Arshi, your "beautifully broken lines" get another one of my most highest compliments today - they outclassed the epi in every damn way! Ergo, to Arshi, for this CB, for making at least one part of my SC experience as delightful as always *standing-frickin'-ovation* 👏 Loved the "pardah theory" esp... And the song, Perfect!!! ⭐️ (Why did I not think of that?! 😉)
As per personal rule, I watched epi twice, and those forty minutes of my life would've been utterly wasted had it not been for Gautam Rode. So GR... *standing-frickin'-ovation* 👏
Today's episode as a whole did not work for me... Esp not after what all I was anticipating yesterday... The Saras-Kumud scenes, it was obvious that they were shot seperately... GR and JW didn't really play off each other today, and so that enjoyment was quartered. A pity really, because Saras issuing challenges and winning 'em, esp the "after sunset" ones, is another core tenet of their equation brought forward in this new phase of their love and I really wanted to see how it would be adapted. But looked to me as though both S and K were speaking to thin air so I felt a little cheated, esp when I watched Saras-Kalika interaction and realised uncomfortably that it exhibited more charge than the Saras-Kumud convo So yeah, make that more than a little cheated. Ergo, no essay today... Just a few bullet points to underscore some on-going developments:
Bullet Point One:
A shift from the existential to the visceral for Saras: In the quest to issue the Mother of all Mea Culpa's, Saras was all about the soul. Of reaching out to the "mann ke dhaage" that still bind... And of pacifying K, on the inside, so that he could himself be pacified, inside. But today, was all about Saras and the visceral, a turf I had typically designated Kumud's till yesterday. Not only does he welcome the pain, but in fact goes actively seeking for new ways to aggravate the visceral hurt. Superman Saras right now has both his hands firmly in the Kryptonite jar and at the place that he is in, he would rather wish he had three hands so that his pain could be magnified further. He wants to burn, to suffer, to get tortured, because Kumud is burning, is suffering and is being tortured. And since outwardly she is intent on showing no signs of it, Saras is determined to overcompensate for her lack - not only feeling his pain, but feeling hers as well. And how? By hurting. Hurting. And hurting. Not only inside. But crucially, on the outside too. And caring less for sutures. If Kumud bleeds, so will Saras. As simple as that. Soulmates... now both connected on the existential and the visceral levels.
Bullet Point Two:
Saras' inability to stay in the existential, even temporarily: The Saraswatichandra cannot even sit still and meditate now... It is as though someone has lit a fire under him! There's a major contrast being depicted, Kumud is shown as receeding into her mind (having conversations with Self) while Saras is emerging from his. And is unable, unwilling, damned if he will stay there. Not when the time spent mediating can be better spent bringing K's plight to light. Kumud has taken shelter in his sanctuary and Saras is standing on the frontlines for her now. Even his thoughts are purely focused on action. He is pro-active, quick-thinking and utterly reckless in his disregard for all (including himself). Kumud is all that matters now. Especially because for Kumud, Kumud does not seem to matter at all now.
Bullet Point Three:
Saras may be set on matching Kumud's visceral pain on every damn level, but he has still not lost sight of the practicalities of K's appalling situation: Kumud, whether he likes it or not, is a battered wife, a victim of domestic abuse... So Saras' mission "Alpha Kumud", is really two pronged, one is bring Alpha Kumud back because that is the girl he loves, and the second, is actually, empowering a battered wife to speak out against abuse via issuing her challenges, via giving her in-laws not-so-subtle jolts at the double standards prevalent in their household. By backing Kumud up against the wall, literally, in the sheer hope, that she will show some sign of life, of fight. Forget slowly breathing life back into her, this Saras will very lovingly give Kumud a metaphorical electrocution, just to get Alpha 1.0 back: the Ratnagiri foremost graduate who once unapologetically blazed her own path. And not the Beta 2.0 who has regressed further into her deep, dark hell... A hell that she is so intent on adorning. And one that Saras is ice-cold set on destroying. Parda-faash, indeed.
Special kudo's to CV's for sending out positive social message. Speak out against abuse 👏
Bullet Point Four:
However, Kumud is not entirely a gone case: Her lying about Pramad to Kusum, to her family... Her meekly following the custom MIL has previously set for Pramad. Her tying Saras' hands when it comes to Pramad is all because of one thing really... Because "Pramad" she HAS to hold on to. And holding on to Pramad, to her sham marriage has become a basic survival mechanism for Kumud. See, Kumudsundari was always all about choices. And Pramad, her marriage represents her "choice", in fact, the last "active choice" Kumudsundari ever made. A choice that made her feel empowered at that time, choosing to disregard her broken heart to save her family's izzat. Kumudsundari Desai consciously did that, with "family pride" and Mrs. Dharmadhikari will hold onto that choice, because if her marriage fails, if she lets herself walk away from Pramad... That will mean that her last active choice was wrong. That her epic sacrifice was all for naught. She will not let her family down and she will not let herself down. There is nothing "ego" about this one, just an imperative desperate need to look into the mirror and somewhere deep down inside still make an identification. However hazy, despite how long the process takes. Hence, all those Kumud at the mirror scenes is not showing her only who she has become and reinforcing limits for her, but also reminding her that who she has become is a result of the last conscious decision she ever made. She needs to uphold it. It is her swansong and she needs to do justice to it. Give it her one hundred percent. Even if that means taking one hundred abuses at the hands of Pramad. All that she will and can take solace at the end of the day is that she made her choice and she is living by it. As Hgg bhai said, she will take it on the chin, even literally somedays, if left to her own devices. Thank God thus, for Saras.
The huge irony here of course is that the marriage which has all but killed the girl she once was, is really all that is now representative of the girl she once was. And Kumud will fight tooth and nail to save that, because in a curiously sad way, this is about holding onto the last vestiges of her identity for her. Kumudsundari Desai, is tethered to Mrs. Pramad Dhan Dharmadhikari... She lets go of one, the other invariably follows, and then what will be left, save "korapan"... A new start... But will it be that easy, to forfeit not just one identity, but two in close succession, and all in one swift go? Because, if Saras has his way, that is what she is heading towards... But does he realise that? And will Kumud ever break down enough to permit him to access that realization... That the girl he is fighting to bring back is now linked inextricably with the woman she has become... That the disintegration of her marriage will only not kill "Mrs. Dharmadhikari" but may also erase "Kumudsundari Desai" from Kumud's consciousness... An easy situation just got a whole lotta complex. No black and white for miles here, just greys, greys and greys all around... Like smrth bhai said, does Saras really comprehend what is tearing her apart? Not at all. Because Kumud's motivations surpass all. However what is commendable, is that in her tenuous position and in her fragile state, Kumud is still fighting. The merest hint of a spark still exists, let's see what Saras does with it once he catches ahold of it. Alight the whole Dhan household to the high heavens is my guess... I jest 😛
Last thoughts: Very precariously poised narrative-wise, let's see where it all goes... Self, Respect, Love, and Identity are all at stake. And those stakes have just re-defined HUGE. Thank you CV's for that K vs K convo, execution wise, it left a little wanting but it was an Eureka moment nonetheless, of sorts... And also one that highlighted just how intricate, how incomprehensible Kumud's situation is... A mind-maze, no wonder she retreats
A song for Saras and Kumud today: What If, by Five for Fighting...
[Verse 1]
Threw a line out to pull you to me
If you don't get it, then you don't get it
You made your mind up before you knew me
If you don't get it, then you don't get it
[Pre-Chorus]
Take my hand for a minute
We're in it, imagine all the
Pain that might be forgiven
[Chorus]
What if I had your heart?
What if you wore my scars?
How would we break down?
What if you were me and what if I were you?
What if you told my lies?
What if I cried with your eyes?
Could anyone keep us down?
What if you were me and what if I were you?
Oh-oh oh-oh oh-oh oh-oh
Ooh ooh ooh-ooh
[Verse 2]
Had a dream of a new tomorrow
If you don't get it, then you don't get it
I took a step up and you might follow
If you don't get it, then you don't get it
[Pre-Chorus 2]
Take a chance for a minute
Jump in it, imagine if you
Asked yourself for a minute
[Chorus]
What if I had your heart?
What if you wore my scars?
How would we break down?
What if you were me and what if I were you?
What if you told my lies?
What if I cried with your eyes?
Could anyone keep us down?
What if you were me and what if I were you?
Ooh-ooh-ooh (x2)
[Middle 8]
Do the ones who make it better
Find to get out, got to touch the other side
What if all that it took to save our lives
Together was to rise up
[Chorus - variation]
What if I had your heart?
What if you wore my scars?
How would we break down? (Break down?)
What if I were you?
What if I told your lies?
What if you cried with my eyes?
Could anyone keep us down?
What if you were me and what if I were you?
[End]
What if your hand was my hand?
Could they hold on or let go?
What if your life was my life?
Could they love what we don't know?
What if your hand was my hand?
Could we hold on or let go?
What if your life was my life?
And what if I were you?
Edited by IdiotViewer - 12 years ago
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