CAST
The Sita of the family, Laxmi is a small town lady by heart; sweet, simple, innocent and extremely religious. She is a housewife and from the very beginning, a very responsible person. At every step, she stood by Jagdish and helped and supported him. When Jagdish was busy looking after the shop, Laxmi took on the entire responsibility of managing the house; ensuring the comfort of all those living in the house. She looked after her brother in law, Trilok as if he was her son and doted on him just like Jagdish did. She believed that as the oldest woman of the family, it is her responsibility to keep the family together. She has always been a quintessential family member; being nice and caring towards all and now a loving grandmother. Now she spends most of her time with her retired husband Jagdish, her grandchildren and in performing her routine pooja ceremonies. Since the last few years, she is afflicted by cataract in her eyes which has left her nearly blind. Jagdish is very worried about her eyes but is unaware that it can be cured through operation. None of them have taken after their conscientious and selfless parents; all of them being rather pre-occupied with their own selfish and materialistic lives. Laxmi is not really much concerned about her eyes but does wish that her eyesight comes back before her daughter is married off so that she can witness the big occasion. Just like her husband, her only real aspiration now is to visit the Char Dhams along with her husband this year and is fervently counting down.
Dev, the hero of our story, lives in Ujjain. A handsome young man, he is nice, caring and tough from within. He respects elders like his own parents and has seen a lot of tough times and undergone incredible trauma since the age of 5. As a child, he lived in a small village in Madhya Pradesh with his parents. When he was only 5, there was a flood in his village which wiped the village clean. When he regained his senses, he found himself in a relief camp where he was burning up in high fever. He told about his parents to the Govt. authorities but no one around had a clue. After a few days, he was left at an orphanage from where he was later adopted by a Christian couple who could not conceive. All three now live quite happily and contentedly in Ujjain. The Christian couple have accepted him as his own but never compelled him to adopt Christianity as they knew that he is a Hindu child. A lot of times, he wakes up with a start from his sleep when the same incident plays itself as a terrible nightmare. Even today, he remembers and wants to meet his long lost parents and siblings. He has finished his studies and now works in a big company as a sales marketing executive for which he is required to travel quite a bit. When he is on an official trip to Dwarka, he saves the life of a blind lady. It later turns out that the lady is Laxmi Jaiswal, Shraddha’s mother. This is how he meets Shraddha and becomes friends with her. He admires Shraddha deep love and respect for her parents and eventually falls in love with her.
She is the Shravan Kumar of our story. She is pretty to look at and simple and innocent by nature. She is a typical small town girl who loves her parents more than anything else. She is her parents’ favorite and the only one to have been inculcated with the good values that her parents possess. As is evident, she is very attached to her family; calls her eldest brothers Santosh, Sannu Bhaiya and Manoj, Mannu bhaiya. Their wives dislike Shraddha but her innocence doesn’t allow her to understand their true deceitful personalities. Her simplicity doesn’t allow her to have enemies and shields her from all the negativity and bitterness that abounds her. She shares a great relationship with the grandchildren of the family which is only natural considering that her childish innocence the most evident trait in her personality. She is a devotee of Shiv and considers Nandi – the statue of cow in Shiv temples, her friend. She daily bathes the statue and even talks to it. She shares all her little secrets with the statue. Shraddha, a responsible young girl that she is, likes to relieve the family of her burden and also contribute towards the pilgrimage collections and for this, she decides to get married to Amit and settle abroad against her own wishes. She is soft skinned but has a strong gut. She is very gritty and once she takes on a task, she would not sit quietly until she is done with it. Her ambition and current resolution is to ensure that her parents visit the 4 dhams in the coming year. She is desperately waiting for Ashok bhaiya to return from Pune so that all the 4 siblings can together see off their parents to the pilgrimage.
Jagdish Jaiswal, essentially the Ram of the family. A simple man with a few needs, Jagdish Jaiswal the eldest son and now the oldest member of the family is a religious person.He likes to keep it plain and simple and hence dresses in plain shirts and trousers and at home in kurta pajama. He is soft spoken, doesn’t get angry very easily and even if he did lose his temper, instead of screaming, he gets emotional and quiets down. He has a thin frame, hardly any flesh to boast of, physically very weak and suffers from occasional age related illness. However, none of this has affected his spirit; he is quite nimble and very active.