warrior Princess pick up the battle with him & dropped her bombshell. She has openly challenged him to a war of sorts with his own demons & feelings. She is being every inch the proverbial Jhansi ki Rani... :))) She has once again thrown down the gauntlet & checked the King. Am more than curious to see whether the King is indeed a King or just a silly Knave. 😉
Fabulous update Shweta, looking forward to more of this brilliant, layered & fascinating love-story. 👏 👏
Jhanak
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