episode 38 uthay diyo, nand kissore

arrey uthay diyo, nand kissore.

oh you woke me up, dear god. episode starts with a nice touch from the creatives. our eyes are about to be opened to some truth. i may be over interpreting, but did feel like that.

twenty minutes of equal focus on all key players and a streak of red running through, sign of marriage, sindoor on expected and not so expected places.

festival dedicated to the pivotal man in a girl's life, husband. girl talk everywhere, from 19 to 70, girls are having all sorts of fun (hindi serial style ). saris being discussed, jewellery and gifts from parents and in-laws being awaited, a young woman deeply in love, promises to keep the fast properly and sincerely.

khushi is delighted that bua ji has given her a sari, payal is sweet and allows khushi to grab first choice. bua ji is looking hopefully at shyam, willing him to show interest in khushi. little does she know. when she appears with sindoor all over, bua ji is horrified, what is with the girl? seems the only answer to all her problems is "woh rakshas, arnav singh raizada." bua ji adds her ire to her niece's and curses him roundly, more colourful language upon hearing that man has a brother too. the sweet akash sir.

lavanya will of course be true to the vrat, she assures anjali. who of course thinks nothing of interfering in her bro's personal life. she's just trying to make sure all goes smoothly for the two, so there's no further discord between chhotey and nani. and no one walks out of the house. there's something so sweet and caring about this woman that though you know she shouldn't get into this thing, you can't be mad at her.

la's guileless answer to her praise is touching. "main yeh sab apne liye toh kar rahi hoon... i mean asr ke liye... apne pyaar ke liye... jo bilkul saccha hai." the last sentence, "which is absolutely true," referring to her love for asr comes out with extra force. and i bet it is too. she is a girl in love, she will one day learn to love. her sixth sense that for love one has to do things unusual is delightful. reading ayn rand years ago i came across the concept of love for self as a virtue, i have to say i do believe in it. especially since i know how in feudal systems we are taught to never ask for anything for ourselves, being duped by tradition and ritual into believing there's something wrong in doing that. if you can't love yourself and know what you want and go out there to try and get it, what's the point. however short her skirt may be, inside is a girl of depth, layers peeling. a core with many possibilities. don't get turned off by what you see, don't jump to obvious conclusions. in those words of hers is the glimpse of an honest person. now that is rare. di's,"lavanya ki koshish hi bahut hai," is to me an instinctive acknowledgment of that.

but suddenly in the midst of all this preparation and giggling and smiling, what's this?

khushi, after a good bout of rakshas denouncing is rubbing besan on her face and suddenly she's lost. a now familiar trill, ting ting ting ting ting ting... the notes of a piece that will come to mean the finest love, fade in. the rakshas has found her mind again and trapped it. evil he is surely. yet... and she can't stop thinking about him.   

next thing you know, a man is walking in with a bemused air... rabba vey... he stands before his mirror, a curiously gentle air about him, as though in another world. unusual for the master of gussa, asr. he too looks lost. he lifts his hand to gaze at the colour on it. her colour. that she smeared him with when they dashed against each other. sindoor red refusing to leave. and he doesn't seem to be trying too hard too... the breeze gently lifts his hair, playing with it.

he finds the thoughts of someone in laxminagar, flashbacks... she's dashing into him, her platter falls to the floor with a loud clang! he's holding her... she's looking at him horrified, he is just gazing at her unmoving.

khushi seems to pick up asr's thought and remembers him looking at her, he suddenly looks down... and yes he's holding her hand. she makes a face, as though troubled by her memories.

in his mind's eye, he sees her break the hold and step away from him. his fingers touch the red on his hand. his nani had made an arch comment about walking carefully, otherwise you never know what might end up staining you, "kauno daag kab lag jaaye pata nahin chalat." obviously a reference to his father's life and demeanour there. mami had cracked a typical manoramaism, "sasuma, ee toh basing powderka ayd lagat hai," ma in law this is like a washing powder ad.... but he was oblivious to all that, the "daag" usually something that is considered a marring, was being touched by him, a feel of someone, someone in his mind. reminded me of a popular detergent ad, "daag achhe hain," stains are good.

he saw her rubbing her eye, and the dupatta reaching up and out to him, dragging him practically to look at her...

and in her thoughts, he lifted his hand as though to touch her and she drew away, startled. a hurting, confused expression on her face.

by now a funny pain on his face, he's trying to tell her something about the other day... and she walks away.
and then the most poignant words i've ever heard from him. none of his usual hardness, something smouldering within, but he is unravelling, a sense of him coming apart. in confused and soft tones, genuinely worried about the state of his being: 

"kal tak main usski baaton se pareshan tha... toh phir kyun aaj usska yun chup rahna mujhse bardasht nahin ho raha?... kya ho gaya hai mujhe?" what's happened to me?

he may not realise, but he knows her traits. from the first day they met she's never not told him anything. torrent of words, usually accusations and fights, but never silence. the nonstop prattle girl. her quiet is unfamiliar, unnerving. and yes, he does want her to talk to him, even if to yell only. this ignoring, this "chup" is bothering him no end.

she is equally confused. why does this nasty man come to her mind all the time. "woh... arnav singh raizada.. haanh, jiji... pata hai, aaj usse naa hi hum baat ki, aur naa hi usske mooh lage... phir bhi hum ussike baare mein soch rahein hain..." interestingly, he feels his attraction to her, but she can't figure out why he gets to her. he just does. what he can't understand perhaps is why what she does or doesn't do matters. he is not familiar with the feelings assailing him. especially since he has shut the door on love deliberately and never takes his mind there. 

all the girls are ready. khushi is so pretty in her sari, payaliya too. shyam is hit hard by khushi's loveliness, he drops the packet he was sneakily carrying around avoiding bua ji's spanish inquisition. a dark red saree spills out. why did i think of blood?

a trusting, loving wife is so happy to receive her husband's teej gifts. she's dressed in red, ornaments sparkle on her; she adorns her maang, her parting, with a streak of deep vermillion. sign of a married woman. she who believes her husband is no less than god.

"arre uthay dio, nand kissore."
after the low on words episode 37, the dialogue guys came back refreshed and lethal today. every word had nuance. some hinted at character, some at story, and the sense of something is about to happen was built up beautifully. "kaise titaliye ke jaisi phudhak rahi hai." was that the first time bua ji called khoosie bitiya, titaliya? awww, hai re nand kissore.

a beautiful dress up session




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