My Analysis
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Punar Vivaah Show Anniversary
After a very long time, I find myself sitting before my computer screen ready to type something Punar Vivaah related. As most in this family know, I'm none too pleased about some of the developments that occurred recently. However, in light of the current celebratory mood, and the developments in today's episode, I feel a bit of the old verve returning. As such, I'm going to touch on some things that have recently been highlighted. Whether or not I will delve into the time prior to the Tirth Yaatra is something still unknown to me. I guess we'll all figure it out once my post is completed. Forgive me if this turns out to be a long post, but hey, we just turned one year old, so please humour me.
Principles-Sanskaar
Love-Pyaar
Family-Parivaar
Helplessness-Majboor/Majburi
These are four of the words that have forever been constant in the vocabulary of the characters of Punar Vivaah. Every character has at some point in time, be it via soliloquy or vocal exhortations, spoken of the desire to preserve the khushi of their parivaar. They have cried tears before Ishwaar/Bhagwaan requesting that there be no andheri raatein in the lives of their various loved ones. Everyone has claimed to have the best interests of their parivaar at heart, pleading majburi as they went against sanskaars they learned from infancy to preserve fleeting smiles, and rare fulfilling laughter. These characters and their limited vocabulary were a reflection of ourselves and the magnifying glass on what we would be willing to do for our families- although many would deny it. Often times in Indian television, it is difficult to find a show in which the characters are shaded this intricately with humanity, and realism rather than some hyped- up fabled version of family.
It is precisely this that drew me to Punar Vivaah in the first place. There was the flavour of the average Indian serial in the portrayal of some ideas, but the overall execution was enough to make any analytic soul smile with delight. True, on some occasions we smirked in derision, but there was always delight and pleasure in viewing the unfolding events. Why? Simply because we were tasting a delectable dish of our favourite meal presented in new and appealing ways. I'm saying that the words mentioned above became appealing and intriguing rather than irritating or unsavory due to some seedi saadhi depiction of their meaning. Unlike some of our previous shows, we weren't inches away from shoving our televisions and laptops out of windows and off of tables. We weren't stuck listening to the heroine and hero lamenting the evils of their unholy parivaar whose souls needed to be spared by a benevolent deity inspite of all their paap. Instead, we watched real situations play out before our eyes, felt the weight of a faisla that would unequivocally influence everything, cried silently at the misery of an udaas problem beyond our control.
Fascinating isn't it? How enthralled and wrapped up we become at various stages of the show? Even when everything projected goes against our own tastes, simply because it is our favourite dish we control the urge to regurgitate. We swallow it knowing that there can after all be worse, and what's one bad ingredient compared to a dish entirely spoiled? It is precisely this that brings me to the circle of D.C. for one of my sporadic analyses.
Yashuda*s & everything else
Today I smiled. In fact, I would be lying to you if I didn't accept the fact that I felt pleasure in seeing this character complete his descent from Ishwaar to Insaan. I can never find myself instantly sympathetic toward any individual whose emotions make him/her so rigid in a particular stance, that he/she becomes incapable of seeing the emotions behind another person's dilemma. (True, rather hypocritical of me.) In fact, were I not so bound up in maturity, I would have gloated at his step into the world of deceit today. Unfortunately, I am me, and so in five minutes, I moved from glee to sorrow.
It was sad, awfully sad to see a man who prided himself on sanskaar and sach suppress all that he believed in for the sake of preserving his parivaar. This man who felt abject horror at even the smallest deceit, was willing to lay aside all he had proclaimed for years to protect the izzat of his father. To prevent the river of tears that would flow from his mother's eyes; to prevent the collapse of the pillar he turned to in his moment of deep mental anguish, Yash Suraj Pratap Scindia found himself willing to hide the sach. He, the man who knew what it felt like to be betrayed by the revelation of a long suppressed sach, preferred to commit his own dhoka to preserve the present state of affairs.
Many of us have always wondered what it would take to force Yash to truly stop seeing the world in black and white. We often wondered what a gray-sighted Yash was capable of. It is true we have seen exhibits of darkness from him, but never in a light that made him so human, so approachable, so relatable as today. In fact, isn't it a wonder that the same person who mentally tortured himself for cheating his dead wife, could do what he did today? I would say that asSammy dearest mentioned in a previous post, being isolated from his family shook the middle Scindia to his core.
Perhaps as viewers, we've become so entertained by the "drama" and "tamasha" in "PV-land", that we forgot how attached Yash was to his family. Here is a man who suffered the loss of his wife at the most unexpected stage of his life; a man who could do nothing to bring her back and in a twist of events he became orphaned in a new way. He lost his family in the worst way imaginable- having them removed from him yet still be with him. Remember how disturbed he was by Aarti's silence? She was there but yet not there, and it troubled him greatly. With his family, the people whose worlds revolved around him he became persona non grata. He was forced to become a hungry man who could only view the food through the glass as its scents wafted toward him from the open windows and doors. It is no wonder, that like that hungry man now sitting well-fed at a buffet table, he is loath to do anything which could change his good fortune. Who could blame him? Most would have been traumatised after suffering such a blow- twice losing people close to you and being unable to do anything about it.
I must say, it is a credit to the writers that Aarti hasn't drawn a parallel between her past dilemma and Yash's current one (mockingly or gloatingly). She too was and is an extremely principled human being. We all watched the effect her lies, her deception, and the preservation of her adopted parents' izzat had on her mental and physical health. Today, free from that personal trial by Yash's support and understanding of her, we see the revival of the never-wavering Aarti- much like the eternal flame of goodness her name reminds us of. We see the once fluttering wick fortified with fresh oil and a reserve of even more oil sitting beside it. Yes, she faltered under the pressure of "majburi", "parivaar" and "pyaar". Yes, she did bury her sanskaars beneath the sacrificial banner of "meri parivaar ki khushi", although in some instances it was really her fear of losing all she held dear. Of course, I should hush up on that, for it certainly did lead to quite a few debates...anyway...
As a former single mother, Aarti stands at the best vantage point to understand the emotions of Radha. She once knew the fear of what a financial lack could do to a young boy's life. Had there been no Dubeys, it is very likely (a fact you've all pointed out) that Ansh could have grown to become the reality Akash represents. Aarti has seen her son's eyes begging for his father. She has heard his plaintive cries, and tasted the taunts that come to a mother and son without a male in their lives. What makes Aarti's position even better is the fact that she has been the devastated wife. She has known what it feels like to watch an entire world crumble as someone she placed all her hopes, dreams and devotion on strayed into the arms of another. Who better to know how a family can be ripped apart by a cheating husband than the woman who watched her pehle saasural reel in the wake of its misguided son's actions?
What we all wonder though, is how will this be used? How will her perspective be utilised to support and guide Yash? How will her experiences be used as a salve for Gayatri's wounds? What lessons in tolerance, patience, and forgiveness will any viewer be shown from the recent events that have been depicted?
Suraj Pratap Scindia
I have felt varying degrees of disgust for this character at differing points of the show. I've been angry, I've been upset, I've been disappointed but I never expected him to stoop to the recent extremes written into his character. It's interesting that someone who is so concerned about the public eye, would allow himself to be conspicuously involved with Prashant Dubey, only to do a 360 degree turn. Suraj performed a turn in which he not only deceived his family, but without a flinch lectured his wife on the value of a pati-patni rishta. To say that I felt revulsion and outrage would barely cover it. Yet, I find myself searching for some profound reasoning behind his acts.
He has always been portrayed as a man who would do anything to preserve the well-being of his family. Slowly that illusion was wiped away as we saw that what appeared to be family preservation was truly a preservation of self. His ultimate goal was to protect his izzat at all costs. It did not matter who suffered in the aftermath; his grandchildren, his wife, his sons, none of them mattered in the almost fanatical gleam to save his pride. During the divorce fiascos, we have seen without a doubt the degree to which he can go. He, like Prashant, is capable of seeing his faults but never accepting that he is to blame for them. It is always due to someone else. It is precisely why pride, in men such as him, is so dangerous.
Unable to see that he was the one pushing his son away, he set out to punish Aarti for ripping his son from his arms. Instead of realising that his stubbornness and unforgiving spirit was creating discordance, he chose to blame Aarti's "evil machinations" on his family. Rather than seeing that Radha's appearance with Akash as a lesson to mind his P's and Q's, he took it as an opportunity to whiplash his family into his favoured "worship me-never doubt me" mode.
It makes one wonder whether people like Suraj Pratap and Prashant are capable of overcoming the pride that rules their lives, or if they will forever remain selfish and dictatorial. Why did Suraj Pratap find it necessary to sleep with a young woman who was probably just like me, now making her way through college? Why did he, a man in power, find it desirable to flaunt his position as a way to convince a poor girl who held the dreams of her family into a relationship with him? Perhaps he found some sort of pleasure in knowing that his influence and wealth made him desirous to a woman who was probably atleast 8-10 years younger than himself. Maybe his wife's pregnancy had been an arduous one in which the pleasure of her arms had been removed from his grasp. It could even be that in a moment of anger over some argument he had had with her, what had begun as a flirtation with a college student quickly turned into a physical affair. There would be that grand trait of his- pride- rearing its ugly head again.
In the case of Prashant, his pride came from being able to feel superior. It was never available to him in the form Suraj Pratap had, so perhaps his physical abuse of Aarti acted as the supplier to his need. Verbally humiliating her was perhaps his manner of unleashing the frustration of his own inferiority complex. Who knows? What is clear is that Prashant and Suraj Pratap have become super-imposed upon each other in the current trail of events. So does this parallel point toward their inherent nature? Or is it only a reminder of the importance of their nurture? Do Prashant and Suraj Pratap's parents stand to blame for the blatant nurturing of pride, and misuse of power that both men so strongly favour?
Some may want to say that Suraj is a better man than Prashant, for his aim has always been to protect his family. However, like I said, the illusion was removed. A man whose aim it is to protect his family would not be the one to destroy it due to his bigoted view. Atleast Prashant was exactly who he made himself out to be- a man who wanted everything no matter the consequences to the ones he loved. On the other hand, Suraj Pratap spouts speeches on honesty and values while his own sins are clearly visible to him. Where can an individual who thinks his sins are good go? How far down until it is rock bottom? It doesn't even surprise me that the Scindia sons have turned out the way that they did. What sort of parent would stand by as his grown sons humiliate another human being publicly? Suddenly Yash's public humiliations of Aarti don't seem so far-fetched; Pankaj's treatment of Vidhi isn't so shocking after all; and Prateik's lack of a spine to support his wife or his own dreams are to be expected. If the father can treat women so despicably and not bat an eyelash, it isn't much of a wonder that the three picked up on his actions toward Gayatri and Maya subconsciously.
Fornication & Single-Parenthood:- The Sins of the Parents upon the child
In all of this, the people who stand to be hurt the most are Akash and Yash. Akash has never had an identity beyond that of a boy without his father's name. He has been taunted and has suffered. Even today he was taunted by his own brothers in public, for rightfully staking a claim on the life that belongs to him. Radha and Suraj Pratap destroyed the lives of two men by falling prey to hedonistic effects of lust. Pleasure never comes without its own consequences; for Radha, the loss of her dignity, her morals and her pride; a loss which ended in the act of separating two children from their respective mothers. For Akash, he suffered the through the awkwardness of understanding that his last name didn't come from his father like any of his friends. Akash was forced to swallow the humiliation of being identity-less in a country where family name can mean everything. He lost out on the opportunity to enjoy the best education that his father's wealth could afford, while his brothers not only were educated but didn't even need to utilise those degrees because they were in "the family business".
Today, a grown man had his face blackened like some dirty shoe, before his new wife. In the eyes of strangers he was showcased as a gundha, a no-name bandaar on a religious holiday which people everywhere were enjoying with friends and family. It is even worse to know that the man who held the truth in his mouth encouraged the humiliation of his own khoon. If this is what a person can do to his own child, what is he capable of doing to a stranger?
Being a single parent is no playground in Disneyland. It's not some fancy ride at Esselworld, and yet the privileged Suraj Pratap smiled as the woman he knew he had an affair with has humiliated yet again for indulging in folly with him. An actual smirk sat on his face as the mother of his child was embarrassed. What izzat is worth so much that common decency and simple humanity are blatantly spat upon by an entire family?
Now Yash will not only have to struggle with an identity crisis of his own, but he will have to stand by as the rishtas he once thought were set in stone, crack and reveal something different. Yash will now be unseated from the position he deserves because his father was unwilling to keep his best interests at heart. Oh no, Radha was no innocent pari dancing in the heavens, but had Suraj Pratap stood up to his responsibility, there would have been no need to swap infants. Yash could have been raised as a Scindia under the same cloak of deception that Suraj so lovingly holds onto. After all, why not bribe some doctor into claiming an unexpected twin birth? Why not acknowledge his deed to his wife and do right by his son while allowing Radha to complete her education?
Instead, what stands clear is that Yash will have to bear the knowledge that he insulted his own mother. Whether his statements were true or not, the fact is that had she not switched the infants, Yash would have been the impoverished child yearning for the unattainable. Yash will have to live with the fact that the man who was no less than a god in his eyes, not only cheated on his mother, but also walked away leaving another woman shattered in his path. Akash will have to acclimatise into a family that will resent his very existence. An inheritance that is rightfully his will be grudgingly handed over. The mother that should have cradled him from birth will battle between resentment, repulsion and love for the child who brought chaos to her life. The only mother that he knew will now become a woman to be hated for snatching away his rights. Yash on the other hand will now have to handle the label of illegitimate in a society that frowns upon the very word.
This my friends and family is the result of the lovely "majburi", "pyaar", "parivaar" and "sanskaar" of the Punar Vivah characters. Everyone spoken of in this post has used those words in some manner to justify their acts of selfishness, sacrifice or weakness. Had I not been so tired, I would have even taken on Maya's own warped concern and love for her family. I still owe her a post.🤔 Anyway...On their own, these words are not bad. The acts performed in their names aren't always bad either. It is after all very easy to sit in our comfy chairs and judge the lives of television characters...but as I always say, until you've been in that person's shoes be considerate. You don't want to become like Yashu, now do you?😳
Here's to a Happy Birthday!
IGNORE TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS. Feeling waaay to lazy to proofread it all.
K.N.O.W
Kadeen Nichelle Oksana Waldron
CID
