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Analysis of Today's Episode
After about a week of slow movement, today's episode was promising in the sense that it moved the story forward somewhat. Many people in the forum have observed that there appears to be a big jinx in the Scindhia family for public celebrations, and today's Karva Chauth festival did not disappoint in the sense that the celebrations quickly portended the ominous plot lurking in the background.
In addition to this jinx, another thing deserving mention is the pattern of Arati's disappearance, with which today's episode ended, which in itself represents a beautiful loop closure. The last time Arati pulled a Houdini in the middle of Yash's party, was because she was unsure of Yash's acceptance of her and the baby. Today, it is just the opposite. Arati is so secure in Yash's acceptance and understanding of her that she could afford to leave without even feeling the need to inform him or others. This is where the creatives excel. The constant narrative of repetitions of subtle actions, such as a pallu getting stuck in a watch, are far from reenactment of the past --in fact, they are meant to show dynamic movement, and the way in which simple actions in the day-to-day carry great significance. The actions themselves may not change, but in each instance we see how the actors have emerged from before, both in relation to themselves and one another. Further, we also see how the meaning ascribed to the same action is never the same. The repetitive actions remain an important marker --like coloured skeins-- with which the complex tapestry of the plot and the characters are interwoven.
Another thing that is worth dwelling upon in today's episode is the heightened level of denial in which the main characters appear to be steeped. As I mentioned before, the people in PVland seem to be living in their own cocoon of a world, where they have insulated themselves from anything disturbing or unpleasant. The greater this denial, the harder it will be for them to come out of it, further complicating the plot. This is also evident in Gaya3's behavior towards Pari, and also those of others, where the gravity of her situation is being minimized by others.
If we were to make a list of people in denial, the Dubeys, no surprise, feature prominently. Today's episode further reiterates the fact that the Dubeys --all three of them-- are in la-la-land, or have officially taken leave of their senses. Unless one is in severe denial of the facts, how can one leave a mortally sick man, whose days are numbered, to care for a small child? Again we have the overriding cocoon of Prashant's altruism, brushed with the undercurrent theme of selfishness. Overtly, he wishes for his parents to go to the temple together, but the subterranean motive is to spend quality time with Ansh.
Arati in her naivete is also in her own cocoon. Granted, by a long shot, that her resolve to reveal everything about her past to Yash has been repeatedly thwarted by household emergencies, which has led a rising sense of discomfort, guilt and fear within her. Still, her new-found security in Yash's acceptance and open admiration of her has ironically lulled her into a sense of complacency. In this sense, I find the act of Yash rhythmically patting her to sleep, in the last episode, very metaphoric. His unspoken love and obvious concern for her has made her subconsciously postpone her revelation, a risk she cannot really afford to take. Arati's denial was also enacted in an earlier episode, with the family game at the park where a blindfolded Arati was shown to be dangerously teetering towards a see-saw and was rescued by Yash. Arati is blinded to the see-sawing effect of the past over the present. Will Yash rescue her this time, or will he feel so hurt and misunderstood that he himself will need to be rescued? Only time will tell.
Finally, we also got clues to Yash's cocoon in today's episode. Yash has always been an all-or-nothing type of person. He is obsessive by nature --totally immersed in whatever captures his interest. After coming out of the long years of the Arpita mourning, the presence of Arati has now become Yash's present. At first Yash was obsessed with the baby's health, but that obsession, gradually, is being transferred to the carrier of the baby herself. The problem with this, of course, is that the circumstances under which this transference is happening are far more layered and complex than Yash will allow.
Today, Yash's stalking of Arati with the camcorder viewfinder is a brilliant allegory of his narrow vision, where Arati is concerned. He is seeing only what he wishes to see, and what is available to be seen and documented on the surface --namely Arati's breathtaking beauty, her love of his family, her wisdom and kindness, her maturity. Many members of this forum have commented upon how Arati places Yash on a pedestal, which has contributed to her hesitancy in revealing the truth about Prashant. Yash also has started to idealize Arati, and has placed her on a similar pedestal. No doubt, idealization is a normal stage in realization of one's love for another, but in Yash's case, because of his nature, it can grow to dangerous proportions, when he is forced to deal with the entire situation.
The key to Yash's breaking out of his cocoon and to grow as a person is to come to terms with the fact that no one is black and white. The many shades of grey have to be teased out and embraced. Acceptance of Arati is acceptance of her baggage also. Acceptance does not mean passivity or agreement with another's behavior. It means being able to see the whole truth of another objectively before responding to situations that affect one negatively.
Ye Hai Mohabbatein
