Originally posted by: CogitoErgoSum
Res 😊 More tomorrow morning. 😊
Un--Res
Saku, Saku my dear...what a seamless way you have blended Gandhari's quest and Siya's yearning in this chapter. I am frankly, much more of a Mahabharata fan than a Ramayan fan. But Siya's yearning for Ram (and of course Ram's yearning for Siya) during their separation, is very poignant indeed.
Coming to the first part of the chapter, I loved Annapurna's recollections of Yashodara, the uncomfortable truths her perceptive sister had spoken with such honesty and almost burning clarity. Comparing Annapurna to Maa Ganga---The river that sustains, nourishes, and provides, but also, when in torrential spate, can destroy, take away, sweep away! My God, what a powerful analogy. And Yashodara was so right, so perceptive in her analysis of her Jiji. Selflessness comes with a selfish core, the desire to be praised, respected and admired. Wow. This is true of so much of the selflessness we see around us, save for the genuine selflessness of the preciously rare few. But Annapurna was never among those rarefied few, and Yashodara the wise, knew it.
I loved those deft "seasonal" touches you put into this section, Saku. How Annapurna muses that Lahshya was still lost in memories of a crisp, golden Fall, forgetting all about the chill of winter that followed! And when catching sight of Sanskaar gazing fondly at his & Swara's engagement photograph, seeing their brilliantly happy smiles makes Annapurna feel that this spring was too vibrant to be cloaked with a pretended return to that autumnal memory of Lakshya's mind! 👏 👏 👏 Loved your deft wordplay here.
Please don't feel I am focusing more on these details than on the plot itself. 😆 Its just that for me, beauty in prose, that art of slipping such gems into the flow of writing, makes the entire plot shine that much more. That is something I always aim for, strive for in my writing; and I so very much love in yours.
So if I understand correctly, Annapurna is asking that Sanskaar tell Swara to come back home, pretending to be Lakshya's fiance. 🤢 Deplorable. And the way she attempts to emotionally blackmail him, saying that she always loved him like a son. 😡 Does anyone ask a son for these kind of favors? Sanskaar's reply was spot on "You may have loved me like a son, but you are my mother." Wow. Sanskaar...Sanskaar. What a powerful persona he is. He is nobody's fool to be pushed around by Annapurna, and yet he has seemingly promised to ask Swara once, for her sake. Man, I dread to think what Swara would feel when she hears that. She would probably ask Sanskaar what he wants her to do. Its going to break her so badly...
I was disgusted, frankly, at Annapurna, when Sanskaar asks her so clearly, to think not as a mother for a moment, but as a wife, and then ask herself, would she tolerate her own name being linked to another apart from her husband? Annapurna knows the answer to that so very well, and still goes ahead to say Sanskaar owes her this! Loved the way Sanskaar declared that he owes Swara to no one, and none of the Maheshwaris have any claim on her, or the right to expect anything from her. I do so hope he will stand strong and not go into a self abnegation mode.
Saku, I still feel Lakshya is pretending. 🤢 My deep seated mistrust of him just won't go away!
The Siya's yearning section was so very poignant. It was painful to read of the enforced distance and separation between Sanskaar & Swara, even after they surmounted so many odds to unite in matrimony. Like I mentioned above, I dread to read what Swara's reaction would be, when Sanskaar tells her of this impossible request of Annapurna's. And to make matters worse, Kavita is waiting in the wings!
Chandraraaj's conversation with Sanskaar was tantalizing. Who was he referring to as his Shakuni? Is it Vasundara? Or someone else yet to be revealed? Was Vasundara aware even before, of Sanskaar's paternity, and was she instrumental in getting the real Kavita bumped off (making it seem like Chandraraj's work)? Oh, the possibilities!
Coming to the Mahabharata analogies here, Saku. Annapurna did remind me a lot of Gandhari---in her blind devotion to her son's welfare, making her willing to take this extreme step. But she also reminded me of Kunti. Specifically, in the episode just preceding the war, when Kunti approaches Karna, informs him that she is his mother. And asks him to make a near impossible decision, which would involve charges of dishonorable behavior to be laid at his door---to defect from the Kaurava side and join the Pandavas. She tells him that they are his brothers, and he should not be willing to slay or harm family.
In this particular aspect, Annapurna seemed to combine the traits of both Kunti and Gandhari. Mothers doing anything they could, to protect their sons.
Looking forward to part 4, dear! Are you planning to update today?
Lots of Love,
----Viji
Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon
