Posted:
"Say, when shall we next meet together?
Surely not in cloudy weather,
For you my boon companions dear
Come only when the sky is clear."
After driving around in that same SUV we saw today, these were the "vows" he made to her six months ago...
"Hum bhi aap se nafrat karte hain, Mr. Raizada, kyunki aap sirf nafrat ke layak hain..."
Surely not in cloudy weather,
For you my boon companions dear
Come only when the sky is clear."
~Li Po
Gif credit: tumblr
Edited~
Loved the title and the quote, Priya.👏👏 You are still updating the Crooner, but you connected your thoughts you beautifully to Crooner 50.2 where you spoke of Spring and the Uttar-Purab nexus...We had spoken extensively about Arnav Rekha, then...Look how far we've come! Even though I had mentioned it in discussions early Tuesday that Khushi might reveal her feelings, I did not expect it in yesterday's epi, but I was happy that she was spontaneous and enjoyed being in the moment. It was her moment. And it was wonderful.
But overshadowing that moment for me was that full moon as she thinks of him...It waxes and wanes just as the world turns, and our CVs have always used it to mark beginnings and endings. And so it was used today as well! As you well reminded us, they did not forget the dates--from Feb. 14 to August 14!! Genius on their part. I have had a sense of deja-vu for the last few days...and today it hit me, yet again. Then I looked at the calendar again, and you and I had spoke of the "pakshas", the Hindu lunar phases just yesterday...What started six months ago on another full moon night--Krishna Paksha, that inauspicious phase-- today was revisited, but for different reasons...
"Ab tum meri patni hoh, par sirf duniya ki nazaron mein; aur sirf che mahino ke liye. Uske baad mein tumhe azaad kar doonga. Per tab tak tum mere ghar mein mere saath meri patni ban kar rahogi. Yeh sindoor, yeh mangalsutra sirf ek samjhota hai. Na mein tumhe kabhi apni biwi manoonga, aur na biwi ka darja doonga..."
And with them said, he brought in the darkest period of their lives...As the world turned in those 6 months, so did their feelings...from Nafrat to Mohabbat...That intense hatred that had built a shell around their hearts started to crumble...He was the first one to bring his feelings in the open...the man who never once thought about feelings and emotions had made a case for them so vehemently...Ever respectful of Buaji, he stopped her from even coming close to his wife. Her niece. Whereas he had stood by & watched while Garima had slapped Khushi on that fateful night 6 mths ago, today, Arnav stood for his wife. The man who has no faith in the "institution" of marriage, the man who had told her it was just an "understanding"-samjhota-today, went back on his own words.
The man who once declared that Khushi didn't have "a character" today thwarted his grandmother's insinuation of the same. A terse reminder to her about her "society" and his: in his society, his wife is known as "Khushi Kumari Gupta Singh Raizada." His respectful wife. The man who had said he would let her go free at the end of the six months, today did everything possible to stop her from leaving, seemingly barricading her in with his words and actions! Making a case for her in front of the elders.
And yet, the man who always willed himself to write his own destiny today was willing to compromise and relent in the name of reeti rivaj, "vidhi" and "rasams" for a singular reason: His Khushi. We have to wonder: what has love done to this man? How could he agree so easily? The strength of that tenacious love cannot be underestimated, I guess. He singlehandedly declared that contract null and void to himself & to her, yet still she is not by his side. Why did I feel the presence of a bigger hand above orchestrating their lives?
She had spoken of intense and seemingly incurable hatred on that evening right after their wedding, dressed in yellow... Today, she waited for him...longed for him to come back to her and their bed adorned with petals. That very heart admitted what it has long known...and in such spontaneous fashion. She said she would wait for him--"hum aapka intezaar karenge..." The girl, no, woman, now, has had an awakening alright. Running away from him until the evening prior, today her heart was finally at rest. She was willing to completely accept him even before the showdown in the living room... But hearing him stand up with and for her only made her fall more deeply in love with him. And that is exactly why she said the words: "Hum bhi apse I LOVE YOU, DAMMIT"...no hesitation...just love...PURE LOVE! Loved the image of Wilde's Nightingale and the Rose quote to depict what we saw today, hun!!!👏
That smirk confirmed his reciprocated feelings completely...And with that, a seemingly beautiful phase in their lives set to begin...
"I like to see people reunited, I like to see people run to each other, I like the kissing and the crying, I like the impatience, the stories that the mouth can't tell fast enough, the ears that aren't big enough, the eyes that can't take in all of the change, I like the hugging, the bringing together, the end of missing someone."
~Jonathan Safran Foer
~Jonathan Safran Foer
But I keep coming back to that moon, hun...waxing and waning...The auspicious phase--Shukla paksha ending, and that moon marking Janmashtami--in the inauspicious Krishna Paksha; heralding the birth of the destroyer of evil...even in our mythology, Krishna had a responsibility...the reason why to which he was born. While we revel in the timeless and eternal story of Radha-Krishna, the Lord had a bigger purpose. Today, I felt their love would be eclipsed by what is coming...the antecedents...the shadows of the past looming into the forefront. Starting with that contract, and then moving down the ravine of memories...I don't think the contract is null and void. In fact, for me, it is the Pandora's Box, especially now that the family has insisted on a re-marriage. There are too many questions, and answers left unanswered. The talk of pheras brought it back into the light, and the why! behind the contract has yet to be revealed, and more importantly destroyed. Furthermore, the maligning of Khushi's "character" by Dadi and her own folks will only stop once the truth about the contract is out! The "why" behind her being at the RM will surface again! The showdown today ensured this! As much as Naani reminded him of his responsibility to her, there are still others who will point fingers at her and them! Their sacrifices for their siblings--tied to that contract--have to come out so that they are redeemed for their actions, they may not want it, but "others" will leave them no choice! So, Arnav's tryst with his true destiny begins now...and Khushi will be a part of it; maybe not by his side, but with him, nonetheless. Arnav will not only fight the snake, but he will fight many others like him, figuratively and otherwise! His going into the "peetal ka bhartan" will happen in this phase as well...
Yes, on this day, when the shackles were to come off from their "contract", we see shackles of another kind being put on it...dark truths, norms and societal dictates will ensure it! Yes, her words of not returning until the contract is "done" seem prophetic now! But the paradox remains: they have now declared their love for each other, and yet they wait for that sweet joy to reunite them. But where and when will love find its way then? Can we hope that after this phase is over, it will finally be time for him to come and seek her when the "sky is clear", in the West? When Spring finally arrives? Will the "homecoming" be as beautiful as we envision it, or will it entail traversing on a path of sharp thorns, yet again?
Before I get into some other thoughts, I want to bring three important "script liberties" that have been bothering me since yesterday:
1) Naani had agreed, albeit very reluctantly in the beginning, that Lavanya & Arnav could live together. Yes, I understand the cultural differences between La's family & the Raizadas, and also between La & Khushi themselves. But, ultimately, was it fair that Khushi was asked to leave, given that she had already lived with him for 6 mths? When Arnav announced his engagement, La continued to reside in the RM. She was not told to live separately until the wedding. Really, is this a legitimate cultural argument, or is this a glaring double standard?
2) The "Moral Police" strikes again: accusingly and blatantly questioning the woman's upbringing, morals, character. The man's impetuous in all this is given no attention. And it was implicit in the questioning: this was Khushi's doing, not Arnav's...Dadi made her case over & over again...yeh ladki, aapki beti ke sanskaar...etc, etc. Don't get me wrong, I appreciated Naani's "defense" of Khushi, and loved Arnav's response...He tried to defend her by saying he knew the circumstances under which they got married (and yet, he did not reveal the actual reason; again, the reason for the contract looms!) But I still ask, was it necessary to give us such deliberate maligning? Or is this SP's standard convoluted funda for raising TRPS?🤢 I am not willing to buy the argument "that is the norm"! No, it doesn't hold water for me!
3) So the marriage vows and rituals are happening to please to others, not for ArHi themselves. But do the pheras and rasams and the "presence of samaj" define marriages in India and in "our culture"? Never mind the "hungama" said samaj will create in any case by seeing Khushi in her maayka again; so the point is to shut the mouths of those very ppl by giving them something to talk about from the get-go? Wha???Do the CVs honestly expect the audience to buy into this archaic and dare I say it, banal, thinking? And since when has ASR cared about what others think? I think it was an injustice to his character to some degree to have to relent to everything. Why couldn't this wedding be just because Khushi wanted it? Have Aman be a witness! This is the best script for the remarriage ? Really?
Other thoughts~
~ Khushi wore the same outfit as the day of the kidnapping...ominous or coincidence?
~The glass shattering: consistency in all things omens, I tell ya! Kudos, CVs!!
~Tu hi baata mere Maula, tu hi baata mere Rabba...I have always said this prayer defines them...but it also brought me back to the "mannat ki chaabi" we've talked about, hun...Where the reference to that "key" began, where we first heard those haunting and everlasting sufi words...A reminder of the significance of that "key" and our Khushi's role, yet again?
~Rose petals...Khushi touching those petals on the bed brought me back to your "bleeding rose" yesterday, and all the references we've made to roses and thorns...Again, a beautiful moment overshadowed by melancholy.
~Daadi is still not happy with Khushi as ASR's wife...The nexus to the past is a very clear one. Oh, & I hate it when she says Arnav's name--go figure!😡
~Where was Arnav the night before, and did he clear the rose petals...hahaha & throw them into that suitcase (good one, Priya!!😆)?
~And is the white SUV back for good?😕 Stop TEASING us!!! We have plans for it!😉
~ASR's "Stop It" ROCKED!
~I can't wait for ASR to climb through windows at GH & the render-vous that will ensue!
~Daaiiyaaa Hooo!!! *Shudders* CCTV in the RM...what we always hoped for--but in reverse!😆 How many of us prayed that Snake's behavior would be caught on the RM CCTV so that Khushi's truth would come out (assuming Arnav had installed a system?) I was laughing when I saw him, too...Can we do away with that blue bracelet & the threats now? We get the point!
~I do think Shyam will come back stronger, and all those reference to "36" we've heard will find its way to AR36K...
Performances were solid across the board; the "liberties" in the script left me asking today. Coupled with this, the thought of a separation and the "darkness" approaching seemingly at breakneck speed is a bit of a downer for me (I know, a first!😲) Well, I am getting ready for travels soon; just as well...Will miss this space and all of you guys as always. Hope to be here tomorrow if time permits, otherwise, will drop in chalte chalte...😊🤗
A very Happy Independence Day to All! There is ONLY ONE MOTHER! VANDE MATARAM!
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