Dear diary,
Ask any man about his ideal girl and I bet most of them will come out with descriptions of their physical attributes starting with height, weight, colour, length and type of hair; and some will go to the extent of specification on the teeth structure to the colour of eyes.
And then you come across a minority who is blind to all these and go straight for the character- tameez, tehzeeb and the works.
I think most men keep both the aspects in mind while describing their ideal woman.😊
Then there are some hard core mother's boys who want their wives to love their family to the extent of leaving her own family.
And Asad Ahmed Khan?😳
He has only one demand from his wife…that she should love his Ammi more than he, himself.
It is not that she should love his Ammi more than she loves any one else…but her share of love for his Ammi should be more than what he gives. There is no comparison or competition in this love. Asad is simply praying that the girl who comes into his life can accept and love his mother as her own.
And Dilshad reminds him "Haven't you got engaged to just the WOMAN OF YOUR DREAMS?"
True enough! Zoya loves her phoophi like the mother who was taken away from her. She cares for her and would give her life to protect her. She would even stand up to a Jahapanah Ahmed Khan when she felt he was hurting her- Aap ko apni ammi ki dard bhi nazari nahi aati and would put herself in the line of fire to support her decision, however illogical or impulsive it sounds…if phoophi believes so, there must be a reason behind it, even if it is hidden to her mortal eyes- such is the blind faith Zoya has in her phoophi, a faith Dilshad is unable to instill even in her own offspring!👏
The bond between Zoya and Dilshad- it is a bond that goes beyond everything else. Zoya understands Dilshad perfectly. She can see the pain hidden behind the smile, and Dilshad knows Zoya is able to see her Phoophi's true self, because she herself prefers to live life that way. She hides her tears behind her loud banter. How far has Dilshad understood Zoya?
Like she said, "Pata nahi maine itni der kyun laga di?"- she was talking about the inevitable bond between Zoya and Asad here. Yes, she made a delay and continues to do so, in knowing the real Zoya. She knows Zoya loves Asad and everything and anything connected to him…but does she know the real Zoya? Uss bechaari ki koi nahi hai…I am not talking about a weak and insecure Zoya. Zoya is never that to me. She is strong. Even when the world sympathises with her orphan status, she proudly stands up and declares-' I am not an orphan' . She has Aapi and Jeeju. And if that is not enough, "Meri sagai bhi ho gayi hai"- even if her mangaetar calls it nakli, Zoya does not shy away from using this half- truth to save her face. She cannot tolerate the sympathy. Woh bechaari nahi hai.😊
This is the Zoya I am talking about. The Zoya who teases sympathy out in a good measure from Mr. Khan, who wants him to dry her tears, apologise to her😉 …yet she does not want any from the world.😊 Kyunki woh bechaari nahi hai!👏
"Ammi woh bechaari nahi hai."
"Is ghar mein akele main hi hoon jo appko achhi tarah se janta hoon"
The Truth, Mr. Khan!
He knows she is not a bechaari…by now he knows she can take anything from him. She has always bounced back, in a matter of minutes. And he can never win a war of words with her. She has an answer to everything…she cares about everyone around her, to the extent she crosses her limits! Woh bechari nahi hai.
This is the lasting impression that Asad has of Zoya…but has he understood her correctly?
My feeling is, NO.
He knows she is kind and giving. But she oversteps her limits to cause disastrous consequences to his family. It is this bit of Zoya that he calls OVERSMARTNESS. And this misperception has always made him lash out at Zoya…
She was over smart when she let Mariam stay back.
She was over smart when she dragged his family into Ayan's engagement disaster. Every time his family is threatened, he falls back on this definition of Zoya, and each time he has been proved wrong. Yet the definition has not changed. Why so? Is it due to Zoya's little game of showing off in front of her Jahapanah?
Main kitni smart hoon na, Mr. Khan?
A simple child- like craving for attention and approval, that seems like childishness to him.
And like a child, she loves to bug him. She basks in the simple pleasures in the form of his awkward responses when she gloats over her victories…and it becomes a game between them.
How dangerous can this game between two lovers get, when neither is willing to bare their true feelings.
Even as Asad suffers from his chip- off- the- old- block- complex, he has managed to give her the impression that it is his intolerance of 'the principle behind Zoya', that holds him back.
Thankfully, this has not destroyed her confidence. It has simply irked her to the extent of her going into vehement denial, when he pops the question quite trickily, "Aap mujhse nikah karna chahegi?"
Not bad! For a guy who is used to getting out smarted by our Ms. Farooqui, Asad has sneakily tried to assess her true feelings. What would he do with the answer? The complicated man does not care to think. For now, the unstoppable, inquisitive lover in him demands an answer- 'Does your heart beat for me as wild as mine does for you?'😳
As for Zoya, even when she gives him tit for tat, plays the game according to his rules, she cannot stop wishing all this was really the fairy tale that it seems to the rest of the world. She can love Asad Ahmed Khan in all forms of nonsense; there are no ifs and buts to her love. But she is helpless since he has clearly stated to the rest of the world that there are no feelings involved in his actions. He lures her with his eyes, but the language she reads there is not the same he speaks with his lips. If Zoya was curious enough to ask questions before, right now, the repeated denials have effectively sealed her lips, just like the montage. It is to her credit that he has not shocked her into a silence. Instead, she has a cool confidence- yeah, lets see where you are taking this, Mr. Khan!
"Kya main itni buri hoon?": It is a question that crossed her mind. But Zoya believes in herself. So she brushed it off just like that. Asad has to be careful that he does not make her ask that question again. Once the implications of that thought become clear to Zoya, there is no telling how she will react.
For now it is all at a superficial level for her. She knows she is attracted to him, enough for her heart to desire what destiny has planned for them. But her pride detracts her from confessing to a guy who is so obviously adamant about hiding his true feelings from her. She seems to be in a 'take it as it comes' mood. Sagai ho gayi- do baar- nakli, as Mr. Khan likes to call it.
She knows in her heart, it is for real for her. But she will play along FOR him, allowing him to make the decisions for once, because he cares for his ammi…setting her feelings aside, because they may not be that important at this juncture. This is not the fairy tale love story she imagined- it is just what has fallen her way- since it is a little miracle Allah has made happen, she will trust him to take her the rest of the way, whatever lies her way- more surprises or disappointment- Zoya wil not run away…
Zoya surprises herself with the amount of patience she has for Mr. Khan's 'nonsense'. Will there be a time, much much later, when she repeats that question, 'Kya main itni buri hoon?' And how will it make her react?
Will she confront Asad for not respecting her, or will she gracefully take it in her stride and move out of his way?
And how will Asad feel when he knows she misread him based on his own taunts of her in the past?
For now, it is a game of numbers.
Dus din mein nikah karaungi.
Dus din mein Raziya, tumhe ghar se nilkaloongi.
Dus baje shuruat hogi.
Paanch baje tumhe pata chalega…
The matriarchs of the two households have prophesied.
A wedding will take place in 10 days and an engagement will break in 10 days.
Going by the numbers 10 and 5, will it be on the 10th day of the 5th month?
Dilshad has promised us a wedding and Zoya has promised us a nakli wedding. And Mr. Khan's plans never work! Thank God!
Or is it a carrot Gul is dangling in front of us?😕
I hope not. I have already started baking carrot cakes! And it is smelling goood!😆
If Tanveer is in a mood to murder, she can kill the TIME for us, till the wedding!
Then again, it looks like her days are numbered, thanks to the batti that has lighted up in Zoya's brains. She will not rest until she has an answer to Tanveer's strange behavior.
As for Mr. Khan and his ideas…Nakli Honey moon! What an idea, Sir jee!👏😆
Whew! That was quite lengthy! Had to make up for my absence for 2 days...😆
Had to let a bit of the virus out...😉
Veer Hanuman
Anupamaa
