THE RAIZADA BROTHERS - ARNAV AND AKASH

Reams and reams of prose and verse have been written by the writers of this forum on the ongoing love-hate saga of Arnav Singh Raizada of Delhi and Khushi Kumari Gupta of Lucknow. But a story does not have only two characters!

Take for example, the two Raizada brothers- Arnav and Akash. Two contrasting personalities, one blazing like the sun and the other cool like the moon. Both equally important in the family but one is constantly overshadowed by the other. The elder brother is most often in the limelight but the younger brother is the backbone of the family lending a quiet strength and a sane voice to all.

This post being about the brothers, I have left out the change in Arnav as a result of Khushi entering his life and he falling irrevocably and deeply in love. The relationship between Akash and Arnav is emphasized upon.

ARNAV SINGH RAIZADA:-

A mischievous, happy-go-lucky boy of fifteen, loved and pampered by parents and an only elder sister, Anjali , doted upon by all, suddenly finds himself hit by life's tragedy. Orphaned on the day of his sister's wedding, he has no time to mourn for his loss when the baraat of his sister walks away leaving a sister struck by the double tragedy. Leaving aside his boyhood in a second, he grows up to be a man and takes the responsibility on his shoulders! The siblings are then cast out of their inheritance, the palatial mansion Sheesh Mahal in Lucknow, by their scheming paternal uncle. Life has taught its first lesson to Arnav Malik. Power comes with money and the quest begins.

AKASH SINGH RAIZADA-

A quiet, small boy suddenly gains two siblings, his cousins Arnav and Anjali , who come to stay with them. Anjali, the elder sister gives him the kind of motherly love which probably was lacking in his own mother who herself battles against the disapproving society who look down upon her, and he looks up in awe to his elder cousin, Arnav who has a tough personality. He grows up silently, in the shadow of Arnav, always trailing behind him and allowing him to take the lead in all matters whether home or business. He joins his brother's business but always follows his lead. He is also handsome in his own way, not the bad boy, hot image of his brother, but rather the good boy next door, a mother's dream come true as a husband for her little girl! He manages to quieten down his garrulous mother and is very respectful to all.

THE JOURNEY OF LIFE:-

Luckily for Arnav and Anjali, their maternal family supports them. The matriarch, Devyani Raizada , their Naniji, Mamaji and Mamiji , Manorama , along with their young son, Akash give them a home. Mamiji understood them much more than the others. She herself was a servant girl in the Raizada family before falling in love with the son of the house and marrying him. She sold her jewellery and also broke down a fixed deposit and gave the money as capital to Arnav to start his business. Arnav has never forgotten this gesture from Mamiji and has repaid her many times over in terms of love and wealth and support for her son. He will continue to do so in the future because he never will forget those days when she had been like a pillar of strength to him. Changing his paternal name of Malik to his maternal name of Raizada, he blazes a fiery trail in the fashion industry as the ruthless Mr. Arnav Singh Raizada, but known to the business world as the mighty businessman, ASR.

ASR is now considered one of the richest men in India, running AR Designs, a front-runner in the fashion industry. He is a hard taskmaster, tough as nails, very handsome, but never smiling, least bothered about what the others think, runs his company autocratically, where his word is law. Here, he is ably assisted by his brother, Akash and Mamaji. Now, he has his own Raizada mansion, a huge house where all the family members stay together. Anjali, his sister, inflicted with polio in her childhood has always been insecure and so the younger brother, Arnav has been extremely protective of her. Fear of losing a loved one drives the psyche of Arnav so much that he does not dare to love anyone other than his sister. Traumatized by his past, Arnav, inspite of being 27 years old, steers clear of any relationships. An innate disgust of the middle class mentality and middle class girls (probably connected to his past - Life's second lesson?) is seen in his dealings. Contempt for those beneath him, but a generosity for all those who work for him, in spite of a blunt nature, ASR is seen as the eternal bad boy who attracts the girls.

A man of few words, he can control everything and everyone with just a glare, a stare or a raised eyebrow!!

Flaunting his power rather than money is his mantra in life. He is least bothered about his clothes, car or other possessions, dresses very conservatively; he does not spend much on himself, often seen in the same clothes, which of course irks all of us, his female admirers!! Anjali is his mother substitute. ASR goes back to Lucknow to wrest the Sheesh Mahal from his uncle to complete his revenge and get back his legacy. He is truly the fiery Sun around whom the entire family revolves; but he lives his life on his terms. He is the caretaker and provider for his family which he does as a duty without expecting anything in return!

But Akash is the quiet presence in their lives! He quietly influences his brother Arnav where it does matter! We see the first instance of their bonding and understanding when Khushi is forced to model for the fashion calendar shoot. Arnav , out of anger, is bent on forcing Khushi to wear the short dress. When she turns up for the shoot in a red sari, Akash very calmly tells Arnav that the outfit will definitely work for their image. Although he says that he will go by whatever bhai says, still Akash puts it across that the sari is perfect for the shoot. Arnav agrees to it showing that Akash's words do make a difference. Although Arnav is not close to anyone except Anjali, he is very protective of his entire family and will do everything which is necessary for their well-being! There are times when Akash is worried that Arnav is working too hard and advises him to take a break and go for a short vacation, promising to take care of the business.

Then a time comes when Akash who has fallen in love with Payal, Khushi's elder sister, is refused by her. Arnav realizes the depth of Akash's suffering, and in spite of not believing in love himself, plans together with Khushi and gets them together. Akash, on the other hand, hears from Payal that Arnav knows what had gone wrong on the day of her first wedding, but does not force him to answer. When mamiji refuses to accept Payal as her bahu, Arnav in his own style, makes Mamiji understand that it is beneficial to her to agree to the marriage. We also see their bonding when their cousin NK comes from Sydney. They make plans with Anjali to avoid NK as he is over-exuberant! Arnav also comes to help Akash during the New Year's Eve meeting with Payal at midnight. He did not want to see Khushi at that time, but when Akash needs him, he is there! Arnav also throws a cocktail party for Akash and Payal to celebrate their engagement. Akash never wants to hurt or go against Arnav's wish, so he is even ready to cancel his own sangeet function when asked to by Arnav.

We also see a touching scene when Arnav helps Akash to dress up for his wedding and both the brothers share a moment wherein they talk to each other about the meaning of love! Akash is unaware that Arnav has fallen in love with Khushi and so he is surprised and amazed to hear Arnav talking dreamily about love! At the time of the wedding of Akash and Payal, Akash waits for Arnav to reach the hall before he puts the Jaymala on Payal. It shows that Arnav is a major part of Akash's life. When Akash sees his brother entering with his bride, Khushi after having married without informing others, he does not question him nor Khushi. Instead he pacifies the family and his bride Payal, saying that there must be a reason. He shows implicit trust in both of them. He also accepts everything that Arnav tells him regarding the business, blindly signing documents if Arnav says so. We have seen a scene in which Akash makes a mistake of not checking the background of the Sethi brothers before setting up a deal which would have resulted in a huge loss to the business, but Arnav forgives him easily saying that mistakes happen to everyone. Arnav is not so forgiving to all others.

Some more instances are

1) When Mami ji was creating a drama after she discovered Payal's broken marriage - Akash has a heart to heart with Bua ji and Amma - where he very humbly says that as Bhai has blessed this relationship - no one will really be able to stop it. He has no ego when he owns up that Bhai is the true boss in the RM.

2) When Akash is stuck to the chair in New Year and Arnav comes to help him out - Akash reminds him of a time when they were kids when Akash was stuck before because some one had dropped glue on the sheets. They share a nostalgic smile - remembering their childhood pranks. Though Arnav right away protests - Why r u telling me this ... I did not do it. They both know that Arnav was the one who had played the prank. Akash true to his style replies - Of course it was not you ... but both share a knowing smile. I had loved that scene.

Another instance of the bonding between these two brothers is the accidental exchange of medicines and the way Mamiji created a scene! She is about to make Payal leave home when Arnav comes and handles it. He tells Mamiji it was his fault. He finally asks Aakash to take his mother away to her room - the glance the two brothers exchanged was more than any words needed to give depth to their relationship!

Both the brothers share a camaraderie which is not so visible to others. One is flamboyant, while the other is understated. Arnav gives dynamic strength and support to his brother, whereas Akash has a calming effect on Arnav. The brotherly hugs that they share at the important events of their lives is a testimony to the fact that they will stand by each other through thick and thin in this journey of life!

My friends,

I have tried to recollect instances which show the brotherly love between Arnav and Akash.

Please feel free to add to this view if you feel I have left out anything. Also your valuable comments are welcome!