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Scene I
[Continues from the last episode]
Kanak is drunk, and Uma angry.
Kanak in a drunk voice, barely able to stand still says to Uma: "You remind me of a tenth century engine in a twenty first century car."
Uma looks beyond angry, his patience has been tested through and through. Kanak doesn't just stop here though, she has more to say, for the frustration and anger she kept building in herself is surfacing now.
Kanak makes a dissapointed sound, a 'hmph' that shows her disagreement on everything he stands for because he stands with the wrong.
Kanak again to Uma: "Whenever you get a chance, you take this rod of your righteousness (dharm). These big chants and bigger words (she is referring to him speaking words in shudh hindi and sanskrit), where do you get all this knowledge from?".
Kanak nudges his arm and asks him again: "Tell me..."
She further continues to say: "You won't agree with me on this, but you are just like a frog who has never left his well. According to you, there are different rules for men and women."
"It's high time that you step out of your well (Ladnun) and see that girls are contributing in all sectors of the society. Army, police, doctor, engineer, they're even pilots! Girls have even been to the moon and back."
"This year, in the olympics games when the country wasn't able to score any medals, who bough home the only medals the country got? Girls. We girls are even good at studies, we top the grades in tenth and twelfth standards in school (referring to the Indian schooling system)."
"These days girls aren't just walking shoulder to shouder with men, many times they are walking ahead of them in everything that they do. Do you understand??"
Kanak can't stand anymore and her legs give way. She slips but Uma brings her up. It isn't a romantic move though, because he's just angry. He pulls her up, giving her the much needed support to stand steadily. But her soft cries, the pain she felt all these days staying with him all these days visible in her eyes as tears, in her shaky voice and her soft whimpers.
For the first time he breaks his silence, and in a dissapointing but gentle tone he says: "Even though we stayed together, you were never able to understand me or my dharm (he's referring to the principles that he follows in his life that makes him who he is)."
Kanak moves away from his steady support, pushing his hand away and in a high-toned voice she exclaims: "Correct! Absolutely right, you're a weird person you know. Nobody in this world can understand you, sometimes you... you become the best husband in this world, just like my dad and sometimes you do things that make me detest you.. you..!"
Kanak breaks into a laughter, and then wipes her tears and says: "Let me tell you this one thing, you'll never be able to forget me, because up untill now no girl must have told you this on your face that you are the villain of her story, her life! But you really are the biggest villain in my life."
and then Kanak drops on the straw beside her, and Uma is shown fuming.
Scene II
[Bhabhasa, Meenakshi and Golu]
[The scene has switched to the Rathi house, night time]
Meenakshi walks towards Bhabhasa with a bag full of clothes in one of her hands, and in the other hand she has some kurtas (Indian attire that both men and women wear). She puts both the things down on the ground near Bhabhasa.
Bhabhasa asks her: "What are you doing Meena? These are my clothes and what is my bag doing here?"
Meenakshi doesn't respond to Bhabhasas' question. Instead, she asks him: "Where are the spectacles that Vansh got for you? I want to keep that in here as well."
Bhabhasa asks Meenakshi: "First of all, tell me where are you planning to send me?"
Meenakshi does not answer his question again. She's busy packing, and wiping her tears so that no one sees them.
Then she says to Bhabhasa: "I'm keeping this green one here, you can wear it when you like. And I always give you milk with termeric added at night, so make sure you drink that daily as well."
Bhabhasa is confused. And asks her: "Meena, what exactly are you doing? At least tell me."
Meenakshi finally answers Bhabhasas' question. She tells him that he's going where he is supposed to be. With his wife. She's sending him back to Bhabho. Hearing this he has a shocked expression on his face.
Meenakshi then sits down on the floor beside Bhabhasa, resting her hand on his knee. She further explains to Bhabhasa that in all these years she has understood that Bhabhasa and Bhabho love each other, that their love is beyond time. It remains unaffected by change, age, and time.
Then Meenakshi tells Bhabhasa: "I know that you give money to Rani to buy sweets from the shop, that using the newspaper as an excuse, you look for Bhabho. If this isn't love, then what is this?"
She further tells him that she does not want the difference between her and her husband to affect Bhabhasa and Bhabho's relation any longer. She admits that for her sake and sanity she divided the house in two, and also seperated Bhabhasa from Bhabho. But now, he must go back to Bhabho.
Hearing all this from a crying Meenakshi, Bhabhasa replies: "You haven't grown up enough to boss me around. To me, you are like my daughter. And for fathers, daughters are precious and pampered. And this father (referring to himself) will stand ground with his daughter (Meenakshi) till his last breath. Andeven if you throw me out of your part of the house, I won't go anywhere, I will stay with you. Whereever I am, however I am, I'm good. Now go, forget all of this, just like I forget things."
Golo is present there too, witnessing the entire conversation that takes place between Bhabhasa and Meenakshi. He has a compassionate look in his eyes, maybe he feels happy that someone supports his mother, and loves her. even though his dad's love wasn't true.
We also have another eavesdropper here, Bhabho who has also heard the entire conversation. She then thinks to herself that she couldn't stand with Meena herself, but today Bhabhasa is filling Bhabho's void in Meena's life. And then Bhabho wishes Bhabhasa to remain like this forever, with his daughter.
Scene III
[Payal and Payals Mom]
[At Uma Shankar's House]
Payal is staring at the poto of her husband with a great longing in her eyes. To this, her mother says: "Payal, my dear, do not try to answer the questions that you yourself are forming in your life. Try to look at the bitter truth of your life, and think. You are the daughter-in-law of Uma Shankar's house, hence, no smart boy will want to be with you as your husband. Today this family, these people make you feel lonely, but what will happen when you will not even have any of this?"
Then she asks Payal to sit down. And puts on the jewellery Payal has been given on her, drags her to the mirror and tells Payal in a firm tone: "Look at yourself, right now you look like a daughter-in-law of a respected and well off household right now."
Then she removes all of Payal's jewellery from Payal's body and says: "And look at youself now, you have no recognition. No one knows you, you are nothing in this society, and you aren't respected either."
She then reassures Payal that the woman standing in front of her is her mother, and will always think in her best interest. She advises Payal to not let Kanak control her life.
Further, she tells Payal: "It is your life, and so the decisions should be yours."
Scene IV
[Morning time, Back to Kanak And Uma]
[Kanak asleep on a seperate bed, her jewellery scattered on the floor, clothes unchanged and Uma nowhere to be found]
Kanak is sound asleep, little does she know what awaits her. She sleep talks to herself, asking herself to wake up on time, or else she won't get breakfast. She slowly wakes up with what I like to call a hangover, and she addresses it as an headache. She slowly pulls herself together, and is confused, with the way things look. Her jewellery is scattered everywhere, and though her clothes are unchanged, they are messy.
She tries to remember and some flashbacks come to her head, she isn't able to remember much. The state of confusion she is in is quickly replaced by a state of panic.
Did Uma do something to her? No he can not have... but, where is Uma?
She rushes out to find him, and asks a child if he knows who Uma is, and the child says that everyone knows who he is. She asks is he has seen him, and the child responds that he has already left because he only comes a for a day.
Kanak rushes back to the hut house, and sees that only her bag is there.
a worried Kanak says that he can not just leave her alone here like this, in an unknown place.
Kanak in a full panic mode even wonders if she told Uma everything about herself, the shop etc. when she was drunk. Nevertheless, she decided to confirm all doubts in her head when she sees him, but first she must find him!
Out she goes on a mission to find him. With a lot of running through the village and what seemed like a jungle, and continuously shouting out his name "Uma ji" she spots him on a bullock cart, probably the same one but he's driving it himself now.
He hears her shoutinghis name, and his anger grows as he remembers everything she said last night and he speeds up the bullock cart.
She speaks to herself, that she must resolve this matter but first she'll have to run like her mom, the IPS officer Sandhya Rathi annd catch up to Uma.
When she's finally close enough to the bullock cart (all this time she's been screaming "Uma ji") she says: Uma ji, how can you leave a girl all alone like this? You used to talk about supporting me and helping me, of taking care of me is your dharm, now whose breaking his dharm and rules? huh?"
She explains further: "Today, I am saying sorry because of my mistake, can't we put this behind us? Forget about it? And in any case, because of the wind last night everything was spoiled.. " (she was hinting at the fact that his dharm was not ruined, but Uma has a habit of cutting her off when she's about to say something important, just like he did when she was going to tell him about Bhabho last night).
Uma yells in anger: "Enough! How much more of this deciet, these underhanded schemes, manipulative games and lies are you going to put me through? The oaths that I took, I carried them all out with utmost honesty and dedication. I didn't pressure you to tell me anything, I gave you respect, and what did you do? You brought me here so that you could intoxicate me with liquor? So that you could burn a whole in the dharm that I follow?! But you forgot, that each time you conspire against someone elses' fall, you are most likely to fall in that conspiracy yourself! You fall in the same wholes that you dug for someone else!"
To this Kanak tries to lie and get away, but it's too late for that now: "No.. I did not - "
Uma cuts her off again: "You told me this yourself last night when you were drunk, Kanak."
It seems like Kanak does not have a ready to go answer for this. Her head hangs low.
The End - For now...
Translator's (my) thoughts:
A lot happened today, raging anger, confusion and panic. It seems to me that not only Kanak but Uma too is his worst enemy. He seems to cut Kanak off everytime she's about to say something really important.
But I'm guessing Uma will forgive her if she tells him that the ones he ate were not alcoholic. Because all her feminist talks had no impact on him, he was just concerned about the Jalebis.
Let's hope both of them will realise their mistakes.
I hope you guys liked the Written Update, let me know if you'd like any changes in the format of the update. I can't promise the time of these updates though but I'll be doing them daily from now on, in the hopes that those that don't understand hindi can join in on the conversation as well.
Be back on Monday with another Update!
Cheers,
Ziah
Mannat Har Khushi Paane Ki
Veer Hanuman
