DAY 22! - You and I = Us!
A fight has been triggered, a war is around the corner and voices are ready to be raised.
Our society. Many norms, many morals have originated from this society. Yet times have changed but the rules remain the same. People have progressed, yet the mind has been left behind.
A groom rejects a dark girl, just because he wants a fair bride.
A boyfriend rubbishes the proposal of a girl with a scar, only because he wishes a spotless face to kiss.
Don't forget... even the moon has dark spots. Yet everyone dreams of capturing its beauty.
That's the reality of our society.
A boy flirts with an innocent girl, "Wow man! He's in!"
A girl approaches a boy for some help with an assignment, "Man how desperate can she be?"
That's the reality of our society.
A mother chooses a traditional, well-educated yet an average-looking girl for her son. "Son, it's not about how she looks from the outside. She has a heart of gold. I'm sure she'll keep you happy."
A mother passes a group of girls hanging out at the nearest caf in their finest dresses. "Just look at the girls of today. No shame whatsoever. If she is like this from the outside, just imagine how she must be from the inside."
As harsh as it seems, that's the reality of our society.
Lucky are those people who find true love in their lives. But luckier are those who find people who can understand them.
Mukti lost that someone. She broke. I know. She blundered. I understand. She messed up. I agree.
But she be judged. I disagree. She be defamed. I oppose. She be dishonoured. I testify.
Who are they to command what we wear and what we don't? Who are they to impose how we sit, walk and eat? Who are they to dare touch our bodies and souls with their dirty hands and then comment they were just protecting us from the stains of society?
"Toh hame sirf mentality se nahi ladna hai. Unki mentality se bhi ladna nahi"
It's a fight which cannot be fought from the hands. It's a fight which must be fought from the words.
The heart and mind will join hands in this war because reputation is stake, a girl's honour is being questioned, the definition of righteousness is being challenged.
Another devil has entered. Another evil is lurking. He's more powerful, more malicious and more sinful.
The power of love and friendship will be tested once again. But a lot they have learnt over the course of the days. Much they will learn whilst fighting this battle.
Fab 5 may have lost one member, but 2 new members have been welcomed on board too. Voluntarily, or involuntarily. But they will support, fight and win. Because it's not about fighting for oneself anymore. It's about fighting for each other.
Manan have lost much, but they have gained more.
Trust was lost somewhere along this journey, but when found, a beautiful mix of trust and hope was formed and it was sealed with a tag of forever'.
Priceless tears were shed during the journey, but they were never left to be shed alone. Together they always shed the tears, and together they smiled their happiness.
A fight between the two is what begun this journey, yet the roads met downtown and no one realised when their fights with each other became their fights for each other.
They repelled each other like alike magnets almost. But ever since the hearts have discovered their bond, they refuse to let go.
Finding love amidst hatred is their story. Learning to trust amongst doubts is their story. Discovering each other within themselves is their story.
Do they complete each other? Absolutely! Do they love each other? Undoubtedly! Does that complete their story? Hell no!
They learned to fight for each other whilst fighting for themselves. Correct! Yet have they learnt to fight together? No... not yet.
They learned to share their love, share their happiness, share the burden of their sorrows. Precisely! But have they learnt to share their dilemmas, guilt and distresses outside of their own bubble? Nope.
They learned to welcome each other into their lives, and make each other a part of each moment of their day. Definitely true! But have they learned to introduce them to their world outside of each other. Have they let each other accept the other's world and people as their own? I don't quite think so.
They are together, yet not exactly one. The have learned to say "we', but haven't started saying 'us'.
But I'm not too worried. They are only steps away from reaching their goal, and these steps will teach them their remaining teachings of love.
This may be a fight for their friend. Mukti. To re-light her vanished hope. But the test of fire will be faced by Manan.
I rewind back to his promise of always protecting her. If protection is given so much importance, then we must fear for the danger that is coming up.
I rewind back to her promise of always fighting his battles when he feels defeated. If his friends are his biggest weakness, I can foresee her becoming his strength in this coming battle.
Our Nandini has once again raised her voice against evil! Her fight for the victory of her rightfulness begins yet again. But this time it's not for herself, it's not for her friends. It's for him...his family...his friends. When she claimed she will fight his battles, she meant she will fight theirs too. When she assured she would always be there for him, she meant she will stand tall and fearless for her friends too.
It's time for his final teaching. He doesn't have to choose between her and them. He doesn't have to choose between love and friendship. He doesn't have to fight their battles alone. He doesn't have to feel the guilt that he couldn't protect the other.
He's already fighting one devil single-handedly, he doesn't have to fight two at the same time.
He'll learn that in love it's not about give me all your sorrows. Give me all your pain. Let me fight your battles. It's about sharing those worries. Sharing those distressed. It's about "Come, let us fight these battles together."
Mind you, if he's not perfect, she's not flawless either. Infact, it is their imperfections that make them so perfect.
Our Manik knows his Nandini defies his anger every time. She believes his anger can be the death of him someday. But his temper is not something she hates. She acknowledges it's a part of him and yet she has accepted him despite it. His anger is not something she fears either. She just resists the use of this anger, time after time. She disagrees that violence is the solution to every problem. She wants him to understand that fighting with raised hands and clenched fists isn't the most effective way of fighting a battle. A verbal battle and a mind's game can be more destructive.
Think about it, whilst Nandini's words fumbled at the magistrate's office.. I don't see that fault as entirely hers. It wasn't Manik's trust's issue either. It was his anger. That was the real culprit. From day one, she's been well aware of the fiery side of him. In fact, it's one side of him, that she knows the best. His anger compelled her words to falter. His anger was the root of this temporary exile. His anger forced not only her, but Cabir to believe too that he was capable of someone's death.
His anger. She had always warned it would be the cause of his doom someday. And what more of a punishment could he get then be separated from his love just as he realised the existence of that true love.
But this anger, this fury, this dark side. It's his sixth sense.
When he had promised to always protect her, he knew the importance of this promise. He understood the weightage of this responsibility. Her purity, her simplicity, her sincerity is what he had fallen in love with. And as days flew by, time ticked by, he realised that this innocence, this goodness, this honesty was always in the danger of being manipulated. Her virtues and righteousness was her strength. And devils were on a constant look out to use it against her as her weakness.
She considers this whole world to be of people. Some may be bad, some may be better than others. But the truth is, devils reside here too. Whilst she has managed to recognise one with the help of friends, one remains masked.
A Raavan. Panditji.
He returned today. With his selfish intentions of abducting her and taking her with him to London. He bribed her with her grandmother's happiness. Claiming she will be so proud to see Nandini perform.
But the Lakshman rekha awaits him. Her protector, her warrior, her saviour.
"Mai yahan pandit pen azar rakhne ayaa hoon."
And just like the line in the sand was invisible for Ravan, this protector is hidden too. The wardrobe is his invisible cloak.
He will make sure she never crosses that line and falls into his trap. He vows to protect her from this devil till he doesn't return back to his home in hell.
He keeps her engrossed in his sarcastic words and rhetorical questions, but still gets the message across. He doesn't want her becoming fearful. But he wants her to remain cautious of her steps and of the people around her.
"And you haven't noticed? Who kya kya karta hai? Of course! Tum kaise notice karogi? Tum toh dekho gi hi nahi. So sab kuch mai dekhra hoon."
These last steps are crucial for Nandini too. She will be learning her first and last step of trust, honesty and faith.
Faith must be strong, it must be unshakable. But it mustn't be blind.
Trust is good. Trusting people is necessary. Trusting yourself is vital. But trusting other's instincts is just as important as trusting yours. Trusting others to be good because you, yourself are an honest person is an untrustworthy claim.
Being honest is essential. Be honest towards yourself as well as others. But expecting honesty in return shouldn't be the motto of life.
These last steps will be hard for Nandini. Her trust will shatter in many ways. But the road won't be so difficult as her hope would've won by then.
His anger had once been the cause of their separation, but to a great extent that same rage will bring her back to him. His madness, his fire and his insanity to see her protected will save her from the claws of that devil. She will witness the extent he can go to protect her and then there will be a realisation that this fight of hope was just as much of his fight as her fight. She will realise that he is where her trust begins and it is where it ends. She will realise his anger leashes out for her and it also retracts back into him for her.
Today he realised that his violence is not the solution to this problem. So he lowered the clenched fist.
Tomorrow she will realise that his anger is enough to protect her, but it's not enough to kill anyone
____
Before i get started..i would like to please request a thesaurus because beautiful and perfection don't seem to cut it anymore..like how often can i use them ? lol. Seriously thou, every time i read your analysis, i think, this is her best one yet but everyday you up your game and write even more wonderfully.Take a bow babe ! 👏 This analysis was very well put together, you tied in points of the past..the role his anger and temper has played in the past..how it's all changing very slowly..how Manik is changing slowly for the better. I doubt i will add much to the discussion but my thoughts i will put definitely put here.
Society. What is society? Who has made it ? We the people. The men and women of this world. So who should we point a finger to ? Because obviously someone is at fault here. Oh, it must be the girls, the women ! Women are inferiors even today, all over the world. Inferior, in rights, in freedom, in pay. But one aspect, we triumph the men. In the amount of faults we have ! Because no matter what happens, It's a girl's fault. "bullshit", i say. And the men of the world ! Dominance they crave it. Women surpass them, they can't bear it. Women are learning to be more independent, slowly but surely but men rely on their dominance, we women should need a man to live life; she must be married. Never mind the fact that she takes your name and gives your heirs to keep your generations going. You obviously did her a favour. Never mind the fact that she can stand shoulder to shoulder to you and work and earn. It doesn't matter, she still doesn't get the same pay you do. We women are fighting a losing battle, that's what the mentality of the world is. They will suppress us, make us see the faults we have, use their muscular macho-ness to manhandle us. You won't succeed. Do you hear me ? Because our strength, it lies in our hearts not in our arms. We posses a intellectual mind. We will beat you with our words, with our thoughts, with our voice. You won't succeed. We will prove it, It's Not Us, It's You !
Rocky is not a man,hardly. He is so weak that he needs to bring in politican brother to harass a girl to show his manliness off. How pathetic ! They use their superior strength to manhandle the girls, to hold Alya and Navya back so that kutta could teach Mukti a lesson. You what, it hurt me to see that, i was dying for one of the boys to come save them. But i realized, this is what women and girls go through. They don't have Maniks and Cabirs to fight their battle, they must fight alone. Their fathers and brothers, some may not have them, some may be the same sick mentality. The point is we must be able to defend ourselves, and better yet, maybe the world should be safe enough so women don't have to. The politician stood there, flocked by his men (because he clearly needed all the man power he could get to handle 3 girls) as he taught mukti a lesson, how to dress. He touched her without her permission but it doesn't matter. He was teaching her lesson after all. The reporters recorded every minute because it was a lesson every woman should see and learn. If that's what the culture has taught the men. Then...Shame on the society, shame on the culture, shame on the norms. Shame on the people who promote this. Shame on the people who just stand there and watch it.
MTV and the team have picked up a sensitive issue and any awareness..even 1% of viewers gain any awareness then they have been successful. For me, this campaign #It'sNotUsIt'sYou works. So kudus to the team, i would like to see how the rest of it pans out.
A true man isn't a man who believes he must fight all the battles for his girl. No he believes in equality, they can fight the world together, Manik is learning that and yes, there are not there yet but they shall get there. While he will protect her, like the alpha lion he is when when someone dares to hurt his girls physically. But he knows a woman's strongest power is her mind..her real strength lies in her heart. Manik is that man. Cabir is that man. Dhruv is that man. Men who respect and cherish women. Treat them with the respect they deserve.
Does Manik have the urge to always fight Nandini's battles ? To always protect her ? Of course he does, he loves her after all. But does he give her the freedom she deserves ? to be independent ? Of course he does, he stood by her when Navya's pregnancy and expulsion issue was fought by Nandini. He didn't agree with her, but he stood by her..helped her when she stumbled and applauded the loudest when she succeeded. That's what true patnership is.
Does he foresee the danger she is in with that pandit ? does he have the urge to steal her away and shield her in his arms ? Could he have jumped out the moment her face dipped in ice cold water? Yes, yes and yes. But will he do it ? No but he will protect even if it means he has to hide in the cupboard. I had said, Manik doesn't need to part of Pandit's class to protect his girl. he is Manik Maltorta for pete's sake. He has his ways. And on the side note, the politician is in a rude awakening. he seriously doesn't know who Manik Maltorta is. I seriously whooped when he said, "Off MY Space Premises now !" Atta boy.
Let's touch on the Cupboard moment. He realizes her face is ice cold, she is in discomfort. Worry engulfs him. How does he make it better..in this small space, how does he help her? He shares his body heat, rubs his hands together and transfers the heat. But with that sweet gesture, not only does he warm her body..he warms her heart..her very soul with all the love he has for her. That smile she has, the warm smile she has over his love and concern, absolutely beautiful. I really wanted to see him bury her face in his chest but the way he did..no complaints. He did in his own MM style.
You discussed his anger, his fury and his answer to everything till now: violence and you did it wonderfully..like amazing so i won't add much. Except the instance where Manik Maltorta was like a bull today...all his red hot anger, raging fury, the burning need to smash his fist against flesh, all that gone in an instant. Just with one look at Nandini Murthy and his raised fist lowers. My beautiful moment ! Amidst the chaos of the situation, in the noise of his own anger, he still is so aware of her. One cringe from her, he understands, violence is not the answer here and the fist lowers, the bull is forced to leave his body. Manik Maltorta was not blessed with this control before. But he realizes, his anger, she doesn't like his anger. Violence, she doesn't believe in violence as a answer. Absolutely loved the point where you mention that she accepts his temper, yes, it's part of his persona but his anger, it has the power to consume him and she...she won't let his anger ever win over her love. Her love is stronger than his anger. Her love has healed Manik Maltorta..anger is not the only emotion he feels now.
Okies..i think i am done. I actually quite like this response of mine..lol. And you are utter perfection as always.
- Reya aka Your Sunny <3
Kabhi Neem Neem Kabhi Shahad Shahad
Fan Fictions
