ANARKALI and ANNAPOORNA
I am doing this post solely for the sake of the two names mentioned above: Anarkali and Annapoorna. And I mention them only in the third section, last being the best. In case, some readers prefer straightforward posts than interpretative ones, you may read the first two sections (summing up the Friday episode) and ignore the third section. But I warn you: you might just want to peep into the third section, just for the sake of...peeping.
PICKING POINTERS
- Chirpy, daring Kushi. Loved the way she held her hubby's shoulder when she was descending from the bed in the first scene. And wow, did I hear it right that she wanted one too: they are going to be a Bluetooth couple!
- Arnav was so stunned and mesmerized (and utterly confused if it was her) seeing her so confident, activated and 'business'ing, that he stood there with that sprained neck and only stared. The only dialogues he spared in that scene were 'huh?' and 'What cards?'. And Goodness! Did Kushi actually fool him around with sarcastically saying 'marriage cards' before turning serious and saying 'business cards'? This girl is really ruling the land now!
- Loved the way Arnav kept asking every cat and dog in the family: Have you seen my Kushi? But Arnav bitwa, if you were so wanting to know about her whereabouts, why didn't you try her cellphone? Anjaliji thought of it.
- Oh my! International AR employees fighting over 'dabba delivery'... Isn't that so mature!
- Nani says Payal shall imitate Mami and Payal dropped her spoon. She had been thinking the same thing and was shocked that Nani had read her mind? Or simply scared wondering if she could handle the weight of Mami ishtylish saris and jewelry?
- Told ya: Arnav wouldn't fall for Shyam's honey lies. ASR sports a well-built brain system. But I can't believe he'd let Shyam use his hard-earned money for free. Anjali, I can understand, but Shyam? Anyway, Arnav wants Shyam to learn to stand on his own feet. And considering the way things are going right now, our Shyam dear *grunt* is definitely going to end up standing on his own head!
- So Shyam is not only lusting for Kushi but he lusts also for free cash. What's with the personal desk, swivel chair, files and laptop if you are not making any earnings. I guess his clients dropped him because they realized he was eyeing only the females of the house and wasn't interested in the case. Oh and his nose twitching's back! *moan*
- Boss of AR industries has his wife as Cook in his office canteen and people wonder why he is never found in his cabin. So where did he go? He's with Annapoorna, getting fed.
- ASR doesn't know his own Canteen Cook! Its true what they show: top-notch people are so ignorant of those who work under them. Especially if they are only cooks and cleaners. Oh and that cook was pathetic! I mean, when he spoke in the cabin, I was like: is he crying or is he grinning? Go watch again and clear my doubt please!
DANCING DIALOGUES with ASR
Arnav: Has anyone seen Kushi?
Family: No, Chotey
Arnav: Wonder where that girl has gone again! Should I go to the office without seeing her pretty face? *groan* Its gonna be a really unlucky day today.
At the office
Arnav: Who the hell are you?
Canteenwala: I'm Shukla, your canteen cook. Sugar free tea and sugar free coffee, remember? NO? This is all your fault.
Arnav: What did I do?
Canteenwala: You married!
Arnav: What? What's your problem if I married?
Canteenwala: I wanted to marry you!
When Kushi made her entry
Arnav: (casually) Sit down (and seeing her still standing there) Oh, you don't understand English? Fine then (grinds teeth) Betto!
Kushi: (moves the chair) Was gonna sit anyway, my legs are aching from scampering around Delhi since dawn.
Arnav: (in his mind) Do you want me to massage those lovely legs for you? What the! No, I won't! You didn't massage my sprained neck, did you?!
Kushi: blah...blah...blah...
Arnav: (in his mind) Goodness! All I wanted was just to see her face for sometime to make my day lucky but there goes that steam-engine of her tongue! Me and my orders! If she had been born dumb...nah! I will miss fighting with her retorts! Okay, but this is too much...Kushi, can I put a pacifier into your mouth?
Kushi still blabbers on and Arnav-the attention wanter- grabs things from her hands.
Arnav: You didn't tell me you were starting a business!
Kushi: I didn't? Well, why should I? You call yourself god and god knows everything.
Arnav: But I'm your husband, when starting on anything shouldn't you have shared your decision with me first? We are one, remember?
Kushi: Hmm...if your company is AR, then I'll name my business GR.
(Loved how Arnav's face turned stubbornly angry before he leaps for her notepad) He's standing before her, his face inches away from hers.
Arnav: Kushi, look at me!
Kushi takes some time but after his repeated order, looks at him.
Arnav: you will not come here to serve any dabbas, understand? I can't stand these men staring at you. I will build a golden cage if I have to, and lock you up in my room morning to night. And yes, I'll let you free only in the night. For entertaining me. Get it? Kushi Kumari Gupta...
Kushi: Singh Raizada! *signs the air with her mangalsutra*
Arnav: *sigh* I know, isn't it wonderful? You and me, Singh Raizadas...
Kushi: Hey, I'll put my own name for the dabba business.
Arnav is frustrated and breathing hard-(you can actually hear it-its like he's breathing into your ears!)
Kushi is leaving. And he calls her, "Kushi!" She turns, and stares and then leaves. That's all he wanted: to see her lovely face one last time and lay its imprint in his heart. *sigh* "Now back to my lappy work. "
Downstairs
Bodyguard Lal: I'm newly appointed to be a human advertisement to Mrs. Kushi Raizada's dabba enterprise. Any objections, Shukla?
Back to the Boss, in the last scene
Arnav: I'm collecting feedbacks for my wife. Why did you order this food? What's so special about it?
Employee: Bhabhiji makes superb meals!
Arnav: Ma'am. She's my wife, remember? If you call me sir, you rightly call her ma'am.
Employee: Yes sir. And you know what, sir? It feels like home, when we have her meals.
Arnav: I see. I order you to cancel all orders this very minute. I cannot have my wife making meals for the whole lot of you. When I reach home, I want an energetic, feisty lady waiting for me, not a tried, worn-out business-focused woman.
Employee: But sir...
Arnav: You're new? Then learn the ASR rule: NO ONE EVER QUESTIONS ME. Except one: my wife! And only because she's my wife and not because I love her. I mean, I don't love her. I just said that to tell you I only care for her because she's my wife. Whom I love. Darn! No, I don't love her...What's wrong with my head today? (storms up to his cabin)
DIGGING DEEPER with ANARKALI and ANNAPOORNA
First lets' talk of Annapoorna. This was the nickname given to Kushi by the AR Canteen cook. Loved the way he said , "Sakshal Annapoorna!" and then the ASR tune rocked up a notch and that look he gave! Wow!
WHO IS ANNAPOORNA?
Did you know that Annapoorna is the name of the Hindu Goddess of Nourishment. If I'm right, I think she's a manifestation of Parvati. The story goes like this: Shiva told Parvati that the world was an illusion and food was part of it. She was angered at his remark and did the obvious: let all that was material vanish from the face of the Earth. But soon everyone was suffering from hunger and the Earth looked desolate and empty. Her heart was moved and she set up a kitchen (I think) and permitted people a share of her divine meal. Shiva, the complainer, was also in the queue and he gave her his bowl asking it to be filled, acknowledging that he had been wrong and apologized. Parvati was happy and she fed him with her own hands.
It is said that she wouldn't eat a morsel until all those she is feeding have eaten. She is titled as the strength of Shiva, and also referred to as the cause of creation and dissolution.
ANAPOORNA of IPKKND
Kushi is undoubtedly the Annapoorna of the show. And as the story of Anapoorna goes, we can see Arnav in Shiva. His constant rebuttal of Kushi's Nourishment advances may lead her to giving him the aloof silent treatment. She might even go to the extent of ignoring him but in the end he'll come demanding her attention or even, in the present context, permit her to carry on with the business after first saying to put an end to the dabba madness. Again, like the goddess, Kushi also puts others before her: her family, her husband's family, Anjaliji, Payal, and even Arnav, though lately she's trying to teach him a few lessons in humility. But she is and will always be the sacrificing young girl we saw from the very beginning of the show. And the title of being the strength of her Shiva, the very reason why he married her is unconsciously that. Arnav is actually a character who is externally shown to be strong and hard but inside, he is a weak trembling young boy who has shown his vulnerability only to his sister. He doesn't know it himself but he finds great strength in having her with him, to fight with and hide love from and that is what is keeping him from tipping into madness. And Kushi the goddess is not only worshipped by lusty Shyam, devoted Anjali, motherly Nani and AR employees, but by the Lord Her Hubby himself. He just doesn't show it. Why should he? Not yet. Let them play along some more...
Next, we move onto Anarkali. Not the dress. The name. Mami's coincidental mentioning of the word when Nani had asked if a name had been thought for Anjali's unborn daughter(?)
WHAT DOES ANARKALI MEAN?
The word simply means Pomegranate Blossom. But we need to look a little deeper into 'pomegranates' to understand what it reserves for the show.
WHAT DOES IT SIGNIFY?
Generally, a pomegranate is regarded as God's Fruit and, with its numerous seeds, is a symbol of fruitfulness, prosperity, etc. etc.
There are certain Christian viewpoints and Jewish teachings that believe that the pomegranate was the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden. It is also seen as a symbol of the sweetness of the heavenly kingdom. According to the Qur'an, pomegranates grow in the gardens of paradise and are examples of good things God creates.
But in the Greek culture, pomegranate holds strong symbolic meanings. When one buys a new home, it is conventional for a guest to gift a pomegranate, which is placed at the altar of the house, as a symbol of abundance, fertility and good luck. But on the negative side, ancient mythology referred to the pomegranate as the "fruit of the dead".
However, what I loved the most is the connection of the fruit with the Greek Myth of Persephone, the Queen of the Underworld. You might already know the story, but for those who don't, I'll just review it here. Or better yet, I'll just write down how Wikipedia tells the story and add some more of my points:
"Persephone was kidnapped by Hades(the God of the Underworld) who had fallen in love with her and taken off to live in the underworld as his wife. Her mother, Demeter (goddess of the Harvest), went into mourning for her lost daughter and thus all green things ceased to grow. Zeus, the highest ranking of the Greek gods, could not allow the Earth to die, so he commanded Hades to return Persephone. It was the rule of the Fates that anyone who consumed food or drink in the Underworld was doomed to spend eternity there. Persephone had no food, but Hades tricked her into eating six pomegranate seeds while she was still his prisoner and so, because of this, she was condemned to spend six months in the Underworld every year."
Okay, now back to me. Its strange but true that in the myth when Persephone is portrayed with her husband, Hades, in the underworld she is not depicted as someone who has been abducted and held prisoner against her will. Her countenance is that of a contented woman who is both wife and queen to her beloved husband. Also, when she returns to her husband in the underworld, she takes the Pomegranate with her. Then the earth is almost dormant and remains as if lifeless.
ANARKALI of IPKKND
There is an ambiguity in this title. We cannot be certain if the Anarkali mentioned was meant for Anjali's child or if it indirectly refers to the current youngest and child-like member of the Raizada family: Kushi.
If it is the child: definitely building a new home, means bringing a pomegranate. Anjali is trying to make a family of her own with the coming of her child and she hopes she'll have her husband with her because he is now father and not just a husband who can go on long vacations and not be bothered about his wife who is missing him. Hence the child is seen in the light of bringing prosperity, hope and good luck or more rightly blessings onto the family. She will be the Fruit of God and as the Qu'ran says, a good creation of God. But if we look into the negative reading: we would assume that Shyam is up to some trick or something would happen and the child is born as or end up as a "fruit of the dead" according to the Greeks. Okay, let's just shoo away that thought! Scares me...
I have often referred to the pool outside Arnav's room as Paradise and that Shyam's entry is synonymous to the serpent's vile entry into the Garden of Eden. Due consideration to the foreboding, if something were to happen, would the child, the forbidden fruit of the Paradise, have to remain in Paradise (be cared by Arnav and Kushi) and not be eyed by the Snake who will try and tempt Kushi to return the child to its rightful father?
Switching to the other side, what if the pomegranate signifies our Kushi? Definitely with her entry, the family that was became more cheery and full-of-life, Nani started dancing, everyone was happy and there was a lot of fun around. But the best part was Arnav: he began to laugh, to cry, to dance, to serve food, to kiss, to fall in love...all the things he never did before her entry into his cold lost life. So Kushi can be described with the very same attributes of the pomegranate's symbol. Can we see her as the forbidden fruit? Definitely. For here Arnav stands for both Adam and God. As Adam, he has the right over the her as Eve, and as God he has warned Shyam and everyone else unworthy (the dancer at Holi), to stay away from her, thereby transforming her into the forbidden fruit.
But the greatest reason why we can easily attribute Kushi as Anarkali, is owing to the Greek myth. She is somewhat a Persephone and Arnav is Hades. But he's not entirely heartless. For like Hades, he too fell in love with her. And like the myth clause goes, Arnav makes her stay with him for six months, though in Hades' case its more or less like 'six months every year'. Demeter is a combination of Arnav and his sister. Arnav mourned that he had lost his love and was afraid that if he didn't do something about Shyam, Anjali (Earth) would cease to grow (talking parallel to the myth plot). Zeus is also Arnav where he makes that fatal decision to keep Kushi with him on a contract bond for 6 months, to keep his Earth (Anjali) alive and happy. And if we look into the future, it is obvious that if the Earth is not visited by Persephone every 6 months, she will grow cold and lifeless. Anjali definitely needs Kushi for that spring-like charm and cheer, and I do hope she will stay happy under Kushi's sunny smile forever. Also, coming to Arnav, he is benefiting from this, because Kushi is no longer staying there grudgingly. She is happy and contented there, both as his wife and the ruler of his room as we see her now. She has turned his Underworld into a Wonderland and he is being pulled into it as well. If she leaves him, he will feel lifeless and lost himself, so when the time comes and the last days of the contract expiry rings its countdown, Hades...I mean, Arnav will come up with a brand new deal (or even pomegranate) and make Kushi be with him till eternity envelops them in oneness.
Another superb idea that struck me as soon as I woke up...
Arnav doesn't trust Shyam anymore and is suspicious of him to be still on the wrong and hence cut off any financial assistance to be offered to Shyamwa. But he definitely doesnot see his Kushi in the wrong anymore which is why he told her, "If you needed any money, you should have just asked me." Not run off and start dabba businesses. Wow! And these two contrasts in the same epi!!
Current Affairs
Fan Fictions
530