02/08/2011: Meet Neeraj's FAMILY!

Shreya sees off Sandhya
Shreya is helping Sandhya pack her bags for her departure to Neeraj's place.  She advises Sandhya to open up to Neeraj and tell him what's in his heart 👎🏼 She tells Sandhya that she showed a lot of courage in defying the Jagirdars and sending them to the slammer, and yet, she can't muster a bit of courage to tell Neeraj what's in her heart? (B'cos it's a bad idea!) She tells Sandhya to spill out her guts to Neeraj, so that she'll have no regrets about it being unsaid.  She tells her that she too is leaving for home today, so she wants to hear the good news 🥱  They then take the bags and go out and join Neeraj & Dadaji.  (This is funny - Shreya looks like she's almost packing Sandhya off to her sasural)

They join everyone in the living room, and Savita joins them.  Sandhya hugs Savita & Shreya.  Shreya asks her to remember what she told her, & Neeraj asks her what's the deal 😲😆   Sandhya denies anything, and they all take the bags & leave.

Savita & Shreya are left alone, and Shreya tells her that she too is leaving.  If Sandhya returns, she'll ask Shradhya to come and take care of her (Are you sure Rohit & Abha will be okay w/ that, especially if Sandhya decides to return indefinitely, or for good?) Savita tells her that that will hopefully not be necessary: whenever she comes back, it'll hopefully be w/ the good news of her impending marriage to Neeraj 😍 (Marriage, Neeraj, they do have a funny way of rhyming, don't they? 😆)

Neerdhya welcomed @ Dadaji's home
Dadaji arrives @ his home w/ Neeraj & Sandhya (wish they had mentioned which city it is in.  For now, I'll just assume Mumbai) A servant picks up their bags, and he invites them in.  He then calls out all family members, who all come out one by one, and Dadaji introduces them all to Neeraj:

Dadaji then introduces Neeraj to everyone as Ramesh's son, and Sandhya as his friend.  They all exchange pleasantries, but Gayatri bua looks annoyed 🤔

Then Anmol perks up and remarks that Neeraj must be confused @ seeing so many of them, but a cold stare from Dadaji shuts him up. 🤔 He then asks where his wife is, and Urmi tells him that she's probably in her room.  Dadaji tells Neeraj that he's off to see her, and leaves Neeraj w/ the rest of the crowd.

Family opens up & welcomes Neeraj
Dadaji leaves, and Anmol is excited 😆 He then says that now that he's gone, an end to the formalities, and goes & hugs Neeraj & welcomes him, telling him that everyone wants to see him, and brings him in.  Sandhya is happy.

Then Sarita comes in w/ some paneer and feeds Neeraj, and following that, Sandhya, overriding her objections.  As if on cue, Gayatri bua gets something for Neeraj, and stuffs his mouth (my, what manners!) She then gives Neeraj a piece of paper and asks him to cherish it like a talisman, so that no evil eye will come anywhere near him.  Anmol wisecracks and asks her whether she's going anywhere 😆🤣

Anmol then tells Neeraj that he must be wondering about everybody's change in their moods.  He explains that Dadaji is extremely strict, and absolutely doesn't like them lightening up.  So people don't let a beep while he's around, but the moment he disappears, everybody lightens up 😆  Gayatri threatens to snitch on Anmol, and he mocks her by telling her that she doesn't spare any opportunity to tinge him 😆

Anmol then pulls out an envolope and hands it to Neeraj, telling him that he's turned everything that's his over to Neeraj 😲  Neeraj & everyone else look stunned, and Anmol clarifies that he meant his family, since that's everything he has 😆 So he's written all the details of his family and given it to Neeraj, so that he can read it @ leisure and know about them all (Anmol, we need that as well 😆) He tells Neeraj that from this, he'll know who's naughty & who's nice, who's good & who's bad, who's straight & who's crooked, who's miserly and who's not, who's present & who's absent.

Nina tells Neeraj that she too has gotten him a gift, but forgotten what it is or where she kept it 😆  Neeraj is amused.  Anmol tells Neeraj that she's the Gajani of this house 😆

Sarita then remembers that Neeraj has not eaten the rest of the halwa, and tells others to feed Neeraj as well.  Everybody disperses and brings him something, and is competing to stuff poor Neeraj's mouth, while Sandhya watches all this &  chuckles. 😈  Nina notices her and goes to her to give her a jeelebi, and Sandhya declines it, and tells them to feed Neeraj instead, since he's been missing them for years 😈  Neeraj gives her a really annoyed look 😆 and they resume torturing him. 

While they are at it, Sandhya asks to be shown her room, and Nina takes her to hers.  While they are on their way, Gayatri bua wonders why she came, and remarks to herself that   She calls Sarita aside, and asks her who Sandhya is, and Sarita tells her that this new girl is someone that Dadaji had said is just there for some time, and will go away after a few days, so not to worry.  Gayatri however thnks to herself that by the looks of it, she's not going away anytime soon.  Gaytri tells herself that Sandhya looks like someone who's here to stay for good (Somehow, sourpussies such as her tend to be right)

Sandhya talks to Shreya
Sandhya is in her room and calls Shreya, who's unpacking.  She tells her that everybody was very eagerly waiting for Neeraj for days.  Everybody had either cooked something for him or got him gifts, and she somehow escaped, while Neeraj was still getting smothered.  Shreya tells her that it's after a long while that she's heard Sandhya be so happy, and wants her to be forever as happy.

Sandhya goes quiet, and Shreya reminds her that whenever she was in trouble, she'd face it w/ a smile, so now that she's got happiness in front of her, accept that w/ a smile as well.  She tells Sandhya that Neeraj will need time to adjust to his new family, so she has to be supportive of him, like he always was for her.  She reminds her that Neeraj used to be eternally happy and someone who'd liven up other people as well.  If she gave him company and was happy, slowly his happiness would return as well.  Shreya tells her she's just arrived home, and has some work, but after finishing it, will call her back.  Sandhya tells her that she'll talk to Savita & Sakshi in the meantime.

Shreya then asks her whether she's told Neeraj that she loves him? 😲 Sandhya shrieks 😆 and warns her that if she persists, she'll stop calling her 😆

Neeraj miffed @ being smothered 😆

Neeraj empties a bag of antacid powder in a glass of water & gulps it down, and Sandhya chuckles to see that 😈 Sandhya remarks that he must have overeaten, which is why he needed this.  Neeraj is not amused.  She said that just seeing all those things scared her, so she fled 😆

Neeraj tells her that she made her escape, while leaving him high & dry, while everyone stuffed him w/ all sorts of things - some khandvi, some dhokla, some kheer 😆 It looked like they saved all this food all these years, so that the moment he arrived, he'd have to finish all those years of food in one sitting 😆

Sandhya asks him why is he angry?  Neeraj asks what else could he be - the way everybody smothered him?  He's human after all - how can he finish all that?  Sandhya sits beside him and explains that everybody had made something special for him b'cos they loved him.  They were only expressing their happiness.  She asks him since when do these things bother him?  In Gwalior, he'd just laugh them away.

Hearing this, Neeraj gets up and leaves the room.  Sandhya is stunned @ his reaction.

Dadaji asks Sandhya for a favor
Next morning, @ the plant shrine, Sandhya is doing her morning pujas, when Dadaji gets there.  She does all the rituals, while Dadaji lookes admiringly.

Sandhya then notices him and greets him, and he tells her that he's impressed that such a young girl is so refined.  Sandhya tells him that it was a habit inculcated in her by her eldest sister Savita.  Dadaji remarks that Savita indeed seemed to him like a lady of character.  He tells her that if she's done, he'd like a word w/ her.  He asks her  whether Neeraj is still asleep, and Sandhya tells him that Neeraj sleeps late & gets up late.  He is impressed that Sandhya knows Neeraj so well, and she explains how they were close to each other in Gwalior.  He understands.

Dadaji then tells Sandhya that the fact is that she's the only one who knows & understands Neeraj well.  So he tells her that if she could unite Neeraj w/ this family, the family would forever be in her debt.

Comments
Oh, Shreya!!!  Have you ever read a book called 'The Rules' by Ellen Fein & Sherrie Schneider, which essentially says that to attract and ultimately marry a man of her dreams, a woman should play 'hard to get'?  Read it, and you'll realize that Sandhya is doing everything right by not letting Neeraj know how she feels about him!

On the members of Neeraj's family, everyone seemed okay except his bua, who is on Sandhya's case despite Dadaji telling her that Sandhya is only a guest for a few days.  This woman apparently lacks both manners and class: since Sandhya has been introduced to them all as Neeraj's friend, not as his lover, or fiancee, why not treat her as an honored guest?  Speaking of which, since Neeraj is an (albeit new) member of this family while Sandhya is a complete outsider and therefore a guest, they ought to have been more attentive towards her.  Instead, it was Sandhya who had to ask for her room, while she sadistically enjoyed the sight of Neeraj getting smothered 😈  Speaking of which, I don't blame Neeraj for being miffed: if only he was still Gunge, he'd have scarfed up everything w/o even looking @ anyone.  Instead, he needed an antacid to digest everything later 😵  Incidentally, I don't blame him on getting pissed on hearing how he was @ Gwalior.  Apparently, he feels that whatever he'd do there was a big error in judgement, and so Gwalior no longer invokes fond memories in him any more than it does in Sandhya.

So Dadaji seems a really uptight person, but whether he's evil or not is an open question.  He doesn't appreciate Anmol even talking, let alone his jokes, but he seemed very admiring of Sandhya's culture, when he observed her in her pujas.  Judging from his request to Sandhya to help get Neeraj merged w/ this family, he does seem manipulative, since he's not willing to allow Neeraj the option of  not living w/ them if he doesn't like it.  Somehow, I get the idea that Neeraj & Sandhya might develop some friction b/w them, w/ Sandhya trying to make him accept this family as his own, which he clearly doesn't like.  Hope it doesn't happen and drag out their romance, but sure looks like it.  Although if the crooked bua's instincts are right, Sandhya is there to stay w/ Neeraj, and nothing can split them.

I liked Anmol - the youngest of Neeraj's cousins (played by Manish Naggdev)  Today, he just stole the show from Neeraj - being the absolute bindas character!  The bhabis looked good as well, as did Raj.  Hope that the cue sheet that he gave Neeraj in the envelope turns out to be useful.  Incidentally, Vipul wasn't introduced today - wonder who he is?  May be described in that envelope.

Who do you like among the new entrants?  Multiple choices enabled - just vote for one after the other!

Unfortunately, there have been no reports of who the new entrants are, so I hope to find them and fill them in this update, or in a separate thread.

Episode rating: 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼

👍🏼: Dadaji's family members, especially Anmol 😆, no Jagirdars today

👎🏼: Gayatri bua, but I guess everything can't be perfect.  But she looks like the new party pooper
Edited by _Vrish_ - 13 years ago

i smell something fishy...

This is going to start getting a bit annoying to watch! Because of the older aunty grrrrr! What is her problem even?! For a minute I thought she's not even happy about Neeraj being there.. With Neeraj 'changing' slightly according to Sandhya, if the aunty says anything to Sandhya I'm not sure she'll tell Neeraj..

Thanks Vrisha for the update.It is excellent as usual.

ok so a lot of new characters have entered the scenario... haven't watched it but as per the updates anmol seems like an interesting character. btw is anmol the one...i mean manish naggdev whom u guyz were talking about or is it someone else...

well as so many new characters have entered & the old ones have disappeared... what do u guyz think now about RS forum banner now in this case...😳

Vik

Don't remind me 😡😆 - I had just completed it, and suddenly there is a whole character overhaul.  Reminds me of Jyoti.  Well, let's give it 4-6 months, and then re-visit.  Maybe when  I did the banner ads, I should have asked that Yuvraj & the Jagirdars be optional or de-emphasized, but that would have flown in the face of what they were exclusively showing.  And yep, Anmol is Manish Naggdev - mentioned it in the comments.  Only thing I hope I won't have to do - not ask that Sandhya's 4 jijus be excluded!

p0lkad0t

I don't think the problem will be Neeraj getting too involved w/ his family.  I think that on the contrary, seeing how hostile Neeraj is towards them, Sandhya will conceal from Neeraj things like Gayatri aunty's attitude, and when Neeraj finds out, either on his own or w/ help from Anmol, he'll confront Sandhya for lying.  If & when Neeraj finds out that he's been lied to about his parents, he'll remind Sandhya about how he supported her in getting justice for Shyamrao, and how, by contrast, she's letting down his parents.  I even think Savita or Shreya will have to intervene.

But one thing I didn't like - too many new characters, of which you  know the bulk of them will be sporadic appearances.  Incidentally, anybody can identify the actors who played them, aside from Manish Naggdev?

Originally posted by: _Vrish_

Vik

Don't remind me 😡😆 - I had just completed it, and suddenly there is a whole character overhaul.  Reminds me of Jyoti.

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣