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Part 1
Kabir and Amit are sitting on the hood of his jeep, discussing Kabir's symptoms (see my errata below in this color). Kabir gets down & tells Amit that this is their problem: they see a guy w/ a gal, they assume they are in love. There can't be a simple friendship, right? He tells Amit that he didn't expect this from him. He asks him whether he wouldn't have realized it himself had he been in love? Amit tells him that if God had a mobile or a telegraph service, he'd have dropped him a message (telegraph? 🤓) Amit cooly tells him that this is love. Whenever Kabir talks about her, he is happy. He can write novels in praise of her. Regardless of whether he meets Amit or not, he is not at peace w/ himself until he meets Jyoti. If she is even slightly late, he gets tense. He then asks Kabir whether he has butterflies in his stomach. Kabir is zapped, and Amit notes that by just mentioning her name, he blushes. No matter how he tries, he can't hide things from Amit. He tells him that this can't be mere friendship - after all, Amit is his friend as well, and Kabir has several others, but he doesn't have such feelings for them. So this is love, regardless of whether Kabir accepts it or not. (I like Amit calling him 'dude'!!!) Kabir tells him that he won't accept that. He says that he never thought of them as being in love. Amit tells him that love doesn't give them the time or opportunity to think or understand - it just happens. It's like an accident, a sweet accident. He suggests a thought experiment. He asks him whether he saw 'Dil chahte hei'? He says that just like Amir closed his eyes, and out of thousand girls, only saw the one he loved, Kabir should try that as well, and he's guaranteed to see Jyoti. Kabir tells Amit that he's being too filmy - what's wrong w/ him? 😆😆 He tells Amit that all this is only appropriate in movies. He tells him that he only loves his freedom, nothing else (Kabir sounds like Devika here: if only Kabir could have then been hooked to Devika, while Uday pursued Sudha) He tells him good night and drives off, leaving him behind (that was mean, leaving poor Amit alone at night in the middle of nowhere. Just for pointing out the obvious)
Kabir is driving home, and changes the radio channels, but gets only love music (what else? Maybe he should have signed on for XM, although I dunno whether it's there in India) He gets irritated and turns it off. He then starts getting flashbacks of Jyoti, and finally he arrives @ his palatial mansion. He gets down from his jeep and goes to the porch in front of his entrance. He then thinks about the experiment Amit suggested to him, and tries it out, and sure enough, the vision he gets is that of Jyoti, dressed up differently and looking far more beautiful than she has to date, and lighting a diya. She then gets up, turns and walks towards him, holding the diya and smiles and mentions his name.
Kabir opens his eyes, and the realization has hit him. He starts laughing @ this realization, and then he starts yelling at the top of his voice 'I LOVE YOU, JYOTI!!!!! YES!! KABIR LOVES YOU, JYOTI!' ❤️😍🥳❤️😍🥳❤️😍🥳❤️😍🥳 ❤️😍🥳❤️😍🥳 ❤️😍🥳❤️😍🥳❤️😍🥳❤️😍🥳 ❤️😍🥳❤️😍🥳
Part 2
Sushma asks Jyoti whether she spoke to Kabir. Jyoti asks how she couldn't have, given that she was under orders (Sushma, please order Jyoti-didi to marry him) Jyoti says that she feels more @ ease, as she was tense previously about what if she told him the wrong thing? She mentions that today she got to the academy late, and Kabir was tense, and who knows what he started thinking? Sushma tells her that that's why she told her that it's very difficult to find a good friend. Jyoti is lucky that Kabir cares for her. Jyoti nods, and Sushma asks her whether she really agrees, or is just nodding? Jyoti tells her that she's scared that this friendship would hurt members of the family. Sushma tells her that had Jyoti not talked, she'd (Sushma) been hurt. 👏👏👏 She adds that the family wasn't upset that she was out w/ Kabir, but just on the perception of outsiders. They can't do anything about that, so she begs Jyoti to ignore all that. Jyoti asks about Deepu, adding that due to her & Kabir, Deepu lost his job. Sushma asks Jyoti why she holds herself responsible for everything? If that guy was insulting Jyoti, Deepu should have either talked to him, or complained to the manager. Where was the need to fight? Jyoti is just surprised, and asks her how does she have answers to everything? (B'cos she's either grown a brain, or probably stolen your old one 😉😆) Sushma tells her that it's b'cos she's thought this through.
Jyoti tells her to go to bed, since she has to wake up early tomorrow. Sushma asks why, and Jyoti says that it's to go to the temple to pray for Pankaj, since it's his b'day. Sushma asks her whether his occasions really have any value for her any more? Jyoti says that there ain't an answer for everything, and she's just doing what her heart says.
Next day, Jyoti is getting ready (actually, this was a long, meaningless, boring scene of Jyoti picking a good bindi to wear, followed by her almost instinctively reaching for the sindur case b4 stopping: what's the 🤬 point of wasting valuable showtime by showing this? And then you have that inane song playing in the background some decibels louder than the actual conversations in the serial) KK asks her to pass her the paper, and she does. He asks her where she is going so early, and she says to the temple to pray for Pankaj-ji, whose b'day it is today. KK looks @ her sadly.
Kabir is still sleeping, when his phone rings, and he picks it up. It's one of his colleagues (this guy looked like one of Arjun Punj's subordinates in KMH - dunno who it was) The colleague is shocked and asks him whether he is still asleep: in half an hour, they have a meeting @ Lake Palace Restaurant to discuss next week's party. He asks him when he'll come, and Kabir tells him that he won't be able to 😲 Kabir tells him that today, he has a very important meeting, for which all other meetings can wait. He asks him to reschedule, and the colleague agrees. He gets ready, and the phone rings again and it's the same guy. Kabir reiterates to him that there's no way he can make it, and he asks Mr Mehra to handle it himself. Mehra protests, but Kabir asks him whether he wants Kabir to be dead or alive. The arm twisting apparently worked. 😉😆
Kabir then accidentally turns to the Krishna statue he has, and greets him 'hi' 😆😆 and tells him that he felt like doing something for him today. He then lights a diya, and places it near the statue. He tells the god that today, he's out to pour his heart out, and is nervous about it. He asks Krishna whether he's w/ him (this is somewhat reminiscent of Uday's prayer when he prayed that Sudha would come and accept his offer of an engagement) He asks Krishna whether he should just go and tell her, and imagines Krishna giving him the okay, and telling him okay, fine. He then adds that Jyoti has just been divorced, but he has no problems w/ that himself, but that she still has feelings for Pankaj. (Krishna should have advised him to treat Pankaj like he himself treated Sishupala 😉 - I'm talking about abducting Rukmini from right under his nose, not about his ultimately killing Sishupala)
Jyoti is @ a temple, and prays for Pankaj. She tells the gods (Shiva & Parvati in this case) that she doesn't know w/ what right she came here, but she just felt like it. (If the gods could have responded, I wish they had told her that since her husband couldn't keep his marriage vows intact, any prayers or vows made on his behalf were worthless) She prays that on the occasion of Pankaj's b'day, he gets his peace & happiness.
Finally, the scene shifts to the Vashisth household. Everyone is there except Neelam. Longshree admires the cake, and Bhairavi says that it's only the beginning. They'd have a great party that evening. Pankaj arrives, and they all sing 'Happy birthday to you'. Pankaj takes the blessings of MN&G&B, and Sudha gives him a bouquet, telling him Happy birthday, bhai-sa'ab (this is the first time Sudha addresses him as Bhai-sa'ab, instead of jijaji or Pankaj-ji) Longshree asks Pankaj to cut the sweet cake, saying that Bengalis like having the sweets quickly. Bhairavi agrees, and asks Pankaj where Neelam is, and he says that she's upstairs. She sends Sudha to get Neelam, so that they'd all cut it together (how come she didn't bother to call Neelam b4 they sang?) Sudha goes to Neelam's room and tells her that she's wanted downstairs for cutting the cake, so Neelam gets up and agrees. Sudha seeing her plainly dressed asks her whether she won't wear something and get more decked up? Neelam asks her why, since the party won't be until the evening. That's when she'll be ready. Sudha tells her that since she'll be cutting the cake w/ Pankaj-ji, he'll really feel good about it. Neelam mocks the statement that he'll feel good about it, and points out to Sudha that it won't make any difference to him. Whether she dresses up or not would make no difference to him b'cos he can't see - he is blind!!! Sudha is shocked to hear this, while Pankaj, who was headed to his room to keep the bouquet somewhere, is shocked to hear this as well, and drops the flowers. (Poor baby!!!) 🥺😍🥺😍
Part 3
Kabir arrives @ the academy in his jeep. Jyoti asks her girls to keep practicing, while she meet's dada. Kabir gets down w/ another bouquet, and walks towards her absent mindedly, and bumps into a pillar. Jyoti sees him and asks him why is he fighting w/ the pillar. 😆😆 Kabir is stumped for a response, and makes up an excuse that he was testing its strength. Kabir is trying to goad himself to be brave, and Jyoti asks him whether he said anything? Kabir tells her nothing, so Jyoti asks him to think about his answer, while she meets dada. Kabir brings the bouquet he's hidden in front, and Jyoti asks him for who it is. He tells her after hesitating that it's for a very special person, and then asks Jyoti to take it. Jyoti is surprised, and asks him that if he's brought it for someone else, why should she take it? He tells her that he lied, and that it's actually for her, and she smiles sweetly, and asks why. He tells her that it's b'cos she's looking very beautiful today. Jyoti is flattered and accepts it, thanking him.
All this while, Kabir has been struggling w/ himself on what to say at every stage. Jyoti turns to leave, and Kabir tells her that he has something else to tell her as well. Jyoti's smile disappears from her face, and she frowns @ him 😕 (she's probably figured out what he is now trying to do).
Comments
I just loved today's episode. Most of it was about Kabir coming to the realization that he was in love w/ Jyoti, and when he arrived @ his palatial residence, his reaction to this realization was just awesome to watch!!! ❤️😍🥳 I'm wondering whether I should have wished for Jyoti to witness this, but given that she's likely to freak out, I should probably be glad she didn't. Incidentally, Amit on the surface looked like just one of those fun guys like say, Deepu's friends, all superficial, who likes to party, but his explanation to Kabir really belied his appearance. I'm rooting for this guy to get a gal as well. Just dunno who. Kalpana maybe?
For everybody who had been missing Pankaj and wondering where they were, they were back @ last - on his b'day. Everybody had been rooting for Neelam to be insensitive towards her sasural, and the first to experience it today was (unfortunately) Sudha and (fortunately) Pankaj. I actually agree w/ Neelam, even if she was unaware of how acutely keen Pankaj's hearing was, or that he was there, she doesn't have to wear the best of her outfits for a private function, particularly when the person it's for is not going to be able to appreciate it (w/o feeling her fabrics and making some deep geek comment about it's beauty in a manner befitting only the most effiminate of admirers: Pankaj is an eligible metrosexual) I thought Sudha was being overly sentimental, but I don't blame her: she was expecting of Neelam exactly what Jyoti would have done, and why not? That was Bhairavi's promise, no?
This is one of the first episodes I got to compare & contrast Pankaj & Kabir. Kabir is someone who seems perfectly capable of taking his lumps, and the bad w/ the good, whereas Pankaj seems so deeply hurt that Neelam is not dressed up right now for the cake. Well, Pankaj-ji, there is a cliche - Karma is a b!#c^, and there's your payback for punishing Jyoti well beyond what she deserved. Correction: it's just the first installment, and that too, on the great occasion of your b'day. 👏👏
I understand that Jyoti had deep feelings for Pankaj, but by now, it's high time that she lets go of his special occasions. After all, she did wish Neelam a successful marriage, and if that's the case, she should accept that such rights belong to Neelam and Neelam alone. Yeah, Neelam probably won't do it, but that's not Jyoti's problem. All Jyoti is doing is hurting people like Sushma & KK when she tells them that she's going to pray for a husband who was so cruel to her. And from a religious perspective, it's an insult to the gods to pray for someone who's marriage vows they couldn't keep. Also, by going to the temple, she'll be late to meet Kabir, causing him to go haywire again. Don't!! Pray for Kabir, Jyoti!!!! Had this scene not been there, I'd have given this episode 5 thumbs up.
Speaking of which, Kabir's prayers looked cute, but somehow, the walking-on-water attitude that he had exuded the last several weeks was sadly gone today, as he was just panicing about how to talk to her. How about 'Jyoti, I don't know whether I should tell you that I love you, or how, since you've just accepted me as a friend, so I'm not going to tell you that I love you since I have no idea of how you will react.' One thing for sure - Jyoti is more likely to laugh this one than freak out. 😉😆
But I love the fact that this truth is hitting Kabir, and once it hits Jyoti as well, I hope that Sushma, who seems to have by now taken over Kalpana's old role, and doing it better, encourages her to go ahead w/ this.
Hope that next week, Kabir proposes, and the week after, Jyoti re-marries. Follow that up w/ more Bhairij scenes, and then a meltdown that leaves Bhairavi out on the streets.
Correction on yesterday's update: after the part where Kabir & Amit were discussing things on his jeep, the episode ended: everything from there on - Kabir's puja, his giving flowers to Jyoti, etc was actually a part of today's episode. I regret the error.
Episode rating: 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼
Pluses: Kabir's demonstration of his love for Jyoti, Neelam insulting Pankaj 🥳
Minuses: Jyoti observing Pankaj's b'day 😳
Udne Ki Aasha
Jaane Anjaane Hum Mile
Fan Fictions
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon
