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Credit goes to Maham(Allbut1) for this beautiful Banner
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Needless to say, I am hugely confused and completely in the dark about what is going to happen at this birthday party, and how Aarti is going to become Arpita. To give myself and anyone else who wants to partake, some clarity I would like to analyse some of the specific things that Aarti said (not quoting but paraphrasing here) to the various members of the family.
"You've misunderstood me"
Palak says that her dadi bua has already told her what Aarti is going to do the minute that she sends her father out and closes the door and Aarti merely counters this with a smile and a giggle, assuring Palak that she has no such intention and that Palak has read her all wrong. She then goes on to establish that she is Palak's friend because she knows a secret of hers, she writes letters to her mother, or rather has her father write them. So Aarti counters Palak's doubt and Bua's manipulation with a direct response, bolstered by positive body language.
"What if your mummy came to see the drawing herself?"
It is a question, not a statement and it allows for the doubt that Palak next displays. You are lying to me, aren't you, she asks. Aarti does not deny that she is lying to Palak, she merely tells her to have faith in her and that her mother will come to the party. Palak then turns to the picture of Arpita and asks, will you really come? Aarti stands in front of the photo and says, yes. So here we establish that she is not lying to Palak technically. I am not saying I excuse her for this because it is more than clear what Palak is understanding from her speech, but I am thinking that the fact that she is being so equivocal means that this is a part of her plan.
"Your mother will definitely come but you will have to do just as I say. Secondly, this is a secret between us so don't tell anyone"
What we have left to see, because a lot of Aarti's plan is left ambiguous is what instructions she will give Palak and why this whole thing has to be a secret between the two of them. If she was really planning to appear at the party as Arpita, plain and simple, she could have allowed Palak to tell everyone what she had planned and be excited about it. But this is a little secret between the two of them and I think that that is how this "encounter" with Arpita is going to remain. Also, the fact that Aarti is telling Palak that she has to do just as she says, makes me feel like she is weaving a beautiful, magical dream for Palak. This is not something Aarti is doing on the spur of the moment. This is a plan, a strategy. I am completely against the idea of toying with a child's most vulnerable self and trying to enforce recovery on them all at once, but I get the feeling that Aarti knows this from her stillness and her calm. I am somehow convinced by her conviction here. Am I just being a naive child like Palak? Or will Aarti really do magic? Only time will tell.
"Alright, you don't have to hug me now, but when your mother comes, you can hug me and call me mummy instead of sautheli mummy"
Again, Aarti seems to have all the stages of the plan worked out. And the ways she is describing it step by step, I get the feeling we will see it play out in a similar way. What about her plan is making her so certain? She is so ready for all of Palak's hostility and faces it with humour and grace. What knowledge is making her so peaceful and strong from inside? Aarti is no stranger to grief. She knows what a burden it can be and for some reason, I just can't see her being insensitive about this. Also, she is differentiating between herself and Arpita here which is a good sign. She says when your mother comes, hug me. Again, I might be too optimistic here, but the signs are there for me to read. I just hope I am not misreading them.
"The theme of the party is fairyland so the invitation should adhere"
The theme of the party is something that we know Aarti has chosen. I am fairly certain there is some purpose behind her choice with specific respect to winning Palak's heart in the course of these events. It has been coming up again and again and has been stressed, so I can't help but think that there is some connection between this theme and Arpita's return to Palak's birthday party.
"Naach na jaane, aangan teda"
I thought this was very significant to the situation at hand, and not just the adorable Chinese Whisper game. Immediately after Aarti says this, Yash goes into flashback about Arpita and barely has he come out of his shell for Palak to play the game that he retreats angrily back in. We see this happy family situation with all of them playing a game together, enjoying little things and laughing together; who is the only one putting a damper on the celebratory mood? No, not Palak, Yash. This brings us back to the whole reasoning of Palak not celebrating her birthday of her own accord. She is the teda aangan to Yash's clueless naach. He himself does not want to let Arpita go on this day, he wants to mourn her and he wants to hold on to her. I am not saying he doesn't want Palak to be happy, but he can't seem to slap a smile on his face and grit his teeth for her, long enough to play a simple game when her happiness is so dependent on his own. His daughters are laughing, his family is happy and cheerful and all he can do is worry that Arpita's presence is slipping away, fall back into her memories march away indignantly. And still he says that they don't celebrate her birthday because she doesn't want to? No Yash, the aangan is not teda. You just don't know how to dance. Grow up.
"Palak and Payal must see their own mother in me"
This again threw me into a tailspin about what AKJ actually means to Aarti herself. It is pretty clear here that her focus is winning Payal and Palak and her entire being is invested in this task. Her single mindedness makes me, and Shobha, think that she is going to succeed at getting Palak and Payal to accept her as Arpita but what about Yash? He is too old for fairyland. I thought this exchange between Aarti and Shobha was really interesting because it mirrored to a great extent the way the Scindias acted about the ransom money and Ansh. What is the need for you to give the money? The police can solve the problem on their own...etc etc seemed to ring in the background when I heard, Why do you have to become Arpita? Why can't you win the girls over as Aarti? This may jeopardise your relationship with Yash.
I think it goes to show that all parents are selfish in the interests of their own kids. With Aarti and Yash we see that they are willing to go to any distance to make their relationships with the others' kids work. Yash was willing to give up his money and then his life! Aarti is now willing to give up her identity to become a part of these kids' lives. Aarti did not believe that when push comes to shove, someone other than her could give their life to save Ansh. And Yash does not believe that anyone can "be Arpita" to his kids. But I think that Aarti is going to prove him wrong. As furious as the Scindias were about Yash almost losing his life, Shobha is rattled by Aarti almost losing her identity, but it doesn't seem to bother Aarti at all. Again that all powerful word of SUKOON comes into play and that is exactly what I would use to describe Aarti today. She felt at peace knowing the decision she had taken for Palak, whatever it might be.
"Put your grief aside and be happy for your daughter. This is what you wanted, right?"
I loved this dialogue of Aarti's simply because she was not preaching anything she has not practiced with her whole heart. Has this not been her mantra for raising Ansh by herself? And I loved the question she posed to him. Is this what Yash wanted? Or was he so sure that Palak would refuse point blank to the birthday that he gave Aarti permission on the condition that she agreed? Could it be that this was why he was reluctant to leave Palak alone with Aarti, the possibility that Aarti would convince Palak to celebrate her birthday? I am not discounting that Yash wants his daughter to be happy but is he perhaps feeling left behind in all this happiness? Before this the family was all about him and his grief. Now suddenly they are unfettering themselves, when Yash didn't know he had been holding them back. And all at once he feels alone. Aarti is beckoning him gently into the world of the living, where he does not have to feel this loneliness in grief but can partake of togetherness in celebration.
"You've misunderstood me"
Palak says that her dadi bua has already told her what Aarti is going to do the minute that she sends her father out and closes the door and Aarti merely counters this with a smile and a giggle, assuring Palak that she has no such intention and that Palak has read her all wrong. She then goes on to establish that she is Palak's friend because she knows a secret of hers, she writes letters to her mother, or rather has her father write them. So Aarti counters Palak's doubt and Bua's manipulation with a direct response, bolstered by positive body language.
"What if your mummy came to see the drawing herself?"
It is a question, not a statement and it allows for the doubt that Palak next displays. You are lying to me, aren't you, she asks. Aarti does not deny that she is lying to Palak, she merely tells her to have faith in her and that her mother will come to the party. Palak then turns to the picture of Arpita and asks, will you really come? Aarti stands in front of the photo and says, yes. So here we establish that she is not lying to Palak technically. I am not saying I excuse her for this because it is more than clear what Palak is understanding from her speech, but I am thinking that the fact that she is being so equivocal means that this is a part of her plan.
"Your mother will definitely come but you will have to do just as I say. Secondly, this is a secret between us so don't tell anyone"
What we have left to see, because a lot of Aarti's plan is left ambiguous is what instructions she will give Palak and why this whole thing has to be a secret between the two of them. If she was really planning to appear at the party as Arpita, plain and simple, she could have allowed Palak to tell everyone what she had planned and be excited about it. But this is a little secret between the two of them and I think that that is how this "encounter" with Arpita is going to remain. Also, the fact that Aarti is telling Palak that she has to do just as she says, makes me feel like she is weaving a beautiful, magical dream for Palak. This is not something Aarti is doing on the spur of the moment. This is a plan, a strategy. I am completely against the idea of toying with a child's most vulnerable self and trying to enforce recovery on them all at once, but I get the feeling that Aarti knows this from her stillness and her calm. I am somehow convinced by her conviction here. Am I just being a naive child like Palak? Or will Aarti really do magic? Only time will tell.
"Alright, you don't have to hug me now, but when your mother comes, you can hug me and call me mummy instead of sautheli mummy"
Again, Aarti seems to have all the stages of the plan worked out. And the ways she is describing it step by step, I get the feeling we will see it play out in a similar way. What about her plan is making her so certain? She is so ready for all of Palak's hostility and faces it with humour and grace. What knowledge is making her so peaceful and strong from inside? Aarti is no stranger to grief. She knows what a burden it can be and for some reason, I just can't see her being insensitive about this. Also, she is differentiating between herself and Arpita here which is a good sign. She says when your mother comes, hug me. Again, I might be too optimistic here, but the signs are there for me to read. I just hope I am not misreading them.
"The theme of the party is fairyland so the invitation should adhere"
The theme of the party is something that we know Aarti has chosen. I am fairly certain there is some purpose behind her choice with specific respect to winning Palak's heart in the course of these events. It has been coming up again and again and has been stressed, so I can't help but think that there is some connection between this theme and Arpita's return to Palak's birthday party.
"Naach na jaane, aangan teda"
I thought this was very significant to the situation at hand, and not just the adorable Chinese Whisper game. Immediately after Aarti says this, Yash goes into flashback about Arpita and barely has he come out of his shell for Palak to play the game that he retreats angrily back in. We see this happy family situation with all of them playing a game together, enjoying little things and laughing together; who is the only one putting a damper on the celebratory mood? No, not Palak, Yash. This brings us back to the whole reasoning of Palak not celebrating her birthday of her own accord. She is the teda aangan to Yash's clueless naach. He himself does not want to let Arpita go on this day, he wants to mourn her and he wants to hold on to her. I am not saying he doesn't want Palak to be happy, but he can't seem to slap a smile on his face and grit his teeth for her, long enough to play a simple game when her happiness is so dependent on his own. His daughters are laughing, his family is happy and cheerful and all he can do is worry that Arpita's presence is slipping away, fall back into her memories march away indignantly. And still he says that they don't celebrate her birthday because she doesn't want to? No Yash, the aangan is not teda. You just don't know how to dance. Grow up.
"Palak and Payal must see their own mother in me"
This again threw me into a tailspin about what AKJ actually means to Aarti herself. It is pretty clear here that her focus is winning Payal and Palak and her entire being is invested in this task. Her single mindedness makes me, and Shobha, think that she is going to succeed at getting Palak and Payal to accept her as Arpita but what about Yash? He is too old for fairyland. I thought this exchange between Aarti and Shobha was really interesting because it mirrored to a great extent the way the Scindias acted about the ransom money and Ansh. What is the need for you to give the money? The police can solve the problem on their own...etc etc seemed to ring in the background when I heard, Why do you have to become Arpita? Why can't you win the girls over as Aarti? This may jeopardise your relationship with Yash.
I think it goes to show that all parents are selfish in the interests of their own kids. With Aarti and Yash we see that they are willing to go to any distance to make their relationships with the others' kids work. Yash was willing to give up his money and then his life! Aarti is now willing to give up her identity to become a part of these kids' lives. Aarti did not believe that when push comes to shove, someone other than her could give their life to save Ansh. And Yash does not believe that anyone can "be Arpita" to his kids. But I think that Aarti is going to prove him wrong. As furious as the Scindias were about Yash almost losing his life, Shobha is rattled by Aarti almost losing her identity, but it doesn't seem to bother Aarti at all. Again that all powerful word of SUKOON comes into play and that is exactly what I would use to describe Aarti today. She felt at peace knowing the decision she had taken for Palak, whatever it might be.
"Put your grief aside and be happy for your daughter. This is what you wanted, right?"
I loved this dialogue of Aarti's simply because she was not preaching anything she has not practiced with her whole heart. Has this not been her mantra for raising Ansh by herself? And I loved the question she posed to him. Is this what Yash wanted? Or was he so sure that Palak would refuse point blank to the birthday that he gave Aarti permission on the condition that she agreed? Could it be that this was why he was reluctant to leave Palak alone with Aarti, the possibility that Aarti would convince Palak to celebrate her birthday? I am not discounting that Yash wants his daughter to be happy but is he perhaps feeling left behind in all this happiness? Before this the family was all about him and his grief. Now suddenly they are unfettering themselves, when Yash didn't know he had been holding them back. And all at once he feels alone. Aarti is beckoning him gently into the world of the living, where he does not have to feel this loneliness in grief but can partake of togetherness in celebration.
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