Posted:
As I mentioned in a previous post, I've been thinking a lot about the differences between Radhe and Krishna's love, and Krishna and Veer's love. Based on Aneeqa's encouragement, I thought I'd share my analysis! I only really started watching the show from when Radhe and Krishna went to London (although I couldn't bring myself to watch Radhe's accident), and I had watched a few episodes in between. So Aneeqa, our dear KCL Wikipedia, please feel free to fill in anything that I miss! đ
Radhe and Krishna's love always struck me as a very young love, what we might call puppy love. Radhe was extremely immature when they met, and even though he grew somewhat throughout their relationship, he continued to demonstrate immaturity and lack of control over his emotions. I remember Krishna even commenting on that when they were trying to rescue Laliya at the hospital, and how out of control Radhe was when he thought Krishna was missing in London. Because of this immaturity, it seemed that Krishna had to be the one to take care of him a lot - calming him down, managing his emotions, etc. That can be exhausting when you have to do that for another person. In contrast, you have Veer, who has always been incredibly mature and very in control (sometimes too much so) of his emotions. I think Krishna recognized this on some level and positively responded to this maturity. Here was a man who could take care of himself, who she didn't need to worry about flying off the handle all the time.
Of course, this contrast in Radhe and Veer has a lot to do with their upbringing. Radhe was the youngest child, and he was spoiled a lot by his family. He failed 9th grade and was pretty much left to roam around the city with no responsibilities. Veer, however, had no such luxury. He was the oldest, and when his father died, he took care of his mother and sister. He educated himself, and made sure that he could support them financially. He loves his mother, but he doesn't allow himself to be coddled by her the way Radhe did. He became his own man early on in life. Again, I think these were traits that Krishna found herself very drawn to, because she has always been intelligent and ambitious and ready to prove herself as well.
There's even significance in their names. As we know from the Hindu religion, Radhe represents the feminine energy of God, typically associated with nurturing, caring, and emotions. Krishna represents the masculine energy, typically associated with strength, drive, and a will to succeed. (Not to say that men and women don't each possess traits of both the masculine and feminine, just that these traits are typically more dominant in one or the other). By choosing to name the male lead Radhe and the female lead Krishna, the writers signaled that they were reversing the typical roles. Radhe wanted nothing more than to just get married and settle down in life. Krishna, on the other hand, wanted to pursue her career and dreams of becoming a doctor - she didn't really care about marriage. This was a role reversal of the typical male and female roles in society, and because of this, there was dissonance from the beginning between Radhe and Krishna. Even though the writers eventually showed them falling in love, I don't think they ever resolved that dissonance. Yes, Radhe ended up supporting Krishna's dream of becoming a doctor, but I don't think he really understood it. He did it because it's what she wanted, but he couldn't really understand that fire inside of her to succeed because he didn't have it himself.
Then you have Veer, whose name means strength and bravery. Finally a match to Krishna's own strength. He also had dreams and ambitions, and he had the same fire inside of him to make them come true. Rather than the dissonance between Radhe and Krishna, we now have harmony between Krishna and Veer, because on some deep level, they see themselves in each other. There's the old saying that opposites attract, but in reality, that rarely works for life partners. There has to be more of a match in core values for two people to spend a lifetime together. Krishna and Veer match many of each other's core values - educational pursuits, saving lives, taking care of their families, achieving one's dreams. Radhe and Krishna only matched a few.
Which begs the question, if Radhe and Krishna didn't have their marriage arranged and only met each other randomly on the street, would they have fallen for each other? I believe the answer is a resounding no. A girl with Krishna's intelligence and dreams would not have been drawn to a boy who clearly had no goals in life and spent his days doing nothing. I believe the only reason Krishna did start to love Radhe was because she was bound in marriage to him (so therefore felt she had no other options) and also did start to realize that he was a good person. But was this really love? I think it was a form of love, the way you love a friend who's dear to you. But I don't think she ever loved him the way one loves a life partner. To some degree, I think this is why she never consummated her marriage with him. Somewhere, deep in her heart, she knew her love for him hadn't reached that level yet.
And then you have Veer. They did meet randomly, and even though it wasn't love at first sight, they were drawn to each other in a way that Radhe and Krishna never were. They each recognized the fire inside each other as a mirror of their own and responded to it. They recognized their intellectual equal even though they didn't acknowledge it. Attraction between life partners must be emotional, intellectual, and physical for true compatibility. Veer and Krishna had all three of these. I believe that's why they fell in love with each other so quickly. If it hadn't been for Krishna's grief over Radhe, she would have acknowledged her love for Veer much sooner. Because it had been there for a while. And I believe that's why they consummated their relationship immediately after marriage - Krishna didn't need to wait this time, because she knew she had found her true life partner.
Ultimately, Radhe was not Krishna's choice. He was forced on her through their parents. She did fall in love with parts of him, but deep down, I don't think she ever saw him as her true match or life partner. She would have spent her life with him, consummated their marriage, and moved through life, but there would always have been a sense in her mind that they were not equals, and that she was carrying more of the weight in the marriage.
Veer was Krishna's choice. Even though he had confessed his love, he made it clear to her that it would be her choice as to whether to accept him or not - he would not force her. And she chose him, of her own free will. She recognized a kindred spirit in him, someone who was her equal and capable of walking side by side with her through life's journey. She saw her love and fire reflected in his eyes, and she chose him. â¤ď¸
Radhe and Krishna's love always struck me as a very young love, what we might call puppy love. Radhe was extremely immature when they met, and even though he grew somewhat throughout their relationship, he continued to demonstrate immaturity and lack of control over his emotions. I remember Krishna even commenting on that when they were trying to rescue Laliya at the hospital, and how out of control Radhe was when he thought Krishna was missing in London. Because of this immaturity, it seemed that Krishna had to be the one to take care of him a lot - calming him down, managing his emotions, etc. That can be exhausting when you have to do that for another person. In contrast, you have Veer, who has always been incredibly mature and very in control (sometimes too much so) of his emotions. I think Krishna recognized this on some level and positively responded to this maturity. Here was a man who could take care of himself, who she didn't need to worry about flying off the handle all the time.
Of course, this contrast in Radhe and Veer has a lot to do with their upbringing. Radhe was the youngest child, and he was spoiled a lot by his family. He failed 9th grade and was pretty much left to roam around the city with no responsibilities. Veer, however, had no such luxury. He was the oldest, and when his father died, he took care of his mother and sister. He educated himself, and made sure that he could support them financially. He loves his mother, but he doesn't allow himself to be coddled by her the way Radhe did. He became his own man early on in life. Again, I think these were traits that Krishna found herself very drawn to, because she has always been intelligent and ambitious and ready to prove herself as well.
There's even significance in their names. As we know from the Hindu religion, Radhe represents the feminine energy of God, typically associated with nurturing, caring, and emotions. Krishna represents the masculine energy, typically associated with strength, drive, and a will to succeed. (Not to say that men and women don't each possess traits of both the masculine and feminine, just that these traits are typically more dominant in one or the other). By choosing to name the male lead Radhe and the female lead Krishna, the writers signaled that they were reversing the typical roles. Radhe wanted nothing more than to just get married and settle down in life. Krishna, on the other hand, wanted to pursue her career and dreams of becoming a doctor - she didn't really care about marriage. This was a role reversal of the typical male and female roles in society, and because of this, there was dissonance from the beginning between Radhe and Krishna. Even though the writers eventually showed them falling in love, I don't think they ever resolved that dissonance. Yes, Radhe ended up supporting Krishna's dream of becoming a doctor, but I don't think he really understood it. He did it because it's what she wanted, but he couldn't really understand that fire inside of her to succeed because he didn't have it himself.
Then you have Veer, whose name means strength and bravery. Finally a match to Krishna's own strength. He also had dreams and ambitions, and he had the same fire inside of him to make them come true. Rather than the dissonance between Radhe and Krishna, we now have harmony between Krishna and Veer, because on some deep level, they see themselves in each other. There's the old saying that opposites attract, but in reality, that rarely works for life partners. There has to be more of a match in core values for two people to spend a lifetime together. Krishna and Veer match many of each other's core values - educational pursuits, saving lives, taking care of their families, achieving one's dreams. Radhe and Krishna only matched a few.
Which begs the question, if Radhe and Krishna didn't have their marriage arranged and only met each other randomly on the street, would they have fallen for each other? I believe the answer is a resounding no. A girl with Krishna's intelligence and dreams would not have been drawn to a boy who clearly had no goals in life and spent his days doing nothing. I believe the only reason Krishna did start to love Radhe was because she was bound in marriage to him (so therefore felt she had no other options) and also did start to realize that he was a good person. But was this really love? I think it was a form of love, the way you love a friend who's dear to you. But I don't think she ever loved him the way one loves a life partner. To some degree, I think this is why she never consummated her marriage with him. Somewhere, deep in her heart, she knew her love for him hadn't reached that level yet.
And then you have Veer. They did meet randomly, and even though it wasn't love at first sight, they were drawn to each other in a way that Radhe and Krishna never were. They each recognized the fire inside each other as a mirror of their own and responded to it. They recognized their intellectual equal even though they didn't acknowledge it. Attraction between life partners must be emotional, intellectual, and physical for true compatibility. Veer and Krishna had all three of these. I believe that's why they fell in love with each other so quickly. If it hadn't been for Krishna's grief over Radhe, she would have acknowledged her love for Veer much sooner. Because it had been there for a while. And I believe that's why they consummated their relationship immediately after marriage - Krishna didn't need to wait this time, because she knew she had found her true life partner.
Ultimately, Radhe was not Krishna's choice. He was forced on her through their parents. She did fall in love with parts of him, but deep down, I don't think she ever saw him as her true match or life partner. She would have spent her life with him, consummated their marriage, and moved through life, but there would always have been a sense in her mind that they were not equals, and that she was carrying more of the weight in the marriage.
Veer was Krishna's choice. Even though he had confessed his love, he made it clear to her that it would be her choice as to whether to accept him or not - he would not force her. And she chose him, of her own free will. She recognized a kindred spirit in him, someone who was her equal and capable of walking side by side with her through life's journey. She saw her love and fire reflected in his eyes, and she chose him. â¤ď¸
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
