Tangled Web of Relationships - Mihir and Shagun

Day before yesterday's episode as we all know by now, acted as a preamble to many mini/mega tracks. Although, I admit that my tired sleepy mind did miss the usual banter between our favourite couple, however, by morning a new thought had laid its foundation in my mind.

Before I begin, I request you to read the post called "Ties that Bind or Bonds That Tie". It is by RedWine1(Ruby) who happens to be one of my favourite writers on this forum.

Now on to my post ... As she has brilliantly described the reason behind apt title, Yeh Hain Mohabbatein, I will like to take the same thought further, but ... in a different light.

The word Mohabbatein immediately brings the evergreen love stories of Laila Majnu, Romeo Juliet, Heer Ranjha, Jack - Rose (Titanic is the modern day Romeo Juliet .. I cry every time when Rose leaves Jack's hand at the end.)

Yet, at the same time, Mohabbatein has many more meanings. It is love which makes the mother hold the hands of her children when they cross the road, It is the love of a brother who picks his sister from her extra class, it is the love which makes a friend travel thousands of miles at one go to be there for a friend in the time of need. Mohabbatein has many a meanings.

One such relationship is the love between siblings ... love between brother and sister ... love between Mihir and Shagun.

/* Disclaimer: At least in mind my I am pretty clear Shagun and Mihir are siblings. It will honestly be a shocker for me if it turns out otherwise. */

It is Shagun's love for Mihir which makes her send Rakhi to him even when he has denounced her as his sister. On the other hand, it is Mihir's love for Shagun which did not let him throw the Rakhi in trash. Instead, he keeps it extremely safe along with other confidential documents. It is love.

Love also has some more meanings. One of them is hurt. Mihir is severely hurt, rather damaged by his sister's actions. Going by the apparent age difference between them, it is evident that Shagun got married to Raman when Mihir was in his teens. The real Raman, who had married Shagun only wanted love in his life. It is not difficult to imagine how much love he would have showered on his teenage brother-in-law. An eternal bond was formed, a beautiful relation of mutual respect and admiration. A happy family, a doting Jeeju, a beautiful nephew. From a Mhir's point of view, the world couldn't get better for his sister.

Times change and things take an ugly turn between his sister and brother-in-law. Mihir is not in his teens anymore. He is a grown up man who has been a witness to the storm which shattered the life of his sister and brother in law. Worse, the man in him knows that his own sister is at fault. The same sister who he has doted on and has loved eternally for as long as he can remember. The same sister who was like a mother to him, someone he looked upon to for advice everytime he had a problem.

He is forced to make difficult choices. And whatever he chooses, his heart is bound to suffer. He acts like a man and opts for the correct choice, denounces his relationship with his sister and accepts his Jeeju as his Bhai. Equations change. Relationships change. Dynamics change.

He is now Ruhi's Chachu and not Mamu. Life moves on and the world slowly and steadily accepts the new circumstance with each passing moment. His brother gets a new woman in his life, Ruhi gets a new mother. A new ray of hope enters the life of his Bhai and life has never looked better for him.

He falls in love. A girl who is diametrically opposite from him yet brings the best out of him. He is finally able to look at the world in new light, a new ray of hope where there is happiness, peace. He cannot wait to marry her and make her his own. Life has finally become better for him.

Yet, his past yet again haunts him. His association with his sister, it may bring a Tsunami which will not only destroy his own dreams like a house of cards, but also the newly found solace in his Bhai's life. He feels guilty. He tries to run away and hide the facts. Yet, his past does not leave him. It cannot leave him.

I will like to refer to the 7^th April episode when Trisha pulls Mihir out in the rains and asks him to enjoy it, Shagun spots him and happily comes towards him. She thinks, "Mihir ki nayi girlfriend."

It is the sister in Shagun who acted like this. The sister who in happier times will have shared so many secrets with the same brother, advised him, doted on him. He replies to her with hurt evident in his eyes, ""Rishta kya hamara? Jo bhi tha vo Bhai ke saath khatam ho gaya."

It is clear. In this scene, its not the brother of Bhai who mocks his sister in law, it's the brother of his sister who is hurt and taunts her by conveying his decision yet again.

Mihir is overall a very calm character, who is always happy being in the background, but in this scene, he orders Trisha forcefully to go up .. his eyes order her, display anger.

But yet again, anger, hurt, hate ... the other side of the coin is ... Love.

Yet, the same Mihir who is extremely hurt, loves his sister and decides to keep the rakhi. Because, somewhere deep down inside, Mihir is still that young child who yearns for the love of his sister. Every time, he meets Shagun, there is a look of hurt on his face. But isn't it true that the only people capable of hurting us the most are the ones we love?

Then there is Shagun. An opportunist woman to the core, who chose a better lifestyle over better ... Life. She grabbed the first opportunity which presented itself in terms of Ashok and happily beckoned the life of a showpiece because ... well that is what she wanted from life.

Yet, having said that, she is a human being first. And going by the famous hierarchy of needs, she first satiated her physiological and safety needs ... which are of course provided by Ashok profusely, but she could still not fulfil her need of belonging - Love, acceptance. Her own family denounced her, mocked her and removed her from their system altogether.

At the end of the day, every human being looks for acceptance and for Shagun, this is the missing piece in the puzzle. Her decisions in life stripped her of not only her husband's family, but her own brother. May be that is what she had not bargained for. May be that is what she had not expected. May be that is what she was not ready for.

Yet, all this happened. Her own kiddo brother denounced all his relations with her and moved ahead in his life with the help of same man she left. In fact, he prays that man as a God, and will do anything under the sun to bring a smile on his face.

Therefore, the elder sister in her still yearns for the acceptance from her brother. A brother who she never thought will leave her.

Referring to the same scene, Shagun actually went up to Mihir and asked him about Trisha. Her eyes conveyed a different meaning altogether and when Mihir openly mocks her, she is angry and she says that he acts totally like Raman that is why people refer to him as a sidekick.

For her, it is difficult to accept that her brother gives importance to someone else over her, someone she left by her own choice. In the further episodes also, Shagun was shown to enquire about Mihir's engagement from Ashok in a twisted manner.

She coaxes Ashok to attend the engagement party because Tandon is a partner, however, in reality, it's the sister who wants to be a part of her brother's happiness in at least some way.

So, she sends him Rakhi inspite of the fact that they are on no talking terms and things can never get back to what they were ... ever ...

Another version of Yeh Hai Mohabbatein ...