About soul mates, Myrah, Rudra and Paro and more...

Ok, right at the outset, just a heads up...this is going to be a long one. A looong one. Don't say I didn't warn you :-) I haven't written anything here for several weeks now. Initially, because there wasn't much to say, considering the way the story line was developing (I'm referring to the last few weeks of episodes when Paro was still there), and subsequently, when Myrah entered RR. The initial days of this drastic turn of events were traumatic for several members here, and since everyone was grieving, I didn't think it was appropriate for me to express an opinion that in all likelihood would be in direct contrast to the general consensus. Basically I didn't want to hurt anyone's feelings, and sometimes it's better to let people grieve in peace and take their time healing. After all, a fresh open wound is sensitive to the slightest touch, be it as slight as a breeze.

However, I did visit the forum frequently, to stay in touch with the hopes and desires of RR fans, vis--vis the direction they wanted the story to take.

Two main things emerged...very strongly. And I'd like to enlarge upon both those themes. Please know that this is solely my personal opinion, and that it is not meant to antagonize anyone. Do try to read with a relaxed mind.

1) This is a story of soul mates (no disagreement there). Rudra's soulmate. Which is Paro. Completely agree with everyone till this point. The question that rules the forum then is that how can Rudra possibly, in any imaginable way even consider or think of any other woman ever again?

A few thoughts came to my mind regarding this.

First, who decided, or where is it written that a person can have one, and only one soul mate? As far as I know, there is no rule, written or implied, anywhere that this is a pre-condition to having a soul mate. Some people don't find even one; those who are lucky, find a soul mate; and those who are blessed may find more than one.

Who is a soul mate? Contrary to prevailing beliefs, it is not some unearthly, divine being who takes human form and becomes a soul mate.

A soul mate is very definitely mortal. Which means the good comes with the bad, like in most human beings. The only difference is that the particular combination of good and bad in Human Being A somehow appeals to Human Being B, to a point that even the bad becomes acceptable. Neither Rudra, nor Paro were/are perfect beings. Both had their good points, and both definitely had their bad points. Both were irritated by each other's respective bad' points. Both had constant fights regarding the same. And, I remember, very distinctly, how much Paro and her decisions were criticized through her lifetime by many of us as well. Extensively so! But somehow, ever since her demise, there seems to have been a mass memory loss. And suddenly, she seems to have become this paragon of all that was perfect and ideal. Honestly speaking, this change of heart (on the part of our forum members) is not very surprising. It is very natural. Happens to all of us in our daily lives as well. When you lose someone you love, you tend to remember only the good, and forget all the aspects that irritated you. It's human nature. We all, also, tend to become extremely possessive about the memory of that person. The hurt is so fresh, so raw, that the very idea of someone even having the temerity to come in as a supposed replacement is an offense to all feelings.

But that doesn't take away the fact that this current new vision is coloured by a heavy dose of very deep emotions. It's not necessarily the real picture.

Coming back to my point of soul mates. My personal definition of a soul mate is someone who loves you deeply, unconditionally (in spite of those bad/irritating' traits), and makes your life complete. It is a simple as that. Just these three qualities.

Whether they are good people or bad people, or attractive or unattractive, fat or thin, or just plain average...that doesn't matter.

If any of you reading this has a partner who has these three qualities, well then don't wait for ringing bells, background music scores, or heaving winds, or flowers falling into your hands from religious idols, or sigh over romance novels...you already have your soul mate. Just without the frills that only CVs can add! Haha...

Another truth of life is that people die. Even soul mates. There's simply no guarantee that just because someone is a soul mate, no harm of any sort can come to them. Remember, they are mortal. It is heartbreaking, no doubt.

But, and this is a big but, why does this loss imply that a person can never ever meet another soul mate? There is NO such rule anywhere. Of course, you have to very fortunate and very blessed to have the opportunity to experience that kind of love again. But it can happen. No one can say it can't.

Even in the Lord Shiva mythology, which has been the backbone of RR, the presence of two soul mates is intrinsic to the story. Lord Shiva's first soul mate was Sati. She did die. He couldn't prevent it. He mourned for ages. And then another soul mate appeared. He resisted her. Fought with her. Pushed her way. Rejected her. Sound familiar?

Till one day, he saw something in her. No, it wasn't his former wife. He saw love. The same love he had lost. He saw that love in another person. Deep, unconditional, life completing love. And so, Shiva found his soul mate. Again. Because love doesn't belong to one person. And it doesn't die with one person. And if you're very blessed, it will one day find a way to come back to you.

Rudra. A man who has lost his soul mate. For anyone who thinks he's living... he's not. He's existing. He's breathing in. He's breathing out. Pain going in with every breath. Pain coming out with every breath. Every second of every minute of every day, of seven years, he has been in extreme pain constantly.

That is not life. That is worse than death. I, and hopefully none of us, would wish that on our worst enemy.

And now, after all these of darkness, comes the faintest of light. In the form of Myrah.

2) Which brings me to my second point. Myrah. In almost all the reviews and analyses I've read here, the one thing that comes across, sometimes wistfully and sometimes vehemently, is that Myrah should some how be Paro.

There are two reasons I would not want this to happen. And again, please don't take offense. Like I said, it's just my personal opinion.

Firstly, the reason most everyone wants Myrah to be Paro (in addition to the very understandable reason of having being deeply attached to the Paro character), is that there seems to be an underlying sense of certainty that Myrah could never love Rudra as much as Paro.

To me, that seems a tad unfair. Rudra has been guilty of the same thing. Dismissing Myrah and her emotions, based solely on the fact that she is not Paro. Without knowing her, without understanding her, without giving her a decent chance, Rudra and many of us have rejected her as "not good enough". Or worse yet, a potential usurper of Paro's position in Rudra's life.

If... and think about this... if we take the "she is not Paro" quotient out of the equation, what or who is Myrah? She is a happy person, who is kind, loving towards children and grown ups alike, sensitive to other people's feeling, has no hesitation apologizing profusely and from the heart when she feels she has (mostly inadvertently) hurt someone. She can love, she does get hurt, she doesn't pretend to be some one she's not, she has integrity (she broke her engagement with Rohit as soon as he realized her feelings for Rudra), she puts the needs of others before her own even if she's getting hurt in the process (she's staying back for Dhruv even though it must hurt her to be in the same house with a man she loves but who doesn't love her back.)

To me, that sounds like a very nice and likable person. But she is not Paro, screams the forum :-)

No, she is not. And she will never be Paro. But she can be Rudra's soul mate. Some who can love deeply, unconditionally and complete his life. She can be his Sati.

Sati and Parvati. Two women that Shiva loved. Yet no one has ever considered one less or more than the other. Because Shiva never considered either less or more than the other. He loved them. They were both his soul mates. Parvati never usurped Sati's place in Shiva's heart. And neither will Myrah.

For those who think that Rudra will be betraying Paro if he finds love again... I think you are underestimating a human being's capacity to love. They say that the entire universe exists in a person's heart. I think Rudra (or anyone of us who has ever loved and lost) can find space for loving two people, without taking anything away from either.)

The second reason I don't want Myrah to be Paro is more...well, based on logic. I am very fond of logic. And I am even fonder of intelligent story writing. Some of you may ask why I'm watching Indian soaps to begin with then! Hahahaha...what can I say? I got roped in by the very beautiful Sanaya and the drop dead gorgeous Ashish.

I know that everyone here remembers in great detail the first three months of RR. That Golden Era, so to speak. Yes, there were some stretches of imagination even then, but more or less, the story followed a believable, non brain-hurting path.

Then came the period of poison laddoos, kitchen politics, histrionics of Laila, the gradual butchering of characters and so on. Basically, the age, or should I say the virus of Kekta had arrived.

Ridiculous things started happening. Twists and events that we all watched, but were not too happy with. Because we were watching our loved RR go down a path of mediocrity and inanity. The Kekta Effect!

I remember how many of us wailed against this tide. How we resisted it. How we tried to bring it home to the CVs, the producers and anyone who would listen that we are not the regular Kekta type TRP audience. It didn't work.

And the result lies before us. RR was left drowning somewhere in the middle, neither her nor there. But... enough has been said and bemoaned about. So I'm going to leave it at that.

The reason I raise these memories is to draw attention to why Myrah shouldn't be Paro.

Paro died. It was sad. It was heartbreaking. But it happened.

Now, as per the wishes of many people here, some strange totally unbelievable thing should happen that would mean that Paro somehow survived multiple gunshots, without the knowledge of her husband and family, landed up in the US, lost her memory, learnt to speak fluent English, had a complete personality change, and came back to India! Whew! Talk about the Kekta Effect!

Remember the Kekta Effect? The thing that ruined RR? That killed RR? Is that really what we want to bring in? Just to assuage our heartbreak over losing Paro? Like a child who has lost a toy in the ocean and now wants his parents to somehow drain the ocean to find his toy? I've read many people say: "Oh I don't care how it happens or whether it makes sense, I just want Paro back! At any cost!"

While I appreciate everyone's emotions, and even empathize with them (I genuinely do!), I can't help but say that even a drop of poison can cause serious harm.

If we as viewers, who genuinely dislike or not appreciate the Kekta type of serials (at least that has been my general opinion of what I have read on the forum; no offense meant to anyone)...if we suddenly not just give in, but literally beg the CV/producers to dish out the very poison that eventually killed our show... how can we ever expect any change?

How can we expect the CVs/producers to take us seriously? They must be laughing their heads off. Thinking...these are the same people who made such a hue and cry when we (the CVs) introduced the so called TRP-enhancing formulae...and now these very same people are pleading with us to give them some more of that!

This is not the last show ever to be made. There will be more Sanaya shows. There will be more Ashish shows. God willing. But if we don't want to suffer the same fate, if we want to watch serials that respect the intelligence of the audience, then Myrah should not be Paro.

Let the CVs and the producers know that we are tired of being fed a diet of plastic surgeries, aloud thinking MILs who plot murder like they make pakoras, ghosts who mingle freely with the FL, and self sacrificing FLs who seem to thrive on crying copiously rather than god forbid ever take a stand.

Let the CVs and the producers know that Indian audiences can accept mature stories.

Let Myrah be Myrah.

Let us mourn Paro and keep her alive in our hearts forever.

Let Rudra find his soul mate again.

And if RR has to end, let it end with the same dignity with which it began.

P.S. I might not be able to reply to everyone at the earliest. Will try to come back nd respond as soon as I can. Till then, feel free to comment and discuss. But please keep it clean :-)

A very sensitive n thoughtful post...it doesn't matter whether we share d same opinion or not... What I loved most was d care u took not not to hurt any loyal viewer..n d courage to voice ur opinion; beautifully... This is d difference between expressing n opinion n 'bashing'... way to go Shabna...

A very thoughtful and objective post.

Beautifully written. 👍🏼

Parvati was the reincarnation of Sati Same soul but different face and Sati died issueless Lord Shiva did not have 2 soul mates just one she came back to him in another reincarnation and in another life time unlike RR where it's the same face back in 7 years which translates to 2 soul mates doppelgangers at that hanging around in the same time frame albeit with some years difference And this is why I hate it when soap writers take creative liberties with mythology and the divine all in the name of story telling

Shabnam lovely post well thought out and many of your points resonate with me as well Moving on in real life is something I would actively encourage I know someone personally who is very close to me and who underwent a terrible loss One should not spend a lifetime grieving but in RR they sold us for the last 7 months the story of a village lass and a military man, of immortal love of soul mates that transcend time You Me Forever I am yours you are mine through eternity only to kill of one half and then bring her back with a 7 year leap with the same face as their idea of consolation for killing of Paro almost as if to placate the viewers and say yup Paro is dead but SI is back as Myra so ship the next love story Reminds me of a puppy and a bone They must think we viewers are shallow It would have been far better if the producers had the guts to go ahead and cast a new female actor to essay Myra That would have made for some interesting story telling on how Rudra falls in love again but then again I posed a kostin sometime back after Paro's death as to how many would have continued to watch RR if the role of Myra was not being enacted by SI again and the answer was very few so the makers played safe but tainted their own initial vision for some elusive TRP if that actually was the intention Instead I think they could have donned their thinking caps on for a bit and it would have been far better served for the story and its viewers if they had finished all the loops and tracks they opened when RR debuted instead of killing of one of the main lead with no express purpose especially with the serial set to close in 3 weeks unless the end is justified as Paro=Myrah Else its a sheer ludicrous twist that left a vast majority clearly annoyed and most pissed

I am not biased towards just one character for me to say let this be the happily ever after as long as Rudra is happy nor am I a fan of SI for me to be blissfully content as long as both roles are being played by her I was sold one story only to have a bait and switch pulled on me by the makers I wish I had been told at the outset that this is not the story of Rudra and Paro but more the life and times of RPR and his grief pain suffering and sorrow and how he meets 2 doppelgangers at different points in his life That would have made my choice to paraphrase a very infamous comment Dekhna hai to Dekh a lot easier

By virtue of casting SI again to essay Myra role they have already gone the Ekta way so might as well go the whole hog and give the ending a majority are asking for I see only few takers for the Myra Rudra love story given the time frame of just 3 weeks Forum activity itself is indicative So the man who was weeping and grieving for his dead wife is suddenly running after a much younger version of her within days Absolutely cringe worthy I am sure even those want Rudra to move on and settle would have winced at his recent antics 1 day he says you can never replace Paro and soon within 2 days he begs for her forgiveness and is feeling all angsty They completely mercilessly ended the Paro chapter within days for nothing and in one month Rudra is going to fall hook line and sinker and marry her lookalike and the end of the serial is Myra Rudra Main Tu Hamesha And Rudra gets himself a trophy wife Now this is another grouse of mine why not make Myra age appropriate instead of this very young version of her The age gap must be at least 15 years ok I don't why I am even going in that direction considering everything and everyone has been satyanashed in the serial

I had an Epiphany some time ago that the real rang rasiya is ST and he is living vicariously through the male protagonist Rudra Nothing else can explain this absolute nonsense after crafting a one of a kind couple only to kill the female half and then switch to a phase of finding love again with a person who happens to have your soul mates face and what better with probably the original soul mate aka wife No 1 giving a celestial seal of approval through bells harpsichord sounds. Bloody shallow but a super way to forcibly gain acceptance of the Myrud story Now Imagine if RR had been a super hit we would have seen the 7 avatars of SI as an eternal ingenue (since they did say there are 7 lookalikes around the world ) as Rudra went through the 8 year milestone from 28/37/45/53/60/68/75 with some avatars having a grown Dhruv and whatever progeny each avatar had and in the latter stage all their children giving away Rudra in matrimony to his soul mate for the nth time ok this is an FLG rant folks will recognize that 😆

As for TRP and RR I don't think the makers had a pulse on the line of that particular demography Instead of making the FL cry they made the ML go teary eyed and thus lost out on an opportunity to cash in on sentiments plus their handling of potentially TRP garnering tracks like Paro's vow Mala's rehabilitation Laila's closure to mention a few was absolutely crass and amateurish

From a business POV if the PH and channel want to recuperate costs If RR has to have repeat online viewing value plus dubbed versions on various regional channels they have to come up with a happy ever after with Paro = Myrah for if word of mouth comes out that the ML fell in love again within a month and after that it was the end of the serial how many will be tempted to watch it?

What you wrote on finding love again and soulmates would have made sense if RR was not going off the air the role of Paro being given sufficient justice and time and the role of Myra was not being enacted by SI again One can have 2 soul mates very rare though but not with the same 2 faces that is just bizarre but ok for arguments sake SI is reprising Myra then it should be the slow dance of love with the differences similarities and her own story to add to the emotional pool stretched over months of denial to acceptance and her entity separate from Paro

If RR was not ending the story of Paro had been satisfactorily told and ended without the disrespectful supersonic speed that they handled her exit I would have been on board with your post in fact may have made one myself arguing the need to move on but now the whole thing is very farcical with every character doing a 180 and the latest to join the band wagon the creatives favorite Rudra who until a few days back was spouting the very opposite I never thought I would say this but right now only Myra is left with a modicum of integrity and head held high and she is a character I never even dreamt would happen in RR so that's how ludicrous the end of days is looking right now

I am now starting to question the business acumen of the PH for they seem to have no pulse on the TRP audience nor do they have respect for their most loyal online fanbase You want to retain your credibility as PH that listens to its fans then I say JUST DO IT and bring back Paro no matter how weird it may seem instead of ending it with Myra and Rudra sitting on a tree K I S S I N G ... anybody recollect that school girl chant

Oh yes may I also add you write beautifully I have seen one or 2 of your posts earlier but never got a chance to reply as real life is very hectic so glad I at last got a chance to answer your posts although on a disagreeing note darn it!

Let the CVs and the producers know that Indian audiences can accept mature stories.

Let Myrah be Myrah.

Let us mourn Paro and keep her alive in our hearts forever.

Let Rudra find his soul mate again.

And if RR has to end, let it end with the same dignity with which it began.

Totally respect your opinion on this. but couldn't agree more with your last line...if it has to end, let it end with the same dignity with which it began.

CVs, it's entirely in your hands. You can blow our minds the way stories on big screens do. But give us something that common sense could still digest. Not rushed...not haphazardly done. Despite what TRPs indicate, I am confident that RR could still end on a high note.

A very sensible post. Myrah is not a bad choice of companion for Rudra. It won't be illogical for him to fall in love with her because she is a beautiful person even if she is not Paro. And he deserves a chance to find love again in another person while keeping Paro in his heart. I feel that's why Myrah wanted to know what he sees in her that is her's and not Paro's. So that he learns that her greatest and best qualities are not that she shares Paro's face and kind nature.

Big difference ! Sati & Parvati were two differnt ppl but ONE soul. Here Myrah is a DIFFERENT soul & that is the difference so can not b compared with sati and Parvati .

Beautiful post...very well put across point.

Originally posted by: zanayaforever

A very sensitive n thoughtful post...it doesn't matter whether we share d same opinion or not... What I loved most was d care u took not not to hurt any loyal viewer..n d courage to voice ur opinion; beautifully... This is d difference between expressing n opinion n 'bashing'... way to go Shabna...