Meri Durga post-leap set-up

Then there's Aarti and SP's father waiting in the sidelines to do everything possible against Durga. I think Sheila will also start plotting against Durga's daud dream now that it has been linked to the question of the batwaara happening or not (guessing panchayat will put something to that effect in place at the next meeting?)

I must admit I never warmed up to Prince even pre-leap. His dosti of Durga was kinda random (for the longest time I actually thought he was plotting something LOL) pre-leap. And it was so obvious they were setting it all up for a romance angle post-leap. And his tashangiri seems like so much hot air right now. Seriously - why would a college vote for you in elections for playing out your petty vendetta on a public platform kid? Don't colleges have much weightier matters to discuss, like good facilities, avoiding over-interference from the government, standing up against class-based, caste-based and gender-based discrimination happening to students, etc.? But anyhow... I hope Prince becomes an interesting character in the future.

Sam intrigues me. At first since he was Haryanavi and giving rural vibes I kinda wondered if he was that third friend of Durga's who seems to have disappeared post-leap (he was missing pre-leap too towards the end... did they ever explain why?)... but since he's a senior in that college it doesn't seem so. Anyway I do hope Durga and Sam become friends and they don't aiveyin villainify him just to make Prince look good.

Coach Rana is in such a poor state right now, it's very sad! I hope Durga or someone finds him and he finds some purpose to his life again.

Wonder where the missing Madhav story is heading... I do like the single mom and independent Amrita and hope there's a good track planned for her.

Anyway so far so good!

The leap happened 18 eps ago. Durga's father had found out about her running on the day she won an important race. She had called him over via a latter to show him with her win why she enjoyed running so much but instead somehow his sister found the letter and hid it and took him over there herself, making it look like Durga was leading a double life. Yashpal was livid and beat up Coach Rana and was very mad at Durga. However Coach Rana did manage to get through to Annapurna about how Durga is made for racing. Annapurna tries to make Yashpal understand the importance of racing to Durga but Yashpal says it's just a fad and will pass. He tries to uljhao and behlao Durga with other things like kites. Durga also, having seen her dad's reaction to Coach Rana, pretends to be ok. She cares a lot about Yashpal's opinion and wants him to be happy with her no matter what.

However as Annapurna shows Yashpal, at night Durga sleeps with her running shoes clutched tightly to her. The lady officer Yashpal wanted Durga to be like came along with Coach Rana the next morning to explain to Yashpal that Durga can still be successful with running. The lady officer said that she had joined IAS through sports quota. Yashpal says no one needs to tell him anything. Durga kinda rudely tells everyone to leave but Yashpal scolds her to not talk to her elders like that. As everyone's walking away Yashpal says no one needs to tell him anything because last night itself he realised how important racing is to Durga. He says he's behind her now whether it gets her a career, job, money, success, or not. He agrees to Durga's participation in the national under 14 championship.

During the time all this was happening it was also shaadi ka maahaul in the house. However Amrita had found out along with her chacha that Madhav, who she had fallen in love with and who everyone in the house had campaigned to manaaofy Yashpal to trust in, was the brother of the man who had saazished to marry her so he could abandon her in the mandap, except that time Durga had foiled the plot and everyone had humiliated that family and the villagers had bhagaaoed them away. So Amrita slaps Madhav and tells him she's only marrying him because she doesn't want her family to suffer disappointment for her yet again. Except Madhav had already long ago realised that his step mother had sent him on revenge under false pretences and that it was his own family who had been in the wrong not Amrita. And he had fallen for Amrita but was too scared to tell her his real identity. When Madhav tries to talk to Annapurna or others Amrita and her chacha warn him to tell him not to say anything.

Nevertheless after Yashpal agrees to Durga's running and that tension gets resolved, Madhav reveals to everyone in the family who he really is. Chachu beats him a lot. Yashpal stops him and asks him why he is revealing this on the day of the wedding and asks him to get lost. Madhav says he's telling everyone this because Amrita is marrying him just to keep them happy. She is not happy with the alliance and he truly loves her and hence does not want her to marry him under any duress. He says he will wait for dulhan and her family on the mandap but if they don't come then he will face the public humiliation and also reveal why so Amrita is never blamed for not marrying him. After Madhav leaves everyone debates on how honest Madhav is being and think he has reformed. Yashpal tells Amrita there's no need to marry him and let's call the police. But Madhav's speech convinces Amrita he is truthful and they go to mandap and happily marry

Meanwhile Prince's father, the head of Durga's school, sends goons after Durga to ensure she doesn't participate. He wants Aarti to win as her family is politically connected and he has political ambitions. At school Prince sees some gundaas going after Durga and calls Coach Rana. He catches up to Durga and they both get a bit roughed up but Prince takes on some injuries to save Durga's feet from being hurt. Coach Rana arrives and saves the day. Everyone decides Durga needs to be kept safe. She trains with Coach Rana and only eats home food.

On the day of the race she visits Prince in hospital. Prince wants to offer Durga something sweet but she refuses as she is on a strict diet. Durga leaves the hospital but outside it was a hanumanji ka madir and there were some jalebis there. She eats them. Prince had placed them there as he knew Durga loved jalebis and hanuman ji. He had talked about it with his dad and hence his father knew to lace them with steroids.

Durga wins the race. Aarti comes second. Durga is about to be awarded the medal when Aarti's coach asks for Durga to be tested as she had broken all national records for under 14s. Durga is tested positive for steroids. She is humiliated by the media and the committee strips her of her medal and gives it to Aarti and puts a 5 year ban on Durga entering the sports competitions. They also think Rana may have been involved with his student on this matter.

In the village everyone had been watching these events live on tv. The village crowd that had been singing Durga's praises turn on her family. Entire family is abused, beaten up, Annapurna's hair is cut off and face is blackened as the mother of Durga. Yashpal and Durga arrive at the village and see all this happen helplessly. Durga's two friends try to defend her cause but to no avail. Madhav was supposed to be there to watch the race with the rest of the family but he never turned up. He had said he'd be back shortly and had gone for some work but Amrita couldn't reach him on the phone either.

Aarti who had been jealous of Durga's skill and Prince's growing fondness for Durga manipulates Prince in school to believe the Durga never had any talent and was just faking it the entire time. She knows his father had gotten Durga's jalebi drugged. Prince is mad at Durga and goes to her village and burns a putlaa of her in front of her and spouts some bakwaas about betrayals and dosti.

Durga by now has gone from shock to anger at the turn of events. That night she burns all her trophies though Coach Rana pleads with her not to do so. Durga declares that she will never run again.

And then the leap happens.

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