Originally posted by: Transference
The mirror is the worst judge of true beauty
I am too tired today to make a separate post out of this. I honestly wanted to put up a very long post about today's episode, but it seems like sleep is capturing my sanity, and I should doze off within a few minutes. Nonetheless, before I went off to snooze, I wanted to make sure that I penned my thoughts about this scene.
In popular lineage, folklore and myths, mirrors are supposed to be menacing and have the power to capture your soul. For the longest time, it was believed that people who do not have the soul had no reflection in the mirror.
The mirror is a perfect example of an illusion rather than a glimpse of your true self, mainly because the mirror image is the inverted image of yourself as per the laws of reflection.
Numerous myths are associated with The mirror. The most pragmatic being- “If you stare at the mirror for too long, you are set to sabotage your sanity.
Human beings have long been obsessed with their reflections. There have been numerous legends, including the tragic Narcissus, who drowned in a pond after falling in love with his reflection. The mirror is also associated with pretence.
I particularly loved the spectacle because of the usage of two mirrors instead of one.
One is capturing the elegance and the world of Raavi. Another one where shiva is left alone, wondering whether he is good enough to be caught in the same frame?
We see Shiva far away from vanity all his life. He is grounded, attached to his roots and is genuinely the don of the soil. In contrast, Raavi, before her marriage, was conscious about the skin's beauty. She had always loved Shiva like his family but reprimanded him for his looks, much like a child.
They both had driven each other from childhood, and honestly, before entering into a relationship, this might not have matter mattered much. Had Dev not been a part of the equation, I wonder what if they had a typical arranged marriage?
I don’t think this would have been a great challenge because they must have had a tight friend circle right from childhood. It is common among people who have grown up together to bully, tease each other. While I agree that Sneha went overboard like a vile creature, she laughed about how this “garam masala” would be left single all his life.
Shiva-Raavi and their circle had been children together. They have now grown up together and have shared a rich history with each other. It happens commonly with childhood sweethearts/acquaintances getting married.
The sense of familiarity of the past, the gossip among friends and deeper secrets tend to reach each other in ways that are sometimes unimaginable and embarrassing.
In normal scenarios such couples laugh it out, or talk it out. Here, the situation is agonisingly complex because Shiva and Raavi do not share the pathway of communication yet. They both are in a marriage!
They both know what it means to them, but they haven’t opened a channel of communication amongst each other. I see this track as a wonderful potent one to confront the relationships of the past, and open a channel of broadcast for the future outlook.
The problem is not with Sneha bullying Shiva, or Raavi silently listening to it before eventually correcting her. The problem is with the insecurity that has crept inside Shiva’s heart. He is trapped in the quagmire of love, desperately wanting to be the centre of her universe. Raavi has become this unattainable figure in his mind, where he secretly thinks that she doesn’t belong to him.
All these aspects or people saying nasty things to him will stop being so important anymore if Raavi ever had a ‘heart-to-heart.’ conversation with Shiva.
Nevertheless, the angst is supposed to follow.
Also, you can see the clear-cut difference amongst friends of both the individuals. While Sneha speaks from the perspective of Raavi, Shiva‘s friend speaks from a space of respect.
They say one should choose their friends wisely, and share their secrets only with trustworthy people. The naivete and the gossip of young teenager girl is coming back to haunt Raavi. It will be a long journey from henceforth of mutual trust, respect and love.
I would like to share a personal anecdote here since I have practically grown up with my husband. There have been many embarrassing moments like these where we would constantly remind each other of our changed relationship till date.
Sometimes, we would do things that would unnecessarily look childish, especially amongst the company of friends. I remember a particular incidence when bickering in our friend circle, I had accidentally hit him and used an expletive as I would do during our College days.
The banter became fierce, with us practically trolling each other like Sadachaap teeny Hopper's.
The friend circle didn’t help either adding fuel to the fire. Later, I could sense this slight discomfort in his voice when he told me very seriously- “Sometimes, you forget that I am your husband now.”
Those words stayed with me forever, though he forgets that I am his wife too many times. 😆 He still thinks that I am that Gyaan Jhadne Wali Nerd! 🤣, and he can shoo me anytime 😡
But, what I’m trying to say is that such things become normal if Shivi had shared a normal past. The baggage of their sordid past is a handful for both of them to understand and handle right now.

Shiva is already angry with the mention of Dev. His jaw Titans when Sneha mention about manhandling of his bhai Ki Biwi.

Well, this frame breaks my heart.

You can sense the horror in Ravi’s eyes. She genuinely believes that Shiva will be hurt. We have been told that Ravi always stood up for Shiva when he was a child. I am assuming that she will be angry at his low self-esteem in future too.

This was very childlike. It was very similar on the lines of the jhalla episode. Despite being hurt, Shiva manifests all the signs of an angry child being bullied by a friend.

Ravi tries to salvage the situation with her childlike demeanour. She doesn’t know that this hurt is beyond the truce that they can call now together. The heftier part of the dilemma is that Raavi is oblivious to she was changed feelings, and constant yearning for her acceptance.

I love it when he asked her to stay away from him and go back to her Friend. It’s like telling a child that I hate you because you don’t want to play in my team.💁♀️

The unrequited love can become a distant memory, the pain can transform into metamorphosis of the soul, and the bitterness can lead to a cathartic healing only if you decide to confront your past honestly. Till that happens, the wounds of the sordid past remain fulminating under the scabs of time.