Arshi! Another mind-reading CB from you... Same song dancing in my head, just the first lines, didn't dare make my own words to it this time, also knowing that you'll graciously provide. Thank you 😳 Plus, a true delight to see your beautifully broken lines in honor of Saras, today... 👏
Performances: Gautam Rode, you Sir, are blazing your own star... Jitne bhi "standing-frickin'-ovation" le jaoge, kam hi padega 👏
Today was all about hues, about parallels, about contrasts and resolves... Today, also got us off the treadmill. Aaand... lots of little markers were revisited today... For that, I'm a HappyViewer =)
Pramad... Pramad naam hai uska, koi bhi usse bandh nahin sakta... Notice how P's intoxicated, stumbling feet STILL enabled him to cross the threshold before Saras? This is because the former has no ties, no conscience and no regard for human bonds (whatever be the underlying reason), but the latter, his attachments are nothing less than cinderblocks around his feet. So Pramad up and went, to where ever it is that he goes, beating Saras by crucial seconds, seconds that could have changed the course of all, had Saras managed to drag his heavy feet across the Dhan threshold... Perhaps signifying Saras not only as Kumud's saviour, but a ray of hope for the Dhan's as well, in the ensuing black fog that is Pramad. Saras was wearing blue (clear sky), Pramad black (dark clouds?)... When the black clouds cleared the abode, the blue sky was left to permeate and re-ignite the horizon. So death marker revisited today...? P goes, S stays. A scoundrel such as P won't leave the luxuries of the Dhan house voluntarily so his death is plausibly the only way P would leave the house. And Saras will stay on... to pick up the pieces... (First impressions, only)
Special mention: The Kul-devi pooja night scene revisited again... As Pramad stumbles angrily across the threshold, K turns... The hue holding her back then has been replaced. Fitting that it was Pramad who wiped off the original hue (sindoor), that he emblazoned and that today he was also responsible for "adorning" her in the same hue (blood) that once embellished Saras... CV's, 👏 Also, heartening to see K and S both wearing blue today... The color commonly represents, healing, faith, stability, truth and trust... All elements missing from the Saras-Kumud equation as of late, but giving positive signs that these elements the two can again aspire to... 😳 As Pramad leaves, Kumud comes into the frame... Standing on different planes the two are... To find their way, one or another needs the hue that not only binds them, but defines them... And as her crimson stains his hand, he visibly blanches... The cinderblocks forgotten, his steps sure and determined, he races to meet her, finally, on her page... Loved the use of "O piya..." ...
Another special mention... The feet device again employed... This time to highlight the progression of Saras' pysche... Whereas before his steps were wavering and hesitant, betraying the instability of his emotions and state, underscoring the precariousness of position, today those same feet moved, literally flew, with a sure-fire purpose... No wavering, no mind-manouverings... Simply pure action. Fully in control and driven by a singular purpose... Kumud.
Gautam and Jennifer, for the bedroom sequence, you both re-defined magic, yet again 👏
As he reaches her threshold... He finds his Goddess, broken, battered and bloodied. The fact that K was so OTT decked-up made the impact even greater... The opulence contrasted painfully with the broken girl... So well provided for in material ways, but still so... bereft. And he may have crossed her threshold today, but she is still delineating limits... Everything else in this new world, Kumud is at the mercy of but Saras is the only one whom K can still "control"... He makes her feel like something is still in her hands, in an avalanche of everything slipping out of her hands... She again uses "Navinchandra", a name that gives her resolve and detachment where "Saras" would have completely broken her from inside... She strikes out at him from the safety of her box, a cage really... labelled "Mrs. Pramadhan Dharmadhikari", full well knowing that it is her last desperate bastion and defensive fire from there is bound to hurt Saras the most... His Kumud, now someone else's...
But Saras has again got his blinkers on... Seared in his eyes, mind and heart is the rouge embellishing his own... For him, that hue is a rogue... As anomalous on Kumud as is her red hue (sindoor)... Hence, he can see and he can hear nothing else... Not until she delivers the absolute lowest blow... "Kissi Saraswatichandra ne"... Not only outright condemning him and throwing his identifier back at him, but throwing it like it was some worthless trinket, and not the investment she once lovingly and so completely adorned herself with... But he still persists, in his tenacity wordlessly communicating to her that he is beyond thinking of himself now... She is a Goddess no longer. She does not hold his release. She is the one in need of release and he will grant it to her. Intriguing that the only time Kumud wavers her gaze is when Pramad is mentioned. P has broken a piece of her and the Alpha Kumud (in front of S), she will be damned if she admits that fact. In her unyeilding submission he finds his answer and as he turns to confront the wretched who has marred his beloved, she stops him... First, warning him from within the very boxes she has taken sanctuary in, but he tears those boxes and throws them at her feet... Now vulnerable, exposed and unable to exert control or hinder him with limits no longer, she exerts claims and binds him with a promise as unbreakable to him, as the noose (mangalsutra) around her neck... "Tumhe meri kasam"... Then tries to fortify it with the shred pieces of cardboard lying at her feet... But Sundari ji, those boxes are beyond repair now. So she discards them and attacks him at the level of their unresolved history, history that Kumud and Saras both are still v much in the dark about. She again claims her fate to be a sentence of love, their love... She again banishes him, perhaps with the last vestiges of her control. And he obliges, but not before providing a temporary means to suture her wounds, until he can heal them himself. As he leaves, she breaks, as is her custom, recently. But this time, crucially he was not banished, like a lost little boy. Post-banishment, he stood his ground, provided for her predicament (band-aid) and like a man, walked out of the room, on his own terms... Behold, the phoenix named "Saraswatichandra" takes flight 👏 Special kudo's to Gautam, the liquid fire in his eyes, betraying his state, otherwise S did not concede one inch today, whereas before K would have walked off with his whole sky. Leaving only dark clouds behind. But for Saras, the time for wallowing is past. His need to be strong is not for him and not because of him. It is only and only in the service of Kumud.
I always love "Kuch Na Kahe" but truly adore the way CV's imbue it with a distinct significance each time... Again a hark-back, but today it was about wounds and healings... Another core essence of the Saras-Kumud connect. These two have hurt each other and these two have healed. But today focused on Saras, as the healer. As Kumud's healer. From wounds innocent, to accidental, to the downright grave blemishes of today, Saras' methods may have differed but his need to suture K's wounds have always remained consistent. Thus, in the transition from innocence to kalyug... Another core essence of their equation has survived, has adapted to appalling circumstances and will continue to thrive in this cruel, alien and decadent environment. He will suture her. And he will heal her.
Special mention: The symbolism with the band-aid, blood and sindoor. The blood, flowing from the line of the sindoor (visible marital manifestation) signifies how Kumud's marriage (sindoor) is draining the life blood (blood) from her... Life-blood which is Saras, he courses through her, he brings color to her face, as MIL mentioned... And also Saras-Kumud both, since this is their hue... Saras making available the band-aid lying carelessly on the floor... In the service of her marriage, bound within the shackles of it, Kumud will disregard all sutures, she will care not for stemming the flow... But someone else will. Even if from afar. He will not let her life-blood run out. For his essence and the essence of their love is subsumed in it. He will heal her, from behind lines. And if need be, he will even cross lines to do it. And he will have to, because K has elected to be decidedly "Beta" in this.
The next morning, hiding her wounds under the guise of marital respectability, in effect putting parda over Pramad's kartoot's that Saras has provided sutures for, even the color of K's costume (yellowish-orange) signifies defeat, pessimism and superficiality. K will shroud all injuries and play happy families with in-laws, but someone else won't let her, seeing as his color still hovers around her edges (the red border)... But then, this is her color too, and Kumud needs this reminder. Btw, BD was on a different page today, no more K as the social lab rat? In fact his outburst in the last epi actually hinted at the fact that, as for Pramad, K too is an easy target for BD. A convenient punching-bag, tho not for the same reasons and effect.
The Goddess motif was revisited yet again, but this time Saras was far more determined than before, and less a devotee than an equal. Without waiting for permission, he pounced and halfway completed the Divine transaction. Instead of a lowered, reverential gaze, his was confrontational, black orbs like lasers, unwavering in their precision... The heat from the flame searing his hand was coming from his eyes... The FB of "Tumhe meri kasam"... Thought it was v clever... If K binded him last night, this baptism by fire sealed Saras' promise to Kumud... Promise that he will stay, that he will burn in the same hell, promise that he will act, if need be. Loved the fact Saras was wearing grey... No more mercy from him, he is set on a path of vengeance, in his own way. Also Gray symbolises compromise so it was reminiscent also of the compromise Saras has had to make between his promise to her and of the kasam given to him by Kumud. The man is walking a fine line and needs a trigger but to snap. Cue, Pramad.
So "Chandresh bhai" turned out to be another red flag wavering with the wind... At least there is an inkling that P is an alcoholic and Sherlock Guniyal is all poised to take out her magnifying glasses, but then Kusum happens 😡... And straightaway does a Kumud, comparing Saras to Pramad... Using all the misconceptions against Saras as a "crutch" to elevate and righten Pramad. But Saras still has a champion... Sunny 🤗... Kitthe thha tu, oye? The feet device, very intriguingly was also used on Sunny today... Sure, calm, controlled... Perhaps signifying his decisive role in events to come? A pillar of level-headness in this sea of chaotic emotions? And Kusum, please continue taking steps towards Sunny... Therein lies your right way 😳...
So the first time Kusum becomes 3-dimensional in the history of SC, and what does she turn out to be? Kumud 2.0. Notice the same colour (yellowish orange) worn by both the sisters. But for Kusum, the hue was proactive, the color predominantly stood for impatience (with Sunny's reasons) and her unchecked criticism of Saras today. Even the hand gesture was replicated... Are Sunny-Kusum, headed to be another Saras-Kumud? The way similarities were highlighted between the sisters and the "couples" today seemed too much of a convenient timing... In essence, both Sunny, and esp Kusum got revealed today, but in service of what? Simply to tell viewers that the Desai's have been hiding a Kumud Junior in their haveli all the while? Doubt that. Kusum is the one to watch. She's unpredictable right now, simply because she is so alien. She is a familiar face, but she is also one we don't know. She's the CV's weapon of choice against viewers and she never comes without a purpose, and never leaves without causing collective blood pressures to rise... Just what did she mean by "Mera toh pyaar shabd pe se vishwaas hi utth chuka hai, unki wajah se"?? 😡 Saras ne sirf ekk hi Sundari ki zimmadari li hai. I take solace in the fact that Sunny was wearing pink... A calm and nurturing color... Please transfer some of your priceless zen energy across, Sunny, Kusumsundari ko zaroorat hai Love the fact that Sunny too stood his ground. Just like Saras did with K. Loved Sunny's reasoning, his logic and his utterly calm demeanor... Such a refreshing contrast from the emotions of late.
In essence, the convo that should have ideally happened between Saras and Kumud, played out between Sunny and Kusum today. Accusations were hurled, emotions ran rife, reason held its fort. Why? Perhaps to overshadow the imminent transistion of S and K's relationship from being "in love" to "love"... Pyaar mein reh kar pyaar nibha nahi paya par ab Saras pyaar ke har dairon se guzar kar pyaar nibhae ga. He will have to. Nobody else can do it for Kumud, except him. Also, ironic to see both VC and Guniyal comforting Kusum... What about the more deserving daughter who actually is dying for that comfort, that loving hand on her head? Desai's are still taking K's fate for granted and this full-fledged "Kusum" with her "logics" is only fueling that diya of misplaced hope. If left to her own devices, Kusum is more than capable of nurturing that diya into an inferno ready to consume Saras and Kumud. Thank God Sunny is there to douse her emotionally-driven, indignant efforts.
Special mention: The picture of Dukh baa and Kumud peacefully reposed in a frame between VC and Guniyal in the beginning of their convo. Kumud's fate is already in front of their eyes in the guise of Dukh baa, unfortunately the Desai's are blind to that fact... Disregarding the implicit for the obvious and willing to forgo the "discord" (P) as long as they can still hear faint strings of harmony (BD). But unlike Dukh baa, Kumud has not been forsaken. Because Saras is not LN's son. He is his mothers.
The breakfast sequence at the Dhan's: Another revealing snapshot of the entire chessboard. BD at the lead. Oh his right, Saras and Alak (taking Kumud's place from before). On the other side, Kumud, MIL and Pramad. Two parties, in effect. The joker in the pack is Damadji. He is still hedging his bets. But he will invariably align his marker opposite to Alak's... Though, as Hgg bhai wondered, what will his motivations be... Tactical or strategic? Too early to call on that. Also notice Kumud, she does not really have a place on the table. She has relinquished that control to whom... Pramad? Saras? or Alak? Only time will tell. For now the indications are that either Pramad or Alak are going to move to the forefront of things, either opposite to Saras, or aligned to him. K is going to keep her shackles on. Standing resolutely next to Pramad. Even if only to show, that she is still making a choice.
Ever since their re-meet, Kumud has drawn a heck lot of lines for Saras to adhere to, but the Saras at the breakfast table, he just showed he is capable of erasing them if he has to. Kumud's shock that S would even think of breaking her kasam, and Pramad's gaze rising to meet the phoenix's fixed resolutely on him. It was a subtle warning delivered to P and then a clever diversion to get his message and intent across to K... Killing two birds with one stone, Saraswatichandra ji? In the guise of a common topic, he speaks matters of the heart, of hurt and the extent of hurt. Of his understanding and of his resolve. Whereas the Saras of before only wanted to pacify Kumud, the fully enlightened Saras knows that attempts will now not work, only decisive actions will. Remedies will no longer suffice, the healing needs to be started, here and now. Telling that just as BD offers Saras help in his personal cause, that BD's political aspirations are again highlighted... Perhaps foreshadowing that BD the politician will take centre stage and that he may not be a fully able ally of Saras in future?
Loved that little spark of jealousy, of pure love that burst out when Pramad innocuously exercised his haq as a pati on K... S' love burst out of him, drenched in the colour of their love (red)... Love the fact that Saras just walked out saying his piece, he is definitely Alpha for now. The wound represents not only his pain, but Kumud's pain as well, and he wants to feel that. He wants the presence, the reminder of red to make sure he does not diverge from his path. Also to be noted the fact that both Saras and Kumud's hues match in their color and consistency now. Blood has flown from both of them and just as this red once drove them apart... So this red will now set them back on their path. Definitely not with the self-same innocence of before, but regardless of everything, still holding tight to the core essences which make them who they are... Thus, red, the hue that not only binds them, but also defines them and from now, it is the medium which will also guide them.
Final thoughts: He has countered her kasam with a challenge, another hark-back to the golden days of old, when their equation was but evolving. Another little reminder that no matter what the circs are, Saras and Kumud, are not going to let go of the little things... Those essences that defined them once still continue to define them... Only more precious now, because they have had to adapt. But these are the things that give them stability, make them feel a little bit own in this unfamiliar world. Also, with issuing the challenge, seems as though Saras is on a quest to bring back Alpha Kumud, the Beta version seems to not be sitting too well with him, because after all, kaha yeh timid Dharmadhikari mouse aur kaha uski and hamari fierce Sundari tigress 😆 Best of luck, Saras, jitne bhi episodes chahiye le lo, just go bring your sherni back 👍🏼.
Pyaar Kii Ye Ek Kahaani
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
