I read a book recently. Or rather, I re-read a book recently, one I had read a few years back, and Sonali pointed out to me on FanFictions, where some fan had substituted Samrat and Gunjan as the protagonists. Whoever that fan is, she saw a lot. Because the story of SG today has so many echoes in that book, that it amazes me.
Book- Key of Knowledge, Nora Roberts, part two of the Key trilogy – a quest for three keys to unlock a golden casket.
Background - Jordan (Samrat) and Dana(Gunjan) were once deeply, madly, passionately in love with each other. Dana is a book fanatic, smart, brave, intense, determined, and above all, honest – to herself and her emotions. Jordan is a boy - passionate, willful, intelligent … but a boy … with all the immaturity that entails.
Sound familiar yet? Keep reading.
Jordan's only relative is a single mother who worked her socks off to bring him up. Jordan's mother dies after a short but painful battle with cancer. Jordan goes into a shell, ups and leaves the town without telling anyone his whereabouts, least of all Dana, who is left heartbroken. He wants to make something of himself, fulfill the dreams his mother had for him. He also wants to cut himself off from all old ties, because they all bring back painful memories of his mother.
Role reversal here, but the similarities are building up. Read Gunjan for Jordan and you see where she's at. All this is a flashback, btw.
Then the quest for the second key starts and the story takes off - the story about Jordan and Dana and their conflict. A conflict which is the basis of the deeply intense romantic angle and the tension and sizzle between the two.
Jordan comes back – mature, all grown up, successful) … he knows he made a mistake and he wants Dana back. Samrat of S2 is also all grown up and mature (hopefully); he made a mistake, but it was unintentional, however he knows he broke Gunjan's heart with that mistake, and he wants to make amends.
Dana, on the other hand, wants nothing to do with him. He betrayed her trust, broke her heart and left her all curled up in her shell, withdrawn, silent, encased in her own case of ice, with no one to spill her heart to. Not much difference here between Dana and Gunjan. Dana fights Jordan off tooth and nail, so does Gunjan Samrat. Dana has no intention of succumbing to Jordan's charms again, neither does Gunjan.
Now's where it gets interesting. Jordan/Samrat wants Dana/Gunjan back as of yesterday, he loves her to bits and he can do anything, just anything, to undo the damage he did, to atone for his past mistakes and to win her back. And that's where we are today. How is Jordan/Samrat to break through to Dana/Gunjan? How can he crack that ice case she's walled herself in and bring her back to life, as opposed to just living?
In the book, Jordan tries to mend ways with Dana by being close to her, by trying to melt her defenses by his sheer charm and love ... But they're different people now … different personalities... they've both grown beyond that teenage love … into deeper, stronger, more lasting emotions … and quite to her annoyance Dana finds an inherent liking for the man he has come to be...Quoting the author ... depicting Dana's turmoil
"She wasn't still in love with him.. They were, as he had said, different people now... and what she felt for him now made the love she had for the boy seem pale and thin as the morning mist ..."
So how was Jordan to get through to Dana? Through the quest, he finally opens up himself to her, baring his guilt and remorse, his sorrow after his pillar of strength, his only parent, had quietly passed away amidst toiling through her life and dreaming for her son, leaving him bereft and bitter ... in his words "I hated what I was here and afraid what I would become if I stayed."
And finally Dana sees something that she couldn't see for so long. He had to go ... or he wouldn't be who he is now ... Yes she had loved him with everything she had … but sometimes love is not enough. It wasn't enough for her to see what he was going through … but that distance has done its work … now she can take a step back and see the MAN he is now, the man he's made himself. But all this was possible only when she decided she HAD to deal with it, with her past WITH HIM … not cut them off or have them buried in a shallow grave ...
In MJHT season 2, we see many similarities in the situation both Samrat and Gunjan find themselves in today … what we collectively yearned for (on innumerable chats !) was to see the growth in Samrat – from the boy he once was, to a MAN … a mature, thinking, loving man who could keep himself and his feelings outside the equation just enough to deal with HER needs ... but have the resilience to bounce back in ways she had never known or come to expect ...
In short … Season 2 demanded a fresh love story ... not between the boy and girl they once were… but the man and woman they have come to be..
Although I enjoyed SSC, I was very glad on two counts. One that Samrat didn't prolong the drama for too long, and second, that he unmasked himself before she found out. Put him on moral high ground.
And in today's episode, we see the first hint of Jordan's wicked charm in Samrat's ways ... mature, confident, sure of himself, of Gunjan and of their love, knowing what he wants to do, who can challenge and push his love to shed her defenses, one who can endure her harsh ways with a grin, but use the situation to THEIR advantage…. One who defeats her stubbornness with his own resolve, … who can stir her up without being afraid of her anger, fanning the flames without being afraid of their heat, because he can take being singed, even burnt, … One who doesn't leave her a choice but to fall in love with him all over again and again … and he does it ALL with authority … like A MAN …
The Season 2 SG story should come with a disclaimer … meant for mature audiences only. 😉
