Friendship vs Love

There has been a lot of angst in the past few hours over Ridhima asking Armaan not to tell anyone the truth about Anjali's folly if he was ever her friend. The word friend seems to have set ablaze a torrent of disapproval over the incongruity that it seems to indicate. This is not to debase or trivialize a bond as deep as friendship, but to highlight the subtle difference between friendship and love as is lost to the genius EQ of our heroine!!!

Friendship is a crucial aspect of love. One cannot claim love in the absence of friendship or camaraderie. As someone has already mentioned on this forum, it is important to laugh with the one you love and to that I would like to add the love is a multi-dimensional emotion that requires in right amount, friendship, respect, laughter, trust and a great deal of ardor. It is the esoteric combination of all these that makes the beautiful emotion that is love. Friendship is a gift of God that not everybody is blessed enough to get in its true form, but love is divine and even more exceptional. In the absence of friendship, love is but lust and loses the divinity so graced upon it.

So what is our grouse with Ridhima's use of the word? It is a two-pronged disapproval, one that she chose to trivialize amity, because she has not, in recent times, given Armaan any proof of the said friendship and two that she chose to trivialize their interaction which bordered on love to mere friendship. She has therefore affronted both friendship and love.

Surely, Armaan and she have never been just friends. They have either been adversaries, playing pranks and irking the skin off each other, or they have shared intense moments of genuine romance and compassion. The passion between the two was obvious for all, but (apparently) Ridhima, to see. And her denial of that emotion is what we find tiresome. She has not just denied love to her paramour, hinting that perhaps there may never be anything more than friendship between them, she has also blasphemously denied the moments shared between them, obliviating them into a nothingness named friendship. And friendship is but an aspect of love, not love itself and what our protagonists shared was as close to love as it could be…

Hey👏, another apt post expressing our disillusionment with the word selection; a post spinning from the mindless 'friend' tag!..How we all have disapproved the use of this single word and the confusing cold-unaffectionate manner in which it was said. I had the same thoughts last nite as I went to bed, invaribly thinking abt the DMG, that had just passed; I thought may be these two will never be together! It was a scary thought and if we take some of the dialogues as cues, may be its true. The manner in which Ridhima's vehement denial has been portrayed thus far, completely rejecting everything, even those special moments, surely may be leading to the inevitable. Everyone knows its love, and not frienship, if a Minee can see that surely our doctor can sense it even better. Hmm...that looks probable...

Clearly she is having difficulty taking the leap of faith in her emotions and on Armaan's love- rightly she has been hurt twice...but still, I cannot digest the selection of friendship...as the best answer...

You've said it so well- friendship vs love, and there is no need to elaborate on it. Friendship is an integral part of the emotion of love, without which, as you rightly put it- love borders on lust. As there have been posts indicating that perhaps she couldn't use a better term because they haven't confessed yet but choose rather – possibly the worst term. But to term the entire thing as an act of friendship does seem very much uncalled for! It is so obvious, that she is denying her feelings for him which are anything but friendship. It's almost shattered all those precious-special moments- in one go! All this showed her selfish nature, with regards to their special friendship; it's been about 'her'…and not once did she think about the consequences all this would have had on him! Phew…She has managed to irk the guy who would do die to hold her - surely must get her thinking. Well we'll have to watch tonite's episode to see where all this is heading...

Its true, we too have been taken to the high point only to be left cold! and I think part of our frustration stems from this too

fantastic art of penin emotions lol!!
u just said it all....
true friendship is an integral part of any relatioship aspiring to b termed as love.bt love in itself is so encompassing dat it cannot survive without the trappings of friendship,understanding,loyalty and ofcourse a unique empathy forged from the deep recesses of heart.from all of dese i feel friendship is too trivial a word,its more of a comaraderie of souls,a sustanence of feelings,a depth of insight which is absent in friendship.to forge a link with dat special someone has become all too easy dese days,bt wat hs bin lost in d pages of time is dat one link dat surpasses all....dat love which we thirst for,dat one person dat elevates us to the gates of heaven.....nd dis is d reason why riddhima's callous use of d word friendship shattered the fragility of der tenderness for me.
friendship ws too crude a word for wat dey shared....a wonder of magic,a feeling a tenderness,and an emotion of bafflement announces the approach of love,she inored all of dese in a heartbeat and reduced a perfect courtship to mere friendship albeit a good one.
we were promised the stars,dat single stroke of moon beam and delivered the glimpse of night in a song....is it any wonder we felt cheated!!

Friendship is the cornerstone for Love, and that i firmly believe.. For Riddhima's character, this confusion between friendship and love is somewhat justifiable because after the unraveling of her true identity, she and Armaan have truly resigned to being "JUST FRIENDS"... all her mannerisms have indicated that atleast.. maybe she intends to keep it that way.. to avoid getting hurt by him a third time.. Once bitten twice shy they say, and she has been twice bitten...

Now I feel Armaan and Riddhima are even. He withheld a secret from her, and she kept one from him.. so they're SQUARE!!

There is one important factor however!! Armaan got a raw deal every instance.. Withholding her secret was a torment for him, and feeling like crap for getting her suspended only added to that.. Now he goes on to keep one more from all the others, AGAIN because of her...

They say, people do crazy things in love.. And i conclude by saying, Armaan truly is in love.. Whether Riddhima is TRULY in love or is it love shrouded in friendship that she's clinging on to, is a question that remains to be answered...

@ spirit and pixie...thanks for agreeing with me...but do you not agree that not only has she negated their special moments, she has also insulted the weight of the word 'friend'?

Really beautiful as usual Aarti.

It is true friendship is a part of love, just a facet. You need camaraderie in a relationship, but love is so much more than that like Aarti has so beautifully explained.

I would like to add Armaan has been a great friend and lover through it all even if he has hurt her. Even then it was not intentional. The bet yes then he was still the brat falling in love and there was some pride involved in getting her to say yes. But he has amply made up for that and after that he has never done anything but what is good for her.

The adoption issue I feel he was right not to tell her since her family had to tell her first. He couldnt take the initiative unless her dad told her about it. That is how it should be and I appreciate him for that gesture actually. He was trying to protect her from getting hurt and it is a big deal to have your safe and secure world fall apart and to know you are adopted but he did stand by her through it all and got her through it in his own inimitable style.

She has undeniably spoilt the beatiful moments they shared, all that magic by calling him just a friend. It is almost an insult to what they shared. If she is not ready to acknowledge so be it but she could have stopped short of calling it friendship and willfully spoiling it for Armaan. I guess she needs to get more sensitive to his needs and not except him to understand her all the time but take him for granted at every step along the way.

The only time I felt she was a good to him was in Minnie's case. Wonder what happened to that Ridz.

i completely agree with you aarti. i believe ridhhima's excuse for calling armaan her 'friend' is because she feels that he betrayed her twice (in the bet and the adoption sistuations) but my issue with her is her absolute ignorance to armaan's feelings. now we all are dead sure that she is well aware of his feelings towards her, yet each and everytime she deliberately hurts him by ignoring those feelings and like aarti said negaing the special moments they shared. y does riddhima always forget that armaan has been there for her in her every need. it's like he senses that she's in trouble and is always there to lend her a shoulder to cry on. how can she not know that this is not mere friendship? this bond that they share is more intense than even friendship and she needs to accept it and think with her heart for once.

@ gina...sorry for this post...i really wanted to highlight separately why the word friend irritated me...it is not just because she debased their moments together, but also because she has never been his friend. she insulted both love and friendship and that is unacceptable to me!

minnie was the one time she showed any signs of being a true friend, but apart from that what has she done for armaan without any ulterior motive that she dare call herself his friend?

Originally posted by: vaarti

@ spirit and pixie...thanks for agreeing with me...but do you not agree that not only has she negated their special moments, she has also insulted the weight of the word 'friend'?

Yes, in a way she has...

whats confusing is,

its been like, friends, not friends,on the verge of lovers, friends-lovers, not friends, and now apparently friends, and all whenever she chooses...confused!