RAGHAV AND KRISH
Kids are a welcome addition to a serial for several reasons: they bring in a fresh vibe to the serial, they enhance the lead's character through their innocent interactions, and the cuteness is definitely pleasing to the eye! Often fans love to see their favourite actor play father or mother and love to gush over how sweet and mischievous the leads looked with the little one.
Raghav and Krish, however, turn that concept on its head. Silence is golden to this duo, but this doesn't mean they don't have a fun-loving nature. At first believed to be father and son, viewers were pleasantly surprised to see that the tough Raghav who melted at the sight of Krish was really his uncle, and still regarded himself as the boy's guardian. Their's was a relationship that truly went beyond blood and transcended any relation but the most important one: that of love.
The Beginning
Both Raghav and Krish were introduced to us with a sense of mystery, from the eyes of a traumatized Sia. Remember how one of the promos speculated whether this streetside savior was "Sia ka Ram ya ek aur Viraaj"? That was for good reason: like Sia, we as viewers had no clue why a man like Raghav lived perpetually on the streets, what bitter past made him connect so strongly with the suffering of the helpless, why he believed in fighting violence with violence. Like Sia we didn't know what to make of him and therefore could understand why she didn't trust him at first.
Krish, like Raghav, enters the serial both as a source of joy and a source of pain for Sia. We see her grow almost childlike in his presence and open up a bit, but we also see the bitter memories of her miscarriage crop up when a woman at the ashram tells her his name. At first his presence is a reminder of the innocent child she had lost through Viraaj's violence , and the fear that she would never experience that awesome feeling of motherhood again. He also makes Sia, and the viewers, wonder what tragedy could have made this boy lose his voice.
The shared mysterious silence between the man and the boy fascinated viewers, and for a very good reason.
Named after the Gods
There is a reason Raghav and Krish were given the names of two prominent avatars of Vishnu ' just as there is a reason Jhanvi is named Sia before she goes to Gurgaon. One avatar was known for his life-long love to one incredible woman, while the other was known for how he interpreted Dharma, and for his childhood exploits in Brindavan. As the 'Ram' of the story, Raghav serves as a counterpoint to Viraaj ' who sees himself as Ram only because he is Jhanvi's husband ' and shares with this mythical hero his sense of righteousness and his desire to help others demand justice for themselves. As Sia's Ram, Raghav serves as her protector in her time of need, her friend whose faith in her will never waver, a life partner who will never judge her for her choices but support her. His love for Sia is such that even though he admits he may never be able to completely understand the trauma she'd been through as Jhanvi, he will never judge her for how she handled it.
Krish's name is very significant, given his story arc with Sia. Not only because 'Krishna' was the name she had wanted to give her son, but also because he fills in her a void that child had left behind. Sia becomes like Yashoda here, at once posing as a friend and a protector ' to the point where she threatens her former husband with his own sword when he poses a threat to the boy's life. Likewise, Krish's wisdom ' like that of the original child Krishna ' often helps Sia realise that she is not alone and that she has support in the Singh house.
Raghav and Sia are exemplary in their portrayal as the perfect, supportive couple, and Krish fills in both of them the emotional void they'd both been holding in for so long. Raghav becomes, for Krish, the respectful, heroic father-figure he never had, and Sia becames both a friend and a second mother to him.
The Confidante and the Father Figure
As we now know, Krish had witnessed both his father's tragic death and the domestic violence his mother faced. Raghav, who bore on his shoulders the inadequacy he felt about not being the 'perfect son', knew what it meant to truly feel alone. It was this bond of loneliness that brought Raghav and Krish together, that helped them heal. Krish's ability to understand and be sensitive to what adults were saying to him, and Raghav's sense of justice and fairness.
Unlike most child characters, Krish had a certain level of complexity that required him to be mature beyond his years. Often, we see him express concern when Sia looks distressed or when Raghav looks worried, massage their scalps so that they would relax enough to tell him their problems, sign back to them simple but effective solutions. We never get to know what makes Krish so intuitive, but it is clear that his experiences have taught him to deal with situations better than most adults would.
On the other hand, we see Raghav, his uncle, make up for his brother's mistakes and truly take care of Krish even when Gayathri forces him to stay away. In fact, he was so close to Krish that many fans felt they might have actually been father and son ' the fact that they aren't father and son, makes their connection so much more precious.
Similarities
The one thing that binds Raghav and Krish so closely together is their intense concern for other people. Their ability to figure out that someone is facing a problem, and to help them in whatever way they can without poking their noses into another person's life. Both Raghav and Krish are brilliant listeners and do not judge or look down on another person's problem. Both of them have a fun side that shines through in the moments when they are relaxed and tension-free. Both have their own ways of relieving stress, too: Raghav teaches Sia that it is a good thing to let out frustration, by allowing her to hit a punching bag while imagining it to be the person who traumatized her, while Krish believes in calming his loved ones down with a soothing massage.
Both also realise the importance of silence, and realise that just because a person is silent doesn't mean everything is right. Krish's trauma traps him in a situation where he is left without a voice ' except during moments of extreme stress, such as the two moments he realizes his uncle is going to leave them all for good. Raghav stays silent because he believes that words are meaningless unless they are backed up by action ' often, you find him saying very, very little except when he has completed his mission. Both have also had at some point in their lives, strained relationships with their mothers: while Gayathri and Raghav were constantly at loggerheads due to their differing ideals, Komal and Krish experienced a certain sense of disconnect with each other in their beginning. Even so, their love for their mothers shine through.
Ultimately, both are warm, caring, grounded people possessing a wisdom that is beyond their years.
Storytelling
Stories are popular for just one reason: it allows the adult to pass along their principles to the child in a way that s/he will both understand and enjoy. But for Raghav, Sia and Krish, these stories were either painful reminders of their own innocent beliefs, or ways in which they could signal to Krish that they were in danger and needed to find a solution. We first see how important stories are to Sia and Krish when Sia narrates princess stories to him, and subsequently remembers how Viraaj shattered her own dreams while still posing as her Prince Charming. Another popular story with Krish is the story of the prince and the evil magician, which Sia later uses to alert Krish to their situation. During their kidnapping, Sia reminds Krish of the story and gives him a way to get them out of their trap. Similarly, in situations where Viraaj attempts to use Krish to emotionally blackmail them, they send important code messages to him using the Prince/Magician story. Because Krish is acutely sensitive to reality, he is also able to figure out what they really are saying.
Of course, we also see this unique spin to storytelling in the 'triple-massage' scene, where Raghav and Sia talk through Krish about a boy and a girl and how angry both were with each other, until Krish in frustration tells them to resolve the situation themselves!
Psychology of Raghav and Krish
How do Raghav's, and Krish's, experiences make them who they are, ultimately? From the little we see of Raghav prior to his cutting-off from the family, we find him to be a focused, slightly rebellious young man who is terrific with fixing things and would like to work on his own at some point ' which is why he is so grateful to his brother for the garage given to him. Even as he asserts his independence we see his love for his family shining through: he loves Gayathri so much that he would rather have her believe him to be responsible for Dev's death, than to blame herself for it. It is this resolve that keeps him silent whenever Gayathri puts him at fault and throws him out of the house. It is this love for them that allows him to keep tabs on them even after he is no more a part of the family: he keeps in touch with the ashram women, he visits Krish often and takes care of him. He experiences survivor's guilt due to his memories of Dev's death, despite his attempts to save him, and considers himself responsible for Krish's trauma. He often expresses his frustration through physical exertion, such as his use of the punching bag.
Krish is as complex as Raghav: his muteness is his way of coping with both the trauma of his father's death and his knowledge that what his father made Komal suffer, was fundamentally wrong. But despite all this, Krish shows incredible strength and sensitivity, and often offers a shoulder himself for his loved ones to cry on. He often expresses his pain through drawing and writing: he draws his father in black in a family portrait, hinting at Dev's dark past, and writes about his disturbing experience with Viraaj in his class notebook, thus leading Komal to realise who Viraaj really is.
At a point when children were being known only for their cuteness or just being replicas of their parents, KriGhav made their mark for being different, being real and exploring the layers of their characters to the fullest!
Credits:
Peom: Meg
Write ups: Liz
Siggies: Vandy and Sugi
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Edited by sam123_0 - 12 years ago
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