Hey Indu! I had planned to read and comment early Sunday morning in my part of the world, but I was sidetracked when I came on to the news of Zahida leaving. Threw me for a loop. But I've been able to catch up since then. Wonderful follow-up to the last emotionally intense installment.
Aw, the first part with Aarti, the pandit, and Malti is so heartwarming and sometimes bittersweet. Though Aarti clearly remains emotionally scarred and sensitive to others' view of her, you've allowed a few people in her life to be so good to her, reminding her of her value and encouraging her gifts. ❤️ We all need people like that in our lives. It's also great that she has art in her silence as it seemed to be her own form of coping, surviving.
Aarti was waiting for the shopkeeper to get the medicine from the top shelf, when she heard a car stop and someone walking up to the shop with a "Be right back" tossed at someone in the car. Aarti shifted more toward the corner as he came up, turning away her head…a very familiar reaction to someone who knew her. Very slowly she withdrew her arms that were on the counter to herself, as her long silken hair shifted and covered her face. To the young man who had come and was awaiting his turn, it looked as if the girl very gracefully folded into herself. Her subtle, delicate actions reminded him of the touch-me-not flower, who is expressively articulate and at peace amidst trees, flowers, and birds but at any human contact withdraws into herself. He smiled and whacked his head at the back…if only his friends had heard his thoughts. They wouldn't have believed he possessed such poetic vocabulary….come to think of it, neither did he. God, what's with this place and shy girls! Weird…now why would he recall a certain encounter with a little girl more than a decade back. Maybe being in this place brought back that memory. He jerked his head toward the shopkeeper who was addressing the girl now.
Ah, the first emotional Yash-Aarti connect/re-connect without realizing they're sharing the same space. She's trying not be noticed and fade into the background yet he notices her anyway and his description is indeed poetic. I like, I like. I like it alot.
The man apologized to Aarti who kept her face turned and ran away, swearing to himself that he would never come near the vicinity of this girl. He had no idea she had such dangerous friends.
The man called Yash turned to her.
"Please take your dupatta."
It's so striking how difficult it is for Aarti to defend herself here. But your Yash is mirroring PV's Yash here. I love that. I also love that they don't recognize each other yet. So he's not helping her, giving her self-protective advice, because he remembers her. He's helping her because it's in his nature to do so.
It took immense self-control for Malti to hold back her own tears, "OK…then promise me something else. Promise me you will finish your studies….Hmm!!" She saw her nod once as she kept her head down, drawing patterns on the bedsheet with her fingers. Malti continued, "Aarti, now listen carefully to what I say. I know you think your parents' marriage was perfect and that what they had you can never have. I want you to think and be open about this….There is a special someone made for you too Aarti. He is waiting out there…waiting for the divine signal that will bring him in front of you, so that he can give you all the happiness that you deserve. At that point your heart should be able to recognize your soul mate. It might scare you a little, but take that leap of faith….trust him. Don't lose yourself so far away that when it comes to giving yourself to him you won't be able to find yourself. Don't shy away from love when it comes to you. There is no way to know love other than by the standards you, and you alone, create for yourself. As I've already said, it's a scary thing, but it is worth the risk. Do you understand what I am saying?"
Aarti was silent, and Malti prodded gently after awhile, knowing she hadn't much time. The women will come in any moment to take her away for the ritual.
. . . .
"I am just stating a fact, Di. Everyone I love leaves me and goes away. I make people go away…and I think that is for the best that they do. Given this fact, do you think I would even allow myself to let love come near me?" Aarti continued, probably the most words she had spoken in her life to someone, as Malti listened horrified to all the bottled-up emotions of her young friend, "Even if I fall in love, I can never surrender myself…samarpan to someone is not in my fate, Di. I won't be a curse to anyone's life, especially if he is one I happen to love. It will be too selfish of me if I do."
I really like how you show this continued thread of deep insecurity/self-doubt in Aarti through incidents like these. We're seeing how scarred she truly is, how much she sees herself through her father's eyes and considers herself a curse. At the same time, I'm glad Malti gives her this soul-filled advice, reminding her worth as a person. Her words understandably don't resonate with Aarti yet; she so believes what her father, Maya, and other paternal relatives have said through their words and treatment of her. 🥺 So difficult and heartbreaking to see, but such a natural fallout of the emotional and physical abuse she suffers.
Now, it's Yash's turn! So Tanya is a gold-digger. I'm really interested to see what trouble Yash gets into, if any, because of what he just heard. I sense his possible disillusionment will eventually meet Aarti's belief that she shouldn't and won't have love in her life. Eagerly looking forward the next part. 😃
Web Series
Kabhi Neem Neem Kabhi Shahad Shahad
Love Friendship Dating and Relationships
Tum Se Tum Tak
Financial markets and global economy
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
