Pandya Stores: Golden Jubilee Celebrations!!!

Index

Story So Far

Character Analysis

People's Experience

---------------------

Awards:

EDT Golden Jubilee Celebration - Forum Award Winners!

EDT Golden Jubilee Celebration - Character Award Winners!

EDT Golden Jubilee Celebration- Miscellaneous Award Winners!

STORY SO FAR

Pandya Stores, a grocery store nestled in the vibrant town of Somnath, forms the livelihood of the Pandya Household. After the death of the patriarch, Darshan Pandya, and the subsequent incapacitation of the grief-stricken matriarch, Suman, the reins of Pandya Store fall in the hands of their eldest son Gautam Pandya(Gaumbi). This story starts with our humble hero who wants to fulfill his father's wish to successfully expand Pandya Stores, while shouldering the responsibilities of bringing up his three young brothers, and caring for his ailing, bed-ridden mother. The three young brothers, often referred to fondly as Bandars for their antics, are the soul of the family- the soft spoken Dev, the firebrand Shiva and the innocent Krish.

On the auspicious day of Makar Sankranti, we are also introduced to Dhara, a resourceful, and responsible young girl with a good head for numbers, who is the daughter of Darshan's close friend. She and her elder brother Hardik, were taken under Darshan's wing, after their father's death. As children, already devastated after being abandoned by their mother, they are grateful for Pandya family's financial and emotional support. Hardik becomes Gautam's best friend and pillar of support, while Dhara befriends and cares for the Pandya brothers. Dhara is studying BCom. Hardik works at a factory. The Shah siblings are continuously taunted for their mother's misdeeds. Dhara is hailed by society as Bhagodi ki Beti, including Suman Pandya. Yet Dhara, true to her name, spreads love without compromising her self-respect.

On the fateful Makar Sankranti day, a kite flies above with the message: "Gautam weds Anita; Next Monday". Every good story needs a great villain, and herein enter the villains to our story. Suman's brother Jagat was raised by the Pandyas, and was married off to Prafulla. The henpecked Jagat is now the owner of four mills- setup with Darshan's help. Prafulla and Jagat have a son Shivang, who is sent off to Delhi for his education. After Darshan's death, Prafulla hones in on her lifelong dream of owning Pandya Stores and uses her fraternal niece, Anita for this. Anita and Dhara are best friends, and Gautam silently likes Anita. Six months before his death, Darshan fixes Gautam and Anita's marriage. However, due to changed circumstances, Gautam reconsiders this decision. To force Gautam's hand, Prafulla flies the kite for the world to see. However, she spots Shiva running towards her and abandons her plan.

Shiva and Maami are bound in a vicious cycle of hatred, with Maami constantly trying to undermine the Pandya family's happiness. Shiva has the impression that Maami was responsible for his father's death. Despite being persuaded otherwise, Shiva's deep rooted animosity continues to grow.

Gautam confronts Maami about the kite who denies being involved, and laments the fate of Anita if Gautam refuses, now that the "invitation" is out. They emotionally blackmail Gautam to pressure him into the wedding.Gautam ponders over burdening his wife with his troubles and responsibilities. Dhara, on the other hand, understands the price Anita might have to pay for infamy. She convinces Gautam. They all reach Maami's house, in time to stop Maami's fake suicide drama. In the meantime, the younger brothers meet Maami's adopted daughter Raavi, who is her orphaned maternal niece. Jagat and Prafulla dote on Raavi. Raavi adores Dev, while Shiva hates Raavi for being related to Maami, referring to her as Maami ki Behen ki Beti.

Gautam agrees to marry Anita within the coming week. Anita does like Gautam, but she plans to send the younger brothers to boarding school, and Suman to an old age home. She dreams of owning Pandya Stores along with Gautam, while providing Maami a larger stake of the business. The ceremonies progress without a hitch, thanks to Dhara managing the kids and housework, and Gautam finds ways to include his mother, much to Maami's chagrin. Dhara continues to be insulted for sticking close to Gaumbi, but she bears it all with a smile.

Portending misfortune, Kaka, a long time associate of Darshan gets calls about Pandya Store being up for sale. Gautam's world comes crashing down. The store had been mortgaged off by Darshan, and Gautam has 4 days left to pay out 25 lakh rupees loan, or risk losing the store. He tries to tell Anita the truth, but loses courage seeing her excitement for the wedding. Eventually, Dhara and Hardik come to know of the truth and try to help out. With the wedding day near, Gautam sends Anita a video message explaining his financial situation, and asks her to come to the Tulsi Puja ritual wearing his mother's saree, if she still wants to move forward. On the wedding day, Shiva notices his mother's kangans on Maami's hands. Jagat had borrowed them from Suman, but Prafulla refused to return them.

While Anita goes to change for the next ritual, she and Prafulla happen to watch Gautam's video. The furious duo accuse him of cheating. Anita reveals her true nature and breaks off the wedding. A furious Hardik announces that he will get Dhara married to Gautam. Dhara and Gautam refuse initially, but Hardik convinces Dhara and then she convinces Gautam. Thus, Gautam and Dhara finally get married to the happiness of his brothers. The newly married couple head off to Dhara's examination hall and she formally completes her degree. At home, Suman is initially not told the truth, and Dhara performs the rituals with a hooded pallu.

The Pandyas are unable to meet the loan deadline and are evicted from the store. Prafulla heads over to Suman and viciously demeans her with four beggar's plates with each of the brother's names. She further discloses the secret of Dhara being her bahu, not Anita. An enraged Suman regains some movement in her hands and mouth, and orders Dhara to be kicked out. Gautam and Suman's friend Kanta try to pacify her, but she remains adamant in her hatred towards Dhara. Meanwhile, Prafulla's mills are in financial trouble.

Dhara settles into her new home and responsibilities. Suman tries various tactics to defame Dhara, but the brothers stand strongly in support of Dhara. Dhara spreads love in the household by taking care of the family's needs. Gautam requests the goons who own their store to take him in as a manual labourer so that he can be near the store. The younger brothers, particularly Shiva, are deeply affected by this. Suman, in the meantime, sends Shiva to get revenge from Maami, by returning the beggar's plates and tripping her on some marbles. As a troubled Dhara prays for a way out, Kaka brings over some documents, from which Dhara finds Darshan's letter, stating that he took the loan for Prafulla's mills, and had placed a condition that Pandya Stores can never be seized, only a share of the profits will go back in repaying the loan over 10 years. A shattered Suman confronts Maami, who deviously refuses to return the money, and Suman breaks all relationship with Jagat and his family.

The family mulls over ways to find proof of the deception against them. The little ones decide to go find proof at the corrupt lawyer's office in the middle of the night. Dhara runs after them. They do find the proof, but are caught by the lawyer, who locks them up. Gautam wakes up to empty beds and rushes with the police to rescue his family. Dhara and the boys fake being kidnapped and get the lawyer arrested. With the original documents, they are able to reopen Pandya stores. Meanwhile, Anita, rejected by several grooms, regrets her decision and blames Prafulla for misleading her.

As the days progress, Dhara starts helping out with the store. Seeing her devotion to his store and family, Gautam slowly starts falling for Dhara. Meanwhile, Shiva is expelled from school for picking violent fights. Shiva states his desire to discontinue his studies, which Dhara strongly reproaches. An upset Shiva runs away from home. Gaumbi, after a long search, finds Shiva sitting on his favorite tree. Dhara lovingly resolves her issues with Shiva, thus convincing him to go back to school.

Dhara deals with possessive feelings when Gautam receives a lot of female attention. Anita tries to seduce Gautam, which he rebuffs. Dhara confronts Anita, and later, requests her devars to start calling her Bhabhi. Later, Gautam and Dhara get physically intimate. However, seeing their financial state and responsibilities, Dhara decides to not have a baby till the brothers grow up.

***

The wheel of time turns forward… 10 years pass happily. Gautam and Dhara are able to free the store completely, the three young brothers are all grown up, and Suman can speak well and move her hands freely, though still wheelchair bound. Gautam and Dhara's love, as well Dhara's bond with her dewars, is now famous in Somnath. Suman too accepts Dhara but maintains her strict facade. Dev has completed his MBA, while Shiva discontinues his education. Dev and Shiva help Gautam at the store, while Krish attends college for a BCom degree.

On their 10 year anniversary, the brothers plan a surprise party for Dhara, Over the years, Dhara has been taunted for not having children, particularly by Maami. Overcome with guilt, Gautam confesses to Hardik that he was childless by choice, and decides to plan for a family with Dhara.

Prafulla loses all the mills and is on the verge of losing the house. Anita, still unable to forget Gautam, refuses to get married. Raavi completes her BCom degree and is madly in love with Dev, dreaming of becoming a Pandya bahu, much to Maami's irritation.

Shiva grows up to become an uncouth and angry young man, who accosts Maami for taking away his mother's kangans and constantly bickers with Raavi, asking her to keep away from Dev. Raavi, however, visits the house frequently and is friendly with Dhara. As Dev protects her from Shiva's anger, she builds castles in the air for her future with Dev and the Pandya house.

Dhara finds Dev being secretive on the phone with a certain "R" and mistakes it to be Raavi. Raavi confronts Maami about marrying Dev. On Maami's refusal and Shiva's instigation, she sets out to kill herself by coming in front of a truck. Shiva saves her and a shaken Jagat promises to fix her alliance with Dev. A disturbed Shiva warns Dev to stay away from Raavi. Dev dismisses it as Raavi's childishness. Meanwhile, Jagat approaches the family for Raavi's alliance. He repents in front of Suman and threatens to kill himself. Suman accedes when Maami apologizes and begs her to accept Raavi. The family consults a priest and fixes a wedding date three days out, due to lack of other dates.

In an ironic twist, Dev's R turns out to be Rishitha, the daughter of a local goon and grain supplier to the Pandya Stores, Janardhan Seth. Dev and Rishitha have secretly been in love for two years. Rishitha requests Dev to speak with her father, as he and his MLA sister Kamini(Motiben) have fixed a different groom for her. Dev decides to speak with Gautam. However, his wedding preparations begin the next day with the Haldi ceremony. While Shiva bursts out in anger, Dev is dumbfounded. Raavi is euphoric on her childhood dream coming true, and irritates Shiva about becoming his Bhabhi.

Dev is unable to tell his family about Rishita, and Rishita about his marriage. Janardhan sees Rishitha with Dev and gets furious. He shows her the wedding card and locks her up.

Dev breaks down after their Haldi ceremony and spills the truth to his family members, except Suman. Dhara gets devastated and Shiva rebukes Dev for stringing Raavi along. When Janardhan calls and threatens Gautam, he orders Dev to go forward with the marriage, despite Dhara's opposition.

Motiben mollifies Rishita to meet the prospective NRI groom. Later, Rishita is heart broken seeing Raavi with Dev on a scooter. Gaumbi blurts out Janardhan’s threat to Dhara when she remains adamant on stopping the wedding. Gaumbi provides Maama with money for the marriage to alleviate his financial burden. Meanwhile, Maami plots to get Hardik and Anita together.

Dev begs Dhara to stop the wedding. Unable to see him so heartbroken, she visits Janardhan’s house to ask for Rishita’s hand in marriage but is assualted and thrown out of the house by Motiben. Learning about their bhabhi’s humiliation, a furious Shiva and Dev thrash Janardhan and have his sister beaten by the house help. Rishita escapes and runs behind Dev, who breaks up with her. Dev agrees to marry Raavi and apologises to Dhara, the family shares a Yaadon ki Baaraat moment. That evening, at Dev and Raavi’s mehendi and sangeet, Shiva spoils Raavi’s mehendi. Rishita escapes from home to stop Dev’s wedding but is caught by her father before she can get to Dev.

As the day of her marriage dawns, a beautiful Raavi decked in bridal finery tries to sneak into the Pandya house to take a peak at Dev but encounters Shiva instead, who sends her back to the mandap. Elsewhere, Rishita is also decked up for her marriage. She feels insecure looking at Dev’s baaraat from her window. She calls Dev, who is sitting at the mandap, but he cuts her call. Raavi and Dev’s wedding begins with Dev conflicted and his family looking worried for him. Raavi, oblivious to all this, smiles away enthusiastically.

As Raavi and Dev begin their pheras, Rishita arrives at the mandap asking them to stop the wedding. Everyone is taken aback when Dev confesses his love for her. Raavi, unable to handle her dreams crashing down on her, attempts suicide but is saved by Shiva. Later, everyone reprimands Dhara, who in order to rectify her mistake, begs Shiva to marry Raavi. Shiva agrees without a thought; Raavi also agrees after some pressure from Jagat. Dev-Rishita, Shiva-Raavi get ready for the marriage. While Rishita is elated throughout the ceremony, Raavi is shattered. Shiva wills himself to get through it for his family’s sake, but his eyes never leave Raavi after she almost faints during the pheras. As the rituals conclude, Maami is unhappy but Suman is hopeful. Janardhan arrives at the wedding and demands that Rishita leave with him, but she protects her sasural by threatening her father. He leaves with a promise of revenge. Rishita’s family burns her things and disowns her. Meanwhile, Maami continues to play cupid to Anita and Hardik.

Post the marriage, Rishita’s behaviour makes everyone uncomfortable. During the aarti ceremony, Rishita insults Dhara, but Suman and Shiva take a stand for her. Later in the privacy of the room, Suman is angry at Dhara, but Gautam speaks up for her. Later, Rishita makes a scene when she’s allotted the smaller room, and insults Raavi. Raavi tells Rishita that she neither wants her Dev nor the bigger room. Shiva confronts Dev and walks off. Later, Gautam and Dhara find Shiva moping outside the house and give him some advice. Shiva and Raavi have an argument and spend a sleepless night in the storeroom. Gautam and Dhara spend some romantic moments without a room. Rishita feels insecure and applies lipstick on Dev’s face and then walks out of the room disheveled to show off to Raavi. Afterwards, Shiva gets mad when Raavi doesn’t make tea for him. Raavi breaks down looking at the gifts that she’d gotten for Dev, while Dhara tries to console her.

The family leaves for a temple next morning, unaware that Janardhan has hired men to kidnap Dev and Shiva. On the way to the temple, the goons knockout and kidnap Shiva and Raavi instead. They continue to fight with each other upon regaining consciousness, while the family is wrought with worry for them. Dev reprimands Rishita for being insensitive about the situation. Shiva manages to free himself with Raavi’s help but he walks out leaving her tied for her own protection. Raavi misunderstands him. Dev, Gautam and Krish arrive and help Shiva to fight off the goons and rescue Raavi. Later, Raavi blasts out on Shiva, for being a coward and running away, but is silenced as the family takes Shiva’s side. Shiva refuses to explain himself. Raavi refuses to leave with Prafulla and says that she won’t run away from her battles. Gautam warns Janardhan to stay away from his family.

The next morning, they leave for the haveli to visit their KulDevi’s temple. On the bus, Dhara unsuccessfully attempts to reconcile Shiva and Raavi. During an innocent game, Shiva and Dev get into a brawl when Shiva accuses him of ruining everyone’s lives. Raavi teams up with Rishita against Dhara but realises her mistake after Shiva calls her out on it. Dhara takes care of Rishita when she suffers from food poisoning.

The couples spend some romantic moments at the haveli. They reach their Kul Devi’s temple for the puja. As the pundit asks them to take their vows, Raavi accuses Shiva for abandoning her. Shiva walks away, but Raavi manages to bring him back and they finish the puja.

At the pehli rasoi ceremony for the new brides, Raavi prepares food, whereas Rishita refuses to cook for the family. Later, as the family sits to eat, they find out that Rishita has made pizza separately for Dev. Gautam is initially upset, but the family pacifies him- they feed each other and have a YKB moment. Rishita feels alienated.

Krish follows a mystery girl with a red ribbon. Later, Shiva and Krish decide to teach a lesson to Rishita to “help” her gel well with the family. Raavi snickers at Shiva‘s abysmal dressing sense, but finds herself gaping at his new look during the bonfire. Gautam gives some advice to Rishita about unity. And the family have a gala time dancing around the fire. That night, Krish dresses up as Kesar the chudail. Shiva distracts the entire family while Krish scares the life out of Rishitha. They manage to get away with their prank. Later, Shiva pranks Raavi with false alarms of ghosts and then lizards, but Raavi notices his carefree side.

The family gets ready for Mrityunjay jaap, while awaiting Suman, who is on the way to the haveli with Prafulla and Anita. Along the way, Suman works Prafulla extremely hard in order to teach her a lesson.

Rishita condemns Raavi harshly when the latter interrupts her private moment with Dev. Raavi bursts into tears. Dhara reprimands Rishita and later tries to console an angry Dev. Shiva, who finds Raavi crying, asks her for the name of her dushman and tells her that he’ll kill whoever it is. But she rebukes him. Raavi agrees that Shiva hating her passionately is better than Dev who wouldn’t have been able to give her anything.

Dev apologises to Shiva, who tells him that he feels more bad for Raavi than himself. Gautam finds Krish lost in love and advises him to focus on his studies. Dhara tells Gautam about the conflict in the house, he explains to Rishita about her misbehavior and is pleasantly surprised when she apologises to them and Raavi. Later, when Raavi catches Krish stealing cosmetics from her room, Shiva convinces her that Krish is going through an identity crisis. Raavi blurts this out to Dhara despite Shiva asking her to keep it to herself. The duo try to get Krish to confess to them.

Rishita is upset that Dev went to the market without telling her and lashes out at Gautam. Gautam slaps Krish when he yells at Rishita. Krish reluctantly apologises to Rishita and is even more determined to scare Rishita. That night, Krish once again dresses up as Kesar and terrorizes Rishita who falls unconscious in fright. Gautam catches Krish red-handed. Dhara bludgeons Shiva and Krish with a danda and decides that each couple will fend for themselves henceforth. Later, Shiva and Krish have an emotional moment with Dev as they apologise for scaring Rishitha. Gautam tries to reason with Dhara but it falls on deaf ears.

Shiva and Krish apologize to Dhara for their misbehavior, but Dhara does not forgive them. Dev consoles Rishita from her traumatic experience, while Shiva and Raavi share a few moments in close proximity. After Dhara forbids Shiva and Dev from eating the food she cooked, both of them secretly have some from Gautam and Krish, but Dhara finds out. Dhara warns Shiva and Raavi to not reveal any of the happenings of the past days to Suman. Raavi is scared and clings to Shiva for support. Suman arrives at the haveli and despite everyone’s efforts to hide things from her, senses that something is wrong.

The three couples share a beautiful moment as they have breakfast together. Prafulla is shocked to learn of Anita’s evil plan to marry Gautam. Suman gifts jewellery to the newly married brides, but Rishita ends up with a less valuable necklace than Raavi by mistake. She creates a fuss because she feels she is being discriminated against, and Suman tells her off strongly.

Raavi accidentally enters the bathroom when Shiva is already inside, and slips and falls into the bathtub. Shiva helps her out in a gentlemanly fashion. Shiva is sad and upset with Dhara’s cold behavior towards him, and burns himself in a bid to gain her attention. A shocked and worried Raavi stops him and tends to him. Gautam is furious at Dhara’s behavior, and makes her promise that she will reveal the truth about the happenings in the haveli to Suman. Dhara hallucinates multiple times about Suman’s negative reactions towards her failure to keep the family united.

Rishita insults Shiva’s dressing and work, by calling him a labourer. She mistakes one of Shiva’s clothes for a rag cloth, and is put in her place by a furious Raavi. Raavi washes all of Shiva’s clothes. When Shiva hears of this incident, he explains to her that he loves his work, is comfortable the way he is and will not change for anyone. Rishita and Dev have a fight, and in anger, she reveals to Suman about how Shiva and Krish traumatized her, and how Dhara had thrashed them mercilessly. Suman is enraged at Dhara for having hit her sons and for hiding all the events from her. She goes to the temple and angrily lashes out at Gautam and Dhara for their behavior. She orders Dhara to leave their house.

Parallelly, Shiva and Raavi leave for Mukteshwar to fetch holy water for the Maha Mritunjay Pooja, along with Dev and Krish. They encounter a sudden storm and the surrounding structure collapses. Shiva protects Raavi by risking his own life, and clears her misunderstanding of him abandoning her when they were kidnapped. Both Shiva and Raavi are wounded and stuck underneath piles of falling rubble. Shiva tries his best to keep Raavi alive. Just as they lose hope, Rishita arrives in a tractor and rescues all of them. At the temple, as Dhara is about to leave the Pandyas on Suman’s orders, everyone arrives from Mukteshwar, and the brothers stop Dhara from leaving. The family shares an emotional reunion, and performs the Pooja together.

The family returns to the haveli from the temple. Gautam-Dhara and Shiva-Raavi share a series of romantic moments. Shiva starts getting attracted to Raavi. Gautam reveals that their paternal uncle has gifted a piece of land to each of the Pandya brothers. They all decide to use it to further expand Pandya Stores. Shiva is triggered by a few encounters with Prafulla, where she mockingly calls him a servant. He threateningly holds a sickle to her neck and vows that he will get back the bangles that she had stolen from Suman years ago from her, before they leave for Somnath from the Haveli.

Anita makes an evil plan to injure Dhara by spilling oil on the floor, but Raavi slips on the oil instead, and is saved by Shiva, who tends to her wounds. Shiva suspects and confronts Prafulla and Anita for spilling the oil. Anita pushes the blame on Prafulla to save herself. Later, Shiva makes a plan to get Suman’s bangles back from Prafulla. He goes to a moneylender to borrow money. Rishita sees him and gets suspicious and tries to find out what he is up to, but Shiva escapes from her cleverly. Both Raavi and Rishita leave the haveli with Prafulla to stay in the outhouse for a day, for their Pag Phera ritual. Shiva is distracted with his plan, yet he successfully completes the rituals. Shiva and Raavi miss each other.

The next day, the Pandyas arrive to take Raavi and Rishita home after the Pag Phera. Shiva demands his mother’s bangles from Prafulla as a Shagun for the son-in-law. Prafulla refuses and instigates Shiva, who refuses to take Raavi back with him till Prafulla gives him the bangles. Raavi is shocked, furious and devastated. She confronts Shiva and denies to go back home with him.

The next day is Raavi’s birthday. Both Shiva and Raavi accidentally meet at the temple, where Raavi hopes for a wish from Shiva, but he doesn’t wish her. The Pandyas throw a surprise party for Raavi. She feels very happy but is still sad about Shiva’s words from the previous day. Prafulla triggers Shiva with her words at the party once again. Shiva angrily carries her up to the terrace of the haveli. He first threatens to push her down and then threatens to jump down himself if she does not return Suman’s bangles. Prafulla does not budge. Raavi is terrified seeing Shiva hanging from a ledge and threatens to commit suicide herself. Prafulla finally relents and returns Suman’s bangles to Shiva. Shiva’s brothers pull him up, and Shiva pulls Raavi back to safety. Shiva emotionally makes Suman wear her bangles. He then gifts a new pair of bangles to Prafulla, and reveals that this was the reason for mortgaging his land for money. Raavi witnesses this and feels guilty for having misunderstood Shiva’s intentions during the Pag Phera ritual. Everyone happily celebrates Raavi’s birthday, where Shiva scares Raavi by gifting her a fake lizard. Raavi returns home with the Pandyas.

Shiva starts a business of dealing with trucks to repay the money he borrowed to buy Prafulla bangles. Janardhan traps him by framing him for black marketing the spice, Jeera. The whole family helps Shiva and Raavi escape from the haveli. They return back to Somnath where they find out that their store might lose their license due to this false accusation on Shiva. Shiva decides to turn himself in to the police to save their store. The family try various attempts to save Shiva, but ultimately, Rishita saves him and Pandya Store by proving the accusations against Shiva fake to the police.

The Pandyas organize a reception for the newly married couples. Kaamini and Rishita’s mother Kalyani arrive there and try to insult the Pandyas, but Shiva and Dev shut them up and send them away. Rishita is distressed over the deteriorating relationship between her family and the Pandyas, and Dev consoles her. Amidst all this, Shiva finds himself slowly falling in love with Raavi.

The next day, Shiva takes Raavi with him to the store but they encounter Raavi’s friend on the way, who insults and demeans Shiva’s dressing and work. Shiva leaves from there, upset and angry. Raavi feels guilty and fiercely defends him in front of her friend. However, Raavi’s friend’s words have taken a toll on Shiva, who is shattered to realize that he is an unfit match for the beautiful and educated Raavi. He returns home late that night, drunk, depressed, and broken-hearted, much to the shock of his family and Raavi herself. Shiva and Raavi have a heated altercation, after which Raavi burns all her previous memories of her love for Dev and resolves to move on with Shiva. Shiva reveals to Gautam, Dhara and Dev that Raavi deserves a much better life partner than him, and they all try to convince him in their own ways that this is not true. However, Shiva does not believe them and feels that Raavi would have never chosen to marry someone like him if given a choice.

Parallelly, Shiva and Dev feel bad seeing that Gautam and Dhara do not have a bedroom of their own and are sleeping in the living room, and decide to build room for them. Hardik also comes to know about this, and gives an earful to Gautam. Dhara faces taunts from a lady in their neighborhood regarding her childlessness even after ten years of marriage. Shiva spends some close moments with Raavi at home and in the store, but is still bothered by his thoughts of not being a suitable husband for her. Gautam and Dhara are worried about the increasing expenses of their family due to the two recent marriages, reception and the land mortgaged by Shiva. Shiva and Dev continue their efforts to build a new room for Gautam and Dhara.

CONTRIBUTORS:

Writing: funny_fubar(Sriya), raindropsroses(Nivi), Grilled Cheese(Aaliya)

Editing: Scarysea(Chiki), Raingoddess(Eshu)

GIFs: ms.ObseSSeD(Mel), tumhiho, SlytherInMe.(Ashu), AppleOfEye(Asfiya)

𝓒𝓱𝓪𝓻𝓪𝓬𝓽𝓮𝓻 𝓐𝓷𝓪𝓵𝔂𝓼𝓲𝓼

PANDYA STORE

𝕋ℍ𝔼 𝕃𝔼𝔸𝔻 ℂ𝕆𝕌ℙ𝕃𝔼𝕊

𝔗𝔥𝔢 ℭ𝔥𝔢𝔪𝔦𝔰𝔱𝔯𝔶 𝔬𝔣 ℭ𝔬𝔪𝔣𝔬𝔯𝔱

𝔊𝔞𝔲𝔯𝔞

Friends to partners for life,

He held her hand and pulled her in his world,

She gladly entered his life,

Bringing with her, the warmth that she unfurled.

She filled his world with everything it lacked before,

He stayed by her side unflinchingly and watched her roar,

She steered their life into the progress he dreamt about,

He made sure she didn’t err and also he remained devout.

Her eyes were bright with the thirst of success,

She was the change that took over his existence,

He was the anchor that made sure,

That she wasn’t tossed away by the storms she couldn’t endure.

Their love for the other was very deep,

Cause instead of falling, they grew in it,

They let the roots of their belief,

Strengthen and grow stronger than any grief,

They learned to face their challenges,

By each others side as partners.

🄶🄰🅄🅃🄰🄼 🄿🄰🄽🄳🅈🄰

Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.-Lao Tzu

Name Origin: The name Gautam is one of the ancient Indian names and is derived from the Sankrit roots "gŐ(गः)" and "tama (तम)". Tama" means "darkness" and "gŐ" means inter alia "bright light". Together, they mean the Sun!

Our dearest, precious Gautam Pandya, who everyone lovingly calls Gaumbi, is the ideal son, brother and husband. You name the role, he is perfect at it. In an era full of male leads who are pretentious and have a superiority complex, Gautam is a breath of fresh air. You know he’ll solve whatever problem you have, that’s how strong his presence is.

Gautam as a character, is very resilient. When our story starts, we come to know he’s recently lost his father, mother is paralyzed, and he has three young brothers to take care of. All at age of twenty-two. But Gautam does not let the pressure get to him. He understands his responsibilities and loves his family deeply. He’s level-headed and knows how to deal with a tough situation, while also getting angry when situation calls for it. One example of this is when Shiva-Raavi get kidnapped. He was ready to kill Janardhan with his bare hands when he found out he was at fault. Yet, he was calm enough to formulate a plan to rescue the two.

A major event of his life is when he almost married Anita. We saw Gautam didn't wish to break her dreams. He wished to treat his wife like a queen, rather than marry her to give her pain and responsibilities. It's when others convince him Anita knows what she’s getting into, he agrees. Despite admitting Mami was harsh towards his family after his father died, he initially forgives her, holding no ill intentions towards her.

When Anita and Mami break off the marriage and humiliate him, he controls himself. No matter how much they insult him, he doesn’t answer back until they start attacking his family and Dhara, that’s his breaking point. He doesn’t let them mess with people he loves. Even then he doesn’t insult them back and respects Anita’s wish to not marry him.

Similarly he respects Dhara’s consent when she initially refuses marrying him, before Hardik convinces her. GauRa’s relationship had a rocky start, but it’s one of the most mature and loving couples we’ve ever seen. They truly support each other through happiness and sadness. When Gautam starts losing courage after losing his store, it’s Dhara who assures him that bad times shall pass. The foundation of the relationship is trust, love, friendship and respect.

They are quite the epitome of selflessness when Dhara suggests not having kids until they are done raising the brothers. Gautam, mindful of Dhara’s happiness and rights, agrees. That’s how much he loves his family. His happiness lies in his family’s happiness.

He loves his brothers, and they are quite literally his life. Without caring for himself, he only cares about his brothers, who are no less than his kids for him. He and Dhara don’t hesitate to make sacrifices for them. Be it pushing off having kids, letting them sleep in the same bed, or leaving their own room for happiness of his brothers and their wives. He manages to keep a neutral perspective no matter the situation. Even though she hurt him, he understood Rishita’s need for space. When Rishita insulted Raavi, his way of making her realize her mistake is commendable. When it came to his mother against his wife, he supported who was right, instead of letting his emotions get to him.

Gautam is an excellent business man. Be it dealing with Janardhan, coming up with strategies, or managing finances.

He is a calm, caring, affectionate, sensible and trustworthy person who loves his family, and we love him too!

🄳🄷🄰🅁🄰 🄿🄰🄽🄳🅈🄰

When someone loves you, the way they talk about you is different. You feel safe and comfortable.-Jess C. Scott

Name Origin: In Hinduism, Dharā (Sanskrit: धरा; Support) is one of the Vasus, gods of the physical cosmos. He represents the earth and the element earth, though Earth is usually the goddess Prithvi rather than a good.

Her name means mother earth and like the earth itself, she is a person full of contrasts. As steady as mother earth herself, she stands strong, bearing the brutality and negativity of the world around her and like the earth when taken care of, will shower her love for those that treat her right. She loves deep and she loves true, observing and absorbing what happens around her deciding whether it is worth staying to fight or leave.

Love for her family, that became rightfully hers when she received blessings from a father-like figure, has no bounds and she is incapable of looking away when one is trouble. But unlike mother earth, she has not got a lot of experience, which leads her to think of the present rather than the future and sometimes her downfall when thinking with the heart without listening to the mind.

But she is secure in the knowledge that her family will be there to catch her when she falls and for that reason alone she stands confident, that no matter what may come she has someone she can count on.

ℭ𝔲𝔯𝔦𝔬𝔲𝔰 ℭ𝔞𝔰𝔢 𝔬𝔣 𝔖𝔥𝔢𝔯𝔬 & 𝔖𝔦𝔪𝔭𝔩𝔦𝔠𝔦𝔱𝔶

𝔇𝔢𝔳𝔱𝔞

She is strong, firm and knows exactly what she wants,

He is non confrontational and easily gives in to her demands....

He is a prince charming, She is a warrior who fights,

He was ready to let her go,

And for him she was ready to push all her mights,

He was being pulled in all the directions,

But for him, She left her whole world behind,

He couldn’t be loyal to either of the two,

Her loyalty to him are her binds,

She thinks for them and pretty much let the others go,

But where it counts she holds on cause she know,

His family is his lifeline, Without them is his decline,

And for her his happiness matters more,

So to her fate she resigns...

🄳🄴🅅 🄿🄰🄽🄳🅈🄰

I cannot fix on the hour, or the spot, or the look or the words, which laid the foundation. It is too long ago. I was in the middle before I knew that I had begun.-Jane Austen

Name Origin: Borrowed from Sanskrit (devá) means god, the celestial one.

Still waters run deep and for Dev, the quietest of the four brothers, this runs true; He who is almost lost in his own world, always present for the family but an undoing is that he internalizes his feelings, never openly expressing his thoughts, nor letting anyone know of the pain or the joy that he goes through. Like the ebb and flow of an ocean, he has a playful side that will ever so often come out to tease the ones he trusts the most.

Deep waters are dangerous and when it comes to his family, his temper rivals that of his brothers. He will always stand for them willing to forego his nature to defend and protect what is his. Diplomatic to a fault and always trying to play peacemaker, is his downfall, making his words seems indecisive, but if one looks hard enough you get a glimpse of the war being waged between the heart and mind; where he is slowly learning the art of balancing the scales of familial and romantic ties and is finally able to beat peace with the life he has chosen for himself.

🅁🄸🅂🄷🄸🅃🄰 🄿🄰🄽🄳🅈🄰

I'm selfish, impatient and a little insecure. I make mistakes, I am out of control and at times hard to handle. But if you can't handle me at my worst, then you sure as hell don't deserve me at my best.-Marilyn Monroe

Name Origin: Rishita name meaning is Goddess of Faith; The Best; Saintly.

One of the strongest and also real character of a woman (barring the tractor driving) in the PS world. Brought up in the luxury of her world and also quite a lot of love, till she didn’t fall in love, Rishita hadn’t seen struggle. But she fell in love. And then her life descended into chaos.

She is meant to be shaded grey, swaying between the negative and positive shades of her character, she is supposed to be the one who bring the unpredictability to the Pandya parivar, where everyone can be read and predicted. Also, she has a mean sassy side, which takes no one’s funk.

Rishita is strong willed, determined and knows exactly what she wants. She also doesn’t sway once she has made a decision. In matters of importance she knows where to stand and whom to support, even if she has to go against the people she loves to bits.

But she also has a side, where she comes across as selfish due to her inability to adjust and see other people’s pain, and at times innocent, unable to read her people due to the love tinted glasses that she wears for them.

She is high on getting just treatment, but sometimes she is very unjust and no one exactly knows when she will sway over to the other side in a matter.

Rishita also is rude, even though her points are generally right. She doesn’t know how to put across her feelings and views in the right way, making her seem wrong. But compared to Dhara who is shown as always right (according to the makers) and Raavi who appears to be too innocent and childlike, Rishita seems real. She has problems adjusting in her in laws like any real woman would and she has complains (which are not dealt properly).

She is a warrior and also a survivor. She knows what to do to walk ahead in life and how to face the predicaments that are presented to her. But the most important facet of her character is her unflinching love for Dev. That defines her whole character. She can give her world and life for him. He is the star that steers her action. Her life revolves around him. The only thing I can say is that at the most basic level, Rishita’s character is based on her devotion to Dev. She was meant to be his wife.

“Isn’t that how falling in love so often works? Some stranger appears out of nowhere and becomes a fixed star in your universe.”

― Kate Bolick, Spinster: Making a Life of One’s Own

𝔄𝔫𝔦𝔪𝔞𝔩 𝔎𝔦𝔫𝔤𝔡𝔬𝔪 𝔬𝔣 𝔅𝔥𝔬𝔬𝔱𝔫𝔞𝔱𝔥 & ℌ𝔦𝔰 ℭ𝔥𝔦𝔭𝔨𝔞𝔩𝔦

𝔖𝔥𝔦𝔳𝔦

If she is the moon that shines on the fourteenth,

He is the deep darkness of the night,

She is dreamy and she shines in a way,

That leaves the beholder touched at the sight,

He is the strong wave beneath the surface,

That has the power to wash anyone away,

He is silent but beneath that facade

There is a storm of fire raging everyday,

She is the one who has attached herself to him,

He is falling for her innocence each second,

She doesn’t realise what he is to her,

He feels guilty of tying her to him till the end.

She wants a new start after burning her past,

He wants to let her go after knowing her dreams,

She has decided to move on with him at last,

He wants to free her, his grief is bursting at the seams,

She wanted a fairytale but her reality is the best,

He wants to be her choice but he will have to adjust.

You do not get everything you desire,

Sometimes what you get is better than the best...

🅂🄷🄸🅅🄰 🄿🄰🄽🄳🅈🄰

I love you as certain dark things are to be loved,
in secret, between the shadow and the soul.-Pablo Neruda

Name Origin: The Sanskrit word "śiva" Means "auspicious, propitious, gracious, benign, kind, benevolent, friendly". The roots of śiva in folk etymology are śī which means "in whom all things lie, pervasiveness" and va which means "embodiment of grace".

Often touted as Malang in Sufism that refers to attachment in detachment, and Bairagi or an ascetic, Shiva is all that and beyond! He is selflessly attached and detached at the same time! He will never possess; he would only give! Like Lord Shiva, who is also known as Ardhanarishwara, Shiva, despite his highly masculine energy, has soft, feminine emotions too. Prakriti and Purush amalgamated into one!

An emotional puddle of mush under the garb of an astute, Chattan Pandya can be stubborn, defiant, nonchalant and flamboyant at the same time.

He had been long buried in a tangle of hatred, animosity swinging like a pendulum with Raavi. Shiva has always been this flamboyant connected to the world but a lone wolf inside his heart.

On all occasions, right from childhood, he picks up, fights his own battles and has no inclusion of anyone in his turmoil or thought quagmire.

Despite all his flamboyance, he is a lone thinker and has a whole universe in his mind which isn't privy to anyone apart from him!

His Chipkali universe is different from his Kaand universe. Similarly, his Dhara universe is separate from others. His compartmentalisation is his defence mechanism! It is an act of suppression of his thoughts and emotions. Shiva’s boxed agony, thwarted emotions and bottleneck expression is his specific character trait. You’d often see him mulling with reckless abandon whenever it comes to his feelings. He would often place himself as the last one! Everyone in his family, for him, is above himself.

As a child, he would feel strongly, love passionately and try to always man up, standing like a wall for his loved ones!

Right from childhood, we see him trying to take responsibility for his family, his mother and support them wherever possible. His hyperactivity and resentment towards any form of infantilise action can be due to this factor.

That’s why we see him emotionally closed, more like a lone wolf and in constant need for being the question for being the cushion for the family. He often takes it upon himself to seek revenge, take tasks beyond his human capacity and also uphold the family together. The innocence of such children is often lost at an early age, and whatever we see of Shiva is a classic example of someone who wants to grow up faster to take responsibility.

It's rare to have such an intense emotional attachment to everything around him. He loves Shiddat and hates with equal Shiddat too. But then, that's Shiva for you-Hopefully, futuristic, agonisingly sacrificial, simmering in passion and a melting pot of emotions.

He resembles the visual of the lava oozing out from a volcano and merging in the sea, causing steam and vision so powerful. He might be the purity of fire as people call him to be, but he is steam too!
His cathartic act, too, isn't timid or contained post his apocalyptic Kaands. Instead, it's self-evaluative and internalised! Shiva gives birth to a lot of upheaval in his heart! That's why he was referred to As Malang and Bairagi!

A dedicated brother, a devoted son, an intensely passionate lover-Shiva is a nuclear reactor under his monumental physique!

🅁🄰🄰🅅🄸 🄿🄰🄽🄳🅈🄰

She didn't need to understand the meaning of life; it was enough to find someone who did, and then fall asleep in his arms and sleep as a child sleeps, knowing that someone stronger than you is protecting you from all evil and all danger-Paulo Coelho

Name Origin: According to ancient history traced to Vedas, the Ravi River was known as Iravati .The Ravi was known as Purushni(masculine despite being feminine) or Iravati to Indians in Vedic times and as Hydraotes.

She personifies longing in this show. She was orphaned when she was a baby and even though her folks loved her, she was still not their own, was she? Hence the reason she dreamt of being a Pandya bahu after she witnessed the amount of love and respect Dhara received in the family.

She is innocent and very pure hearted. She loves unconditionally and the only thing she wants in return is that she gets a family, love and an anchor that holds her strong in all her predicaments. She falls for Dev because he is there for her. He saves her from Shiva, the biggest trouble for her in her life and unknowingly she includes the said trouble in her life so strongly that fate writes him for her forever.

Raavi also is written in a way that she

judges a person mostly through the outer qualities. She finds Shiva unbearable because of the way he dresses, smells and behaves. She is unable to see past all that and see the goodness in him. And destiny writes her trial in the form of looking past all her set standards and see the real person within.

She is also someone who forgives easily. She doesn’t keep much in her heart and tends to let bygones be bygones. She has been a part of the family long before she entered the family, due to her attachment to each of them.

She also knows how to accept what destiny has given her and move on without holding on to the bitterness within her heart.

She is strong only when she is anchored to someone. When she thought she was anchored to Dev and he left her, she fell weak enough to kill herself. But then she was anchored to Shiva and that became the point of her return and strength. She came back towards life, due to her hatred for him and then travelled towards acceptance gradually after witnessing his character and finally she is moving on towards mild attraction.

Raavi’s world is filled with people who love her beautifully. They all know her and can see her grief. But it’s only him who can pull her towards life. He is not her love but he is her gravity. She has always been pulled towards him like a moth to a flame. He is attracted to her but he is also her habit, one which she has cultivated long back and one which is now her forever. When she learns to find his scent amidst the smell of masalas, her trial will end and dreams will begin.

“It is not until you rhyme with a person that makes you their perfect match, it is when you are satisfied with each others peculiarities, and find jewels in their loopholes.”

Michael Bassey Johnson

𝔉𝔦𝔯𝔢 𝔟𝔯𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔖𝔢𝔱𝔥𝔞𝔫𝔦 𝔴𝔦𝔱𝔥 𝔐𝔬𝔪𝔪𝔞 𝔅𝔢𝔞𝔯 ℑ𝔫𝔰𝔱𝔦𝔫𝔠𝔱𝔰

🅂🅄🄼🄰🄽 🄿🄰🄽🄳🅈🄰

Name Origin: Means "well-disposed, good mind", derived from the Sanskrit prefix (Su) meaning "good" combined with (Manas)meaning "mind".

She might have looked like a frail woman, but only hardships knew how strong she was; strengthening herself physically, mentally and emotionally, she remained the family's matriarch, holding onto the threads that tie the family together and maintaining a balance that with such diverse personalities occasionally shifts. A mother’s intuition is never wrong, and she can tell when her children are in distress, whether it be the ones she bore or took under her wing.

She is a mother and a mentor who observes, listens and speaks with the wisdom of years, knowing when raising her voice will get through or when a softer approach works better. She uniquely loves all her children but only shows glimpses when she is in distress. Learning to let go so that her children can make mistakes and step in when the water goes over their heads to stop them from drowning.

Somewhere along the line, she will occasionally remember the wife that loved her husband so, but the painful loss is buried under a smile. Though she loves her children, and she knows they love her too, that pain is private and hers to bear.

𝔗𝔥𝔢 𝔄𝔡𝔬𝔯𝔞𝔟𝔩𝔢 𝔅𝔩𝔞𝔟𝔟𝔢𝔯𝔪𝔬𝔲𝔱𝔥 𝔬𝔣 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔉𝔞𝔪𝔦𝔩𝔶

🄺🅁🄸🅂🄷 🄿🄰🄽🄳🅈🄰

Name Origin: The name "Krish" originates from Kṛṣṇa, and is interpreted as “the all attractive”. Sanskrit masculine name Krish literally means thin, lean, weak. Krish also means ploughing, agriculture

Krish Pandya is the fourth and youngest son of Darshan and Suman Pandya. He is a happy-go-lucky young man with great comic timing, and witty one-liner remarks for every situation, no matter how serious or difficult it is. A typical nineteen year old college going teenager, he is not very interested in studies and channels most of his energies into having fun and looking for love, despite being chided by his three older brothers. He has a special bond with every member of the Pandya family, however he seems to be the closest to his elder brother, Shiva Pandya. His opinions and beliefs are greatly influenced and shaped by those of Shiva’s. He also shares Shiva’s love for playing pranks on others and both are often partners-in-crime.

Krish is a person who says things as they are, without a “filter”, irrespective of the situation or the people involved in it, which also makes him a poor keeper of secrets. His open, easy going nature makes him easily accepting of people. However, despite his fun-loving nature, he is staunchly loyal, loving and devoted to his family. He is quick to obey his elders on being reprimanded, and fiercely defends his family against outsiders.

𝔐𝔞𝔞𝔪𝔦 & 𝔑𝔞𝔞𝔤𝔦𝔫

🄿🅁🄰🄵🅄🄻🄻🄰 🄽🄰🅁🄰🅈🄰🄽

Prafulla Narayan is a sly, devious character in the lives of the Pandya family. Married to a meek man under the care of a strong matriarch, Prafulla aims to own the Pandya store and Suman's rightful properties. Drowning in envy and thirsty for power, Prafulla hides behind sweet words and comical mannerisms to manipulate people into doing her bidding, much like a venomous snake that lures its prey. On the surface, she seems selfish and greedy for riches, however, her motivations allude to her perceived slight and humiliation by Suman Pandya. She feels that gaining control over the store would give her an upper hand on her lifelong nemesis- Suman. This twisted logic does not allow her to see anyone related to Suman happy. She particularly abhors Shiva, as he clearly sees through her veil of deceit and calls her out on it. Her biggest point of contention with Shiva are Suman's bangles, a trophy she covets and unjustly flaunts, until forced to return by Raavi. Her only redeeming quality is her love for her nieces Anita and Raavi. She fights in their defense and constantly thinks about what is best for them. However, her definition of what is best is warped by her avarice, and her fixation on besting Suman, and this causes turmoil in Anita's and Raavi's lives. Though she bows down for her daughter-like nieces, she perseveres on her obsession with the Pandya family

𝔅𝔦𝔫 𝔓𝔞𝔦𝔫𝔡𝔦 𝔎𝔞 𝔏𝔬𝔱𝔞 𝔐𝔞𝔪𝔞

🄹🄰🄶🄰🅃 🄽🄰🅁🄰🅈🄰🄽

Jagat Narayan, the brother of Suman Pandya, was brought up by his sister and brother-in-law. A simple and docile man, Jagat did have strong ambitions and loved his sister and her family. Married to Prafulla, who craved power and respect, Jagat constantly fell short of her expectations. He doted on his nieces, Anita and Raavi, with Raavi being the apple of his eye. While he loved all the members of his extended family, Jagat never carried enough convictions in his actions to protect them. Eternally caught in the tug of war between his motherly sister and his domineering wife, Jagat strived to maintain the status quo, often at the cost of the happiness of his loved ones. He understood the difference between right and wrong-yet, he never stood up to Prafulla for all the evils she perpetrated against Suman's family. After being cut off from his family and suffering over years for Prafulla's greed, Jagat was finally able to put his foot down against Prafulla, for Raavi's marriage to Shiva. He now tries to rebel against Prafulla's schemes in his own quiet ways. But, the question remains, where would the Pandyas be today, had Jagat defied Prafulla sooner?

𝔗𝔥𝔢 𝔅𝔯𝔬𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔯 𝔇𝔬𝔭𝔢

H⃞ a⃞ r⃞ d⃞ i⃞ k⃞ S⃞ h⃞ a⃞ h⃞

He was a father, brother and friend all rolled into one for Dhara, but to say she's his only family would be trivialising his bond with his friend and brother Gautam. Their past has woven their lives together and he knows them more than they know themselves.

He stands calm and tall for family, observing, understanding and quietly advising, level-headed with a streak of mischief and vocal about his beliefs.

Hardik Shah, looks pretty unremarkable at first glance, yet his fortitude and wisdom capture your heart. Orphaned at a young age, saddled with the infamy of his runaway mother, Hardik was forced to grow up beyond his age and fend for his sister Dhara. Measured and pragmatic, Hardik is a person one could rely on with blind trust. Hardik is Dhara's father figure, Gautam's best friend and the pillar of strength for the Pandya family. He silently watches over them, giving a patient ear to Gautam's woes, providing emotional and financial support to his sister, and in times of dire need, becoming the voice of reason. He speaks his mind openly and aims to resolve issues clinically. The normally composed Hardik, only loses his cool when his loved ones are in pain, whether it being Gautam rejected at his wedding or Dhara being taunted by society. Like a mighty oak tree, he encompasses the ones dear to him under his protective care, while also showing compassion to people like Maami, who spite him. A true hidden gem, Hardik balances the fine line between responsibility and playfulness, between staying silent and speaking up.

CONTRIBUTORS

funny_fubar, Valley of Peace, Miss.M, hedwig_potter, Grilled Cheese, Slytherinme

PEOPLE'S EXPERIENCE:

ItsmePriya: Priya

Hello everyone

Today we are celebrating 150 beautiful episodes of Pandya Store. Congratulations to the entire team of Pandya Store on achieving this amazing feat. This is the starting point and I really wish the show completes many more milestones soon. The PS team is one of the most dedicated and sincere teams I have seen and it is a pleasure to see them get due recognition for all the hard work they put. The show has continued to entertain us during these difficult times and has given us some amazing memories to cherish forever. Lots of love to the entire team both on camera and off camera for entertaining us daily and making us happy everyday.

My love for the original version of Pandya Store airing in Tamil tempted me to catch up the Hindi version. I started watching Pandya Store from the month of April and now after travelling 150 episodes with them, I can happily tell that this show has become a part of my life. I have never felt an extreme attachment to any of the shows I watched previously. Pandya Store has become a part of my daily routine. I sincerely get up every morning and make it a point to watch the episode on Hotstar as soon as it releases. This craze and attachment towards an ITV show is something I am experiencing for the first time.

7th April 2021- the day I started my journey with this show. The first scene I saw was Shiva and Raavi exchanging varmalas and that one scene made me binge watch the entire wedding sequence on the same day. I remember watching all the pre-leap episodes the same weekend and within 3-4 days I was hooked to this show. The gripping story line, the amazing performance of the kids, Shiny and Kinshuk's chemistry made me addicted to the show. To be honest, this is one of the best non-toxic shows I have ever seen. Sharing some of the best moments/aspects of the show that made me a crazy fan of Pandya Store.

1. Episodes 1- 35 was owned by the kids. They were a treat to watch on screen. The characterization of Shiva, Dev and Krish and the child actors who played these roles did complete justice. They clearly set a bench mark for the post leap actors to carry forward from where they left. The amazing performance of the kids is one of the reasons I still wish to see more of their scenes now. Some of my favorite scenes with the kids are the introductory scenes of all the kids, the interactions of Mami and Chota Shiva, Shiva-Raavi-Dev scenes.

2. Shiva-Dhara bond- I must say that this is what drew me more towards the show. Starting from the first episode, one thing I have admired and adored is the special bond between these two. Shiva has always been Dhara's special bacha and Dhara has been Shiva's world. The bhabhima- bacha bond is something I always crave to watch

3. Gautam and Dhara- It was refreshing to see a pair in ITV who were so comfortable with each other, be their for each other always supporting and being the other person's strength. Their romance was classy and more realistic. I enjoy watching Gaura scenes because of the added comfort and elegance we get to see. The major highlight is the two way communication which is a very rare thing to happen in ITV between couples

4. The bond of the family- This is one of the few shows where we do not have villains within the family planning and plotting against each other. The family scenes give us the warmth and I love to see their scenes. How much ever I troll their YKB moments food sessions...I must admit that I secretly admire and feel so happy when we get YKB moments, the crazy dance sessions of the family, food sessions and all the scenes where we get to see the family function as a whole unit. Pandya Stores is the best example for portraying family unity.

5. Shivi- I am die hard Shivi fan The first scene I saw instantly made me like Shivi. Intense, passionate and angsty story coupled with a frenemy childhood is one of the reasons I got addicted to Shivi. Their journey towards finding each other has now started finally and I am waiting to watch this

In these 150 episodes, it has had its share of highs and lows but the magic of the show is always intact. The casting has been perfect pre leap and post leap and we got to see some amazing performances from all the actors. My most favorite sequences would be the entire pre leap episodes, wedding sequence, kidnapping sequence and the current Shivi track. I also loved the way the show threw light and addressed some real issues like gender equality in a sensible and neat manner. There were some low points too with the Danda kaand, batwara track, but all these tracks also gave us some beautiful moments to cherish.

The calm and composed ML Gaumbi, the ever loving and caring bhabhima Dhara, the non OTT, no nonsense MIL Suman, the sassy and practical today's girl Rishitha, the bubbly innocent airhead Raavi, the perfect baby of the house Krish, Aag boy Shiva for whom family comes first are some of the unique characters that PS has given us.

My post cannot be complete without mentioning about this forum. I must admit I enjoy watching PS even more because of the discussions we have in this forum. This forum is one of the best forums I have visited. Everyday I come here with more excitement and eagerness to discuss the episodes. I can very happily announce that this forum is my second home and you all are my second family. I have never met anyone in person but I can feel an emotional and personal connect with each one of you. The show has given us our own Dhara Momziis, Gaumbi Deewanis, Shiva Deewanis, Jaanu ke Jaanemans....we have all created a small PS family here and share so much love and warmth amongst us. From appreciating good episodes, to endlessly trolling all the bad ones, we have all enjoyed this 150 episodes to the fullest. I am truly happy and lucky to have met such amazing, kind and goodhearted people here. I love all our YKB sessions, AU Shivi discussions and all other crazy discussions we do. My only wish we all continue our adhbutness, doing countless YKBs. Sending lots of love and big YKB hugs to each one of you. You are all amazing and huge thanks to PS for uniting all of us here.

Congratulations to all of us on completing 150 episodes...May we have more episodes coming to unleash our craziness to the fullest.

My special appreciation to all the organisers who planned this 150 episodes celebration so beautifully. Kudos to all of you for your efforts. May we get many more such occasions to celebrate. Lots of love to all of you

Jai Somanth!!!!

Mountain_Lakes: ML(Hailey)

"One hundred and fifty episodes and I still feel like this show is still new. To some, it may be just another ITV show, but for me, it has become much more. The show started off as a coping mechanism to manage grief. I was looking for a distraction and chanced upon a promo of a newly married couple trying to save their pushtaini store. It was like the Gili Mitti Ki Khushboo after the first Barish bringing back old childhood memories of the carefree days filled with love and laughter. It had flavors of Gujarat. It began with the festival of Uttarayan, with Dhara trying to catch a kite and two of her banders up to their usual shenanigans. The excitement and thrill in the eyes of the three banders to go to the Mela with their older brother and their friend- where the youngest manages to get himself kidnapped while others save him- had my heart. I was instantly connected. Thankfully, the show was fairly new, and I binged watched 8 or so episodes. I had no idea this was based on a regional show, and I was pleasantly surprised how quickly the protagonist got married. It had the right amount of masala for the ITV, but it was different from the usual saas-bahu sagas. GauRa had their own magic, and I just couldn't have enough of them on my screen. I started following Shiny and Kinshuk on IG for some offscreen bites. It was around this time when leap was about to be introduced, and I started feeling dejected that the show was about to follow the usual ITV trope. The prospect of missing out on GauRa romance and losing wonderful child actors that I loved just as dearly had me feeling perturbed. However, I was pleasantly surprised when the older characters were introduced. The GauRa magic was still intact- if not amplified. And it took less than a week for me to fall in love with each actor's portrayal of their respective characters. Within a couple of weeks, I was already on-board of the ShiVI ship. It was then when the new chapter, the chapter of my craziness for this show began.

After years of being away from ITV, I was once again excited to return to this forum. Initially, I was so disappointed to see that this show didn't have as much of a craze as I thought it would. However, that disappointment was short-lived, and this fandom and forum grew exponentially. Before I knew it, I was not only in love with the show but also with all of the amazing people I interacted with. This forum has some of the most amazing, humble, warm, talented, and creative individuals that I've interacted with. I love coming here every day to fangirl over the couples that I love, dissect nuanced expressions of each actor's portrayal of their respective characters, and analyze each character to understand their mindset. Soon we had our own community where we shared our frustration, tears, excitement, and most importantly laughs. Like the PS family, we managed to laugh and make each other laugh on some of the most frustrating days and squealed in excitement at the prospect of anything ShiVi. Everyone started channelizing their creative energies in their own talented ways. Oh yes, there's no dearth of talent here. I am so grateful to each of the fanfic writers for taking us into ShiViland and giving us a glimpse of the beautiful future this couple will have. I am grateful to each VM maker who's managed to make me fall in love with ShiVI and the show more than I already was. And I am grateful to all the discussion engagers and humorous content providers for taking the time to make us laugh and engage in conversations that made us see things from different perspectives. I am most grateful to each of you. And I want to attribute this to the whole star cast and crew of the Pandya Store. Thank you for giving us this wonderful show that's been exciting to discuss and (mostly) aesthetic to the eyes. I hope this show and fandom grows by many folds and reaches new heights of love and success. Looking forward to celebrating the next One hundred and fifty!"

mpks1: Prema

Growing up in the 90s India with fewer channels, our only source of entertainment were TV and movies. All through my MS, HS and college, had been hooked on to TV and have watched several shows based on different themes and genres. Life took a turn after marriage, moved away from India and it took nearly 10 years to find a hindi TV show in 2011 which was IPKKND. So when IPKKND ended at the end of 2012, for the longest time I was looking for another Hindi TV show to watch but nothing impressed me much for almost 8 years.

I am an ardent watcher of the original series Pandian Stores since last 2 years. The show gives me a satisfaction of watching my own family on television, going through trials and tribulations and how they overcome it with a lot of positivity. It is rare to find such shows in this day and age when there is too much negativity around you. So when I came across the promo of Pandya Store (title was too familiar) in Hotstar sometime in January, I was intrigued. I immediately searched on googl eand found that this new show is indeed going to be based on my current favorite show, Pandian Stores. I watched the promos which were different from the original and my expectations slowly increased. I was wondering why the makers of the show would try something different when they already have something to go by. So when the first episode came out, I was surprised that the makers started with the chidlhood of the younger brothers along with the 2 main characters Gautam and Dhara. The character introductions, setting, Gautam, Dhara and the kids all got me hooked on to the show instantly. This was something unexpected as the story line deviated so much from the original. I wanted to see if the makers were ever going to bring in the original storyline, so stayed on. In the meantime, I fell in love with Gautam, Dhara, the 3 Bandars,Dev, Shiva, Krish and the Bandariya, Raavi . They made me smile, emotional and something to look forward to everyday. So everyday I would spend 20 minutes watching the show, may be not as soon as the episode was uploaded but sometime during that day. It was my time of the day that I get to spend for myself by doing things that make me happy, so watching Pandya Store was one of those things. I felt bad for Dhara and Gautam and the family, kept assuring myself that one day things will start to look up for them. I continued to watch until one day in March, they introduced a leap of 10 years and was surprised to seea dult Dev, Shiva and Krish and finally Raavi, Now the story started to feel familiar as this is how the original series had started 2 years ago. I started enjoying it more because of the familiarity and knew that the marriage track was going to happen soon.

Now after watching the show all by myself for 2 ½ months in the comfort of my living room, one day in April, I decided to visit India Forums, a very familiar place for me to discuss what I feel about the show. I started as a silent reader, would not even sign in, though I had an account from 10 years ago, Finally after the marriage track was over, when the makers decided to shift the shooting location to Rajasthan due to lockdown in Mumbai,I decided to activate my IF account and made my first post in the forum. I was intrigued yet again by changes to the story line due to the shooting location shift. Slowly I started to fall in love with the characters more and more and the rest is history, Though the haveli track which we got to see for 2 months were not part of the original series, I always wanted to stay on, so one day when they comeback to Mumbai, makers will start to pivot the story back to what was shown in the original. Now I am here to stay until the end of the show. This series and coming to Indiaforums to discuss the daily episodes has become part of my life now. and is like having a comfort food. This show is not perfect but it is not also not bad. There are somethings that I do not like and I have voiced my opinions on that. But I am not the one to nit pick and always try to see the positives.

Now my take on the actors. When I watched the first promo, I found familiar faces, Shiny Doshi and Kinshuk Mahajan. When I was active inIF in 2011, 2012. I already knew about Kinshuk as he was doing a show but never watched it as I can only handle one show at a time. He was a familiar face and would fare somewhere in Top 20 in the TV celebrity ranking. In those days it was important to comment and vote for your favorite celebrity to keep them at the top. I now regret not watching any of Kinshuk’s shows before as he is doing a tremendous job as Gautam Pandya.

After IPKKND ended, did not know if I wanted to start watching a new show, at the same time came to know through IF articles that Sanjay Leela Bhansali was making his TV debut with his production, Saraswatichandra with Jennifer Winget and Gautam Rode as leads, I decided to give it a try and that’s where I saw Shiny for the first time. She was a newcomer and was ethereal to look at. But I had to quit watching the show due to family commitments and the storyline as well. Now I get to see her in a much more mature role compared to her debut and she is doing an awesome job. I also knew Krutika Desai from my TV watching days in the 90s and have always been a fan of her acting and the versatility she brings to any show. About all the other actors, never knew them before, not watched any of their shows, some of them have been a revelation for me. Of the younger lot, I enjoy the following people’s acting the most in this order- Kanwar Dhillon, Simran Budharup, Mohit Parmar, Alice Kaushik and finally Akshay Karodia. I also like the cast playing the supporting characters and you get some great acting from them time to time.

Finally, my experience is not complete without mentioning Indian Forums. I have made some lifelong friends from IPKKND forum, with whom I am still in touch till date, we talk, chat and sometimes meet as well. I was first hesitant come back to IF for this show but none of my friends from the other forum are watching it, so one day I decided to activate my account and here I am, writing about this beautiful journey so far and the worthwhile experiences I got to have. This forum and the members who were here before, welcomed me with open arms and I felt at home right away and I have made some friends who I hope to keep in touch for the longest time even after the show is over. Our opinions may differ but our ultimate love for the show and the actors is keeping us all together.

Congratulations for completing 150 episodes

SlytherInMe.: Ashu

March 23rd - I don’t remember much from that day expect for stumbling across a random video mix on a couple I had never seen before. I remember being completely enchanted by the fire I saw in Shiva’s eyes and the innocence in Raavi’s. The minute I saw the edit, I just knew I had to watch the show, if not for anything but these two blazing individuals. It was when I finally found it on hotstar and began the show from the very first episode did I fall in love with each and every character of the show. Whether it was Dhara’s resolve or Gaumbi’s simplicity; whether it was Suman’s expressive eyes or Kaka’s wisdom; whether it was Maami’s excessive plotting or Anita’s cunningness; whether it was Hardik’s loyalty or Dev’s protectiveness; whether it was Krish’s childish antics or Shiva’s red hot anger; whether it was Raavi’s beautiful laugh or the rest of Somnath’s cameos - I was completely and utterly hooked onto the show. It had taken me about three days to catch up on all the previous episodes and I watched each one of them with such vigorous interest. I had just gone through a grueling week of exams and the perfect stress buster was sitting back and watching the show. Every emotion that Dhara and Shiva felt - I felt with them. My heart went out to Gaumbi and it burned with Maami and Anita’s words. And this was just with the pre-leap episodes. An entire different wave of emotions and thoughts hit me when I began the post-leap episodes - a different part of my heart opening up to the change. What had once been my affection for little Dev quickly turned into annoyance and anger at his inability to speak up. What had once been my love for little Shiva’s firecracker personality turned into an even greater love and respect for his sense of loyalty to his family and especially his Bhabhi - and of course, he is pretty easy on the eyes. What had once been a bit of annoyance for little Krish’s whining turned into appreciation for his ability to make light of any situation. What had once been a slight dismissal for little Raavi turned into a deep yearning to see her bubbly personality in each episode. There doesn’t seem to be a “what had once been” for my Gaumbi and Dhara as they remained the beautiful, compassionate, and ethereal individuals and couple they were ten years ago. There’s a lot more I could say about each and every character and their growth but rather than adding my two cents in on every single detail, (it would take me years to write it and years for you to read - by that time we’d have crossed 200 episodes) I shall move onwards. The show has had its ups and downs in regards to the plot and endless number of ‘kaands’ but amidst the pandemic and lockdown in India - the entire cast and crew put their best foot forward to entertain us and bring some joy into our lives, six days a week. Their dedication and commitment is truly commendable which is why I can’t complain about a few sour noted episodes in between a truck load of amazing and enjoyable episodes. This show has truly been one of the best ones I have watched - and I am eternally grateful for that one edit coming across my Instagram feed.

2 months ago - Aeee India Forums Ke Pandya Store Forum Ke Log. I finally called off my hiatus from IF due to an instant need to interact with anyone that watched this amazing show. I quickly wrote up an introduction post and soon received the warmest welcome I could have ever imagined. Right off the bat, I felt at home - though my initial interaction was minimal. I began with posting stories and only interacting with those who were willing enough to read my work. It was when the 18+ thread had come into play did I start to discuss freely (of course my tharki mind was activated) and there I met all my tharki jaans. We talked about anything and everything - which was honestly the highlight of my day and night since I was on the forum all the time. The online connections I made were and are the best ones I have made on IF. Then, one fateful day, my eye fell on the EDT and that was probably the last peaceful day the discussion thread has ever seen. I met people that I didn’t even know were on the forum and I am so grateful I decided to participate in a thread that I didn’t previously do so for other shows. Just the EDT alone has taught me so many things - both about the show and new perspectives about life in general. Everyone took me under their wing, dealt with my childish behavior and craziness, fangirled with me over ShiVi - especially KD, and just gave me the time of their day which makes me feel so special and blessed.

A lot of times people regard online connections and discussions as a joke and I do too to a certain extent but the past few months on this forum have taught me that something real can be found online. For me that’s my jaans, my jigar da tukdas - my awesome, lovable, wholesome friends. I will never forget the impression everyone has left on my life and will always hold a special space in my heart for this forum and the people I have met through it. Seriously, thank you for putting up with me, for indulging me, for being my sounding board, and for loving me the way you have.

After penning down so many words - the one word that seems to describe my entire experience wholly is ‘saiyyonee’ which means soulmate. It’s a bit cliche I know but I began my journey and experience with a video mix on ShiVi on the song ‘saiyyonee’ and soon Pandya Store, the forum, and my jaans became my soulmates. I love you oh saiyyonee koi shaq ;)

Congratulations to our favorite show PS on successfully completing 150 episodes! 🥳

And congratulations to each and every single person involved in creating this lovely thread and bringing it to fruition 🤗❤️

First of all, thank you Sriyaaa and Nivi for organizing and overseeing everything! And thank you, Avi for organizing the Forum awards.. voting in that was super fun! 🤗

Sriya, Nivi, Esha and Chiki have done a great job with the Story So Far 👏

Amazing character sketches by Piu, Sriya, Maahi, Min, Ashu and @hedwig_potter. SPecial mention to your poems Maahi.. they were beautiful and captured the essence and flavour of each character so well!

I also loved reading the beautiful experience posts written by Priya, Prema, ML and Ashu ❤️

And last but in no way the least, the GIFs by Asfiya, Neha, Ashu, Mel and @tumhiho, and the siggys by Piu just enhanced the beauty of the thread 👏

I fully enjoyed being a part of these celebrations! Congratulations to each and every one of us, and here's wishing for many more such milestones for PS, and celebrations for us! 🥳

Congratulations to PS on 150 episodes and hopefully more to come!!!!🥳

Thanks to the actors, the fans and everyone who loves the show for making it such an entertaining show to watch!!

Also thanks to the talented people who created this thread who took us on a memory lane back to the beginning thank a lot dears!!!

Hope we all keep on getting entertained by the show, this forum and celebrate many more milestones for the show ahead!!

Thanks again for this lovely thread and congrats everyone!!!🥳🥳❤️🤗

Congratulationss everyone !! Finally PS completed 150 episodes!! 🥳

Ahh this thread !! This is so beautiful!! Really u guys are so talented and wonderful!!❤️

Thanks for creating this wonderful thread!! ❤️

One's again congratulations my beautiful forumwasis!! I love you all!! 🤗❤️

YKB hug for you all!! 🤗

Aww this is absolutely gorgeous! I’m so glad I started watching this show but more than that, I’m glad to have discovered this forum!! The level of talent we have here is exceptional! I am in awe I wish I could have contributed as well but real life kept me busy all week! In any case, the entire thread turned out gorgeous!! ❤️

It’s rare to come across such a beautiful ensemble on ITV! I’m so glad Pandya Store has given us that! Each and every character has something to offer and each couple brings a distinct flavor. So many aspects about the show is so relatable and so much fun to watch! This one will always remain close to my heart ❤️

And the people who make up this forum are so so wonderful! Mature, hilarious and intelligent individuals who know how to have a conversation! Very rarely do you find such groups online! There is growth, learning and most of all an atmosphere that makes everyone feel loved, wanted and accepted! We can actually out forth our opinions and even learn from others! Not to mention how hilarious and crazy our discussions are! I can laugh endlessly when I stop by this forum and even get to learn so much! Not to mention write about all my crazy ideas 😆

This calls for a YKB 🤗 to celebrate the show, the forum and the vibe we share here 🤗

Lots of love,

Esha ❤️

What a beautiful thread! This show has given all of us so much. Thank you all who were involved in the creation of this thread and related tasks! It must have taken a lot of time and effort and you all deserve special love and appreciation.

Sriya, may I request a suggestion? If possible, can you tag or include the names of contributors in each section?

Just finished reading Story so far and loved how well it was written with the right amount of details. The way you guys have managed to describe it, I wasn't even upset reading about some of the frustrating episodes. It made me realize why I live this show so much! And all the gifs were absolutely perfect. The gifs themselves and the selection of it. It felt like I was rewatching this show. Loved to see the child actors and wedding track gifs. They have my whole heart! ❤️

I am tagging individuals from the prep thread for the "Story So Far section". Please tag anyone else that I may have missed.