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This was undoubtedly the best teej I have ever seen on TV, or in movies! Nobody had to blackmail anyone or pretend to faint, and nobody was blackmailed or fooled on this Teej, oh no. Instead it was a tryst with reality for the idealistic character of Aarti.
The children were undoubtedly my favourite part of today's episode. It is interesting that last time Yash was angry it brought Payal closer to Aarti and Ansh and this time it is bringing Palak closer to them. Both girls were fiercely loyal, Palak to Yash and Payal to Palak so they had to be shown clearly the light and love coming from Aarti side and have it threatened by Yash's temper to fully realise how much they treasure it. I actually liked the characterisation implied by Payal's absence in the schemes of her siblings. She is the most carefree of all the children and the most innocent to the goings on between her parents. Even in Mumbai, I noticed that her reactions were always just a second delayed while Palak and Ansh were always in sync with their naughty cupid plans.
Ansh and Palak are the ones that have felt responsible for their respective parents' happiness both before and after they married each other, each testing their step parent thoroughly before trusting them with their precious birth parent. So they take up the mantle once again to set their world in order. It is not the first time shouldering such a sense of responsibility for either of them, but what is beautiful is that they now have each other; someone else who understands the nature of their problems, down to the minutest detail, without ever needing an explanation. After all in so many ways they have lived the same life, writing letters to their absent parents while protecting and nurturing their present ones.
And they made a beautiful team today. Ansh brought the information and Palak assessed the problem. Ansh had the idea and Palak carried it out. It was pretty symbolic, but also perceptive of the children to pick up on the fact, that Yash would not give water directly to Aarti but it would reach her through the children, if they asked for it for themselves. This is exactly where the Yash-Aarti relationship stands at this moment. Yash is ready to do anything in the name of the kids, but it is that direct confrontation with Aarti's position in his life that he is avoiding. Ansh had such an "Aarti" moment here that it was delicious. Palak was totally focused on their intended mission of getting the water and giving it to Aarti, but seeing the chance, Ansh could not resist the opportunity to cheer Yash up in the bargain! This reminded me so much of Aarti and how she always goes off on tangents in her supposedly focused plans, and much like Aarti, Ansh got snubbed today (Yash could have at least mustered a smile! God!) for going off plan. I loved how Palak had to march back in and drag him out. 😆
The kids realised they could not fix Yash's anger, so they tried to appeal to their more reasonable parent, or so they thought, poor souls. Aarti, though she was hugging them probably scared them just as much as Yash did by refusing to eat and then crying, which is why Vidhi and then Shobha were such episode-savers. What has happened to Aarti, one wonders? Was that her telling Vidhi not to lie to the kids about her fast? The same Aarti who once told Ansh that Gayatri hadn't locked him up but actually the key was lost? Why the sudden need for her kids to face harsh reality? And this is where Shobha's speech (most of it, except that weird tangent about ummeed and seekh) really hit home. She spoke the words of my heart when she asked, "where is MY Aarti, the Aarti I know, who didn't let anything get in between her and doing what was right for her kid(s)?" It's true, ever since she won Palak's heart and turned her focus on to Yash, the last man standing, her priorities have shifted ever so slightly and her world became all about Yash. Even the kids became a means to get him out of his shell, rather than the first priority in their own right.
This reality check from Shobha was much needed for her to put things in perspective. Who cares if your husband is mad at you? You have bigger things to worry about, like the kids who are depending on you. "Teej is not about a fast, it is about a relationship, so pray for your relationship, not for your fast to be broken." Powerful words! I just loved how she came to counteract the melodrama of Aarti's cliched teej speech and then fed her with her own hands. i wish they had shown her breaking the fast with the water the kids brought but I am going to assume it was implied. What beautiful meaning that her fast was broken by her children and her mother, because suhagan can mean so many things. This is just the tough love that Yash needs, and I wish he had someone to give it to him! Aarti is pretty lucky to have a mom like Shobha, who is both a pillar of support and her harshest critic, depending on what the situation demands.
I also may be pushing it, but I felt like Prashant was implied yet again when Aarti promised Shobha that she would make the relationship so strong that nothing could break it, and Shobha said something about 'dushman.' I have a feeling he is looming.
I can't talk about Yash after reading Mansi's analysis because I am completely overcome by the way she saw him and anything I could say would be redundant. He is indeed a troubled and tortured man and I have to give it to the CVs for creating such a brilliantly layered character.
The children were undoubtedly my favourite part of today's episode. It is interesting that last time Yash was angry it brought Payal closer to Aarti and Ansh and this time it is bringing Palak closer to them. Both girls were fiercely loyal, Palak to Yash and Payal to Palak so they had to be shown clearly the light and love coming from Aarti side and have it threatened by Yash's temper to fully realise how much they treasure it. I actually liked the characterisation implied by Payal's absence in the schemes of her siblings. She is the most carefree of all the children and the most innocent to the goings on between her parents. Even in Mumbai, I noticed that her reactions were always just a second delayed while Palak and Ansh were always in sync with their naughty cupid plans.
Ansh and Palak are the ones that have felt responsible for their respective parents' happiness both before and after they married each other, each testing their step parent thoroughly before trusting them with their precious birth parent. So they take up the mantle once again to set their world in order. It is not the first time shouldering such a sense of responsibility for either of them, but what is beautiful is that they now have each other; someone else who understands the nature of their problems, down to the minutest detail, without ever needing an explanation. After all in so many ways they have lived the same life, writing letters to their absent parents while protecting and nurturing their present ones.
And they made a beautiful team today. Ansh brought the information and Palak assessed the problem. Ansh had the idea and Palak carried it out. It was pretty symbolic, but also perceptive of the children to pick up on the fact, that Yash would not give water directly to Aarti but it would reach her through the children, if they asked for it for themselves. This is exactly where the Yash-Aarti relationship stands at this moment. Yash is ready to do anything in the name of the kids, but it is that direct confrontation with Aarti's position in his life that he is avoiding. Ansh had such an "Aarti" moment here that it was delicious. Palak was totally focused on their intended mission of getting the water and giving it to Aarti, but seeing the chance, Ansh could not resist the opportunity to cheer Yash up in the bargain! This reminded me so much of Aarti and how she always goes off on tangents in her supposedly focused plans, and much like Aarti, Ansh got snubbed today (Yash could have at least mustered a smile! God!) for going off plan. I loved how Palak had to march back in and drag him out. 😆
The kids realised they could not fix Yash's anger, so they tried to appeal to their more reasonable parent, or so they thought, poor souls. Aarti, though she was hugging them probably scared them just as much as Yash did by refusing to eat and then crying, which is why Vidhi and then Shobha were such episode-savers. What has happened to Aarti, one wonders? Was that her telling Vidhi not to lie to the kids about her fast? The same Aarti who once told Ansh that Gayatri hadn't locked him up but actually the key was lost? Why the sudden need for her kids to face harsh reality? And this is where Shobha's speech (most of it, except that weird tangent about ummeed and seekh) really hit home. She spoke the words of my heart when she asked, "where is MY Aarti, the Aarti I know, who didn't let anything get in between her and doing what was right for her kid(s)?" It's true, ever since she won Palak's heart and turned her focus on to Yash, the last man standing, her priorities have shifted ever so slightly and her world became all about Yash. Even the kids became a means to get him out of his shell, rather than the first priority in their own right.
This reality check from Shobha was much needed for her to put things in perspective. Who cares if your husband is mad at you? You have bigger things to worry about, like the kids who are depending on you. "Teej is not about a fast, it is about a relationship, so pray for your relationship, not for your fast to be broken." Powerful words! I just loved how she came to counteract the melodrama of Aarti's cliched teej speech and then fed her with her own hands. i wish they had shown her breaking the fast with the water the kids brought but I am going to assume it was implied. What beautiful meaning that her fast was broken by her children and her mother, because suhagan can mean so many things. This is just the tough love that Yash needs, and I wish he had someone to give it to him! Aarti is pretty lucky to have a mom like Shobha, who is both a pillar of support and her harshest critic, depending on what the situation demands.
I also may be pushing it, but I felt like Prashant was implied yet again when Aarti promised Shobha that she would make the relationship so strong that nothing could break it, and Shobha said something about 'dushman.' I have a feeling he is looming.
I can't talk about Yash after reading Mansi's analysis because I am completely overcome by the way she saw him and anything I could say would be redundant. He is indeed a troubled and tortured man and I have to give it to the CVs for creating such a brilliantly layered character.
Jhanak
Udne Ki Aasha
Anupamaa
