Posted:
The title is intentionally misleading. I don't think the Raman that fell in love with Ishita, was ever Shagun's in fact. Rather, my title refers to a man who started life content with what he had. A family, a wife. Rather, this man then, with his life shattered, transformed himself into the RKB we know. Volatile, angry, broken. Still, with a heart of gold. But hidden. Everything good about him hidden. The fact that he would die a thousand deaths for his family, hidden.But the RKB we know now, the one Ishita married, is a very, very difficult man to love. Emotionally crippled and with a soft heart caged tightly, meant Ishita faced the enigma, that is our RKB.
But really, Ishita is just as much of an enigma if you think about it. She comes across as hopeful about life for others, but remains hopeless about her own. She takes every insult thrown her way with grace and poise, but breaks inside. The Ishita that Raman marries is a sum of contradictions too. She believes in love, but not lot that she can be loved. And the enigma that is Ishita, can only ever love Raman, or be loved by Raman. Because they are, if you think about it, kindred spirits. This version of Ishita accepts insults thrown her way by basically everyone. But when Raman gets involved, she seems to become this 'Jhansi ki rani' as Raman puts it. She can't let him just insult her. He riles her up. Gets under her skin.
And for all the people Raman keeps at a distance he constantly finds himself unable to keep butting heads with Ishita. And he can't seem to just shrug her off like he does everyone else.
Because they challenge each other. They are a match. With Raman, Ishita doesn't let him walk all over her, and with Ishita, She doesn't allow Raman to keep running away, the way he did first, and the way he is doing now without her in the current storyline.
Raman and Ishita provoke each other. They get under each other's skin. Nobody else but Raman can get the calm, level headed Ishita as riled up as he does some how. He is the only one who can ruffle her feathers. She herself declares she never met this 'Jhansi ki rani' type Ishita before Raman. And Ishita constantly makes him question the assumptions he has made about women. She does this from day 1. She also drives him absolutely nuts. One minute she seems wise beyond her years, and the next she is accidentally handing over a bubblegum pink phone, and laughing at him for the same! On one hand she is lecturing him about the importance of them getting along for Ruhi, and on the other she has the ability to fool him and her parents into him staying in appa's room, when really he only crossed to his Sasural to get her told off. and let's not forget the hilarious events that occurred as they fought against each other to in the end to achieve the same goal of uniting mihir and mihika. ( oh those were the days)
I will always be of the opinion that Raman and Ishita, as mentioned in an earlier post started to fall in love much earlier than their own minds could comprehend. Ishita was constantly reminded of Raman's past, and how he was so in love with Shagun. But that was a different Raman. Simple, sweet, nerdy Raman. Yes, 'A' Raman was in love with Shagun. Or rather, Shagun's face. The idea of Shagun. Raman, in Ishita's murder track recently mentioned he wanted to marry her because of how beautiful she was. 'A' Raman was infatuated by her appearance. There was no depth to that relationship. It speaks of no bond. But Ishita isn't there to witness their history. She just hears from anyone how in love he was with her. This doesn't sound like love to me though. But Ishita doesn't know that. Her mind consciously I think keeps fighting the idea that maybe Raman would reciprocate.
This version of Raman isn't like his previous self. He will not get infatuated by a pretty face. He won't fall in love. That's the resolution he makes. But I don't think Raman at this point knows what love is. His previous self, 'shagun's Raman' thought love was loving the idea of Shagun. It's not until he meets his match, and fights tooth and nail not to love Ishita, that we really truly see Raman Kumar Bhalla, for the first time, actually falling in love.
Ishita is beautiful on the outside. And despite what he says, we see him lost in her a few times, quite early on in their relationship. For example, firstly in the green dress, and her proximity when she sews his button. He is very affected. Another time, when she steps out in her blue number. And then finally quite early on also, when she steps out in the lace saree. Raman knows she is stunning. He isn't however, now confusing infatuation with love. He isn't confusing Ishita's outer beauty with the idea of her. He isn't confusing desire and lust, with love this time.
No. This time round, Raman has to live under the same roof with a woman he doesn't know. Not really. He knows she is headstrong. And for some reason, only with him, extremely argumentative. At first he doesn't actually know her. And then that begins to change. He sees that she loves his daughter enough to tolerate him. He sees she takes care of her every need. That she respects that even though they are husband and wife for namesake only, she is the daughter in law to the family in the true sense. And then Param really changes things. He was a disgusting man yes. But what came out of the scenario was that Raman and Ishita bonded. Raman saw she was strong enough to stand up for herself and Ishita saw a man who did the right thing. From this point on, they started to become friends. A bond formed. And as time moved on, that bond just got stronger and stronger.
Whereas Raman and Shagun seemed to have no true bond, the only thing tying them together was the tag of being husband and wife. Ironically Raman and Ishita, who started of with that tag for namesake, developed such a deep connection
Therefore, I think, Raman, despite himself, and his adamant denials of ever falling in love, just couldn't NOT fall in love with Ishita. And it's because this time it was something true.
And that's why I don't think Raman can ever love anyone else but Ishita. People get annoyed by shagun's proximity on the show to Raman. I for one do. But I think the idea that Raman could ever love Shagun again is nonsensical. Because this Raman never did. 'A' Raman was enticed by her beauty. This Raman however, is consumed by Ishita. When he fell in love for real, he did it so deeply, there is just no coming back from that.
And that is why Raman has reverted back to the enigma that Ishita had to unravel. Because the Raman that she unraveled died the day she left him. Which was what he was afraid of all along.
Advocate Anjali Awasthi
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