Ghum Hai Kisikey Pyaar Meiin : The Beginning!
A much needed episode in the course of travelling through Sairat lives. The more we see of Rajiv & Shivani’s tale, the more we realize that it is not their story rather it is the story of Sai Joshi & Virat Chavan. The writers are shedding more light into what went on in the making of Sai & Virat into SaiRat!
As always, there will be a beginning, in this case it was not Virat’s arrival to Gadchiroli nor was it the death of Sai’s father & sole relative, Kamal Joshi but it was Shivani’s suicide.
Lets recapitulate : A shocked & broken Virat was all set to depart from Gadchiroli, promising to take care of all future expenses of Sai, vowing to be her guardian until she is able to stand on her own feet. Virat had no notion of marrying Sai EVEN AFTER the death & funeral rituals of Kamal Joshi nor even after Sai categorically denies wanting to be anywhere near Virat despite him being the last person in the universe. It never occurs to Virat to use marriage as a means of securing Sai’s compliance & fulfill the promise given to Kamal Joshi.
What changes then?
The whole situation flips on its head when Sai in a moment of utter despair chooses to end her life ! That act signals the extent of her loneliness, her sadness. It suggests how alone she feels in the world, how bereft of hope. An act that strongly reminds Virat of another person who went through similar experience of getting abandoned, of being alone & who opted to end her life the same way Sai did.
This impels him to make a decision, from a man who was content to offer all forms of assistance to his ward, he now takes upon himself to marry her thus irrevocably connecting her to his life, making her part of his life. He will not desert Sai the way Rajiv did. Thus, despite vocal protestation of Sai, despite her attempts to tempt him into fleeing, he stands firm in his decision.
Every time he turns, his gaze on the blood crusted dressing on her arm strongly reaffirms his decision to marry overirding Sai’s protest. He is a man reacting to his aunt’s cry for help.
Now this is where things get interesting, though Virat marries Sai, he never fully accepts her particularly her persona. However once Virat accepted the relationship as real, things got even more chaotic. While he sought to normalize his relationship, Virat floundered in initial days to strike a balance by failing to address her questions with regards to Devi, Kaku, Shivani thus unintentionally alienating and making the process of integration tougher for Sai.
Whereas Sai did not make the process easier to, Standoffish, belligerent often antagonistic to certain members, Sai made her’s & Virat’s life a tad bit difficult. This was not borne out of any malice but she simply considered herself to be apart from Chavans. While she loved certain members of the family, she felt connected only to Virat. As such, it was easier for Sai to decide on certain course of actions relating to few members of the family unmindful of the consequences. She was least bothered by the fallout on the family.
Her detachment lead to numerous ‘lone wolf’ actions that served to give rise to disasters within the family. Disasters that were averted, downplayed or diverted by Virat.
Needless to say, here was a guy who most often chose the path of least resistance, of the thought that if things look tranquil, let it be..lets just not rock the boat. There was the girl whose insatiable curiosity & penchant for meddling often sought to probe and discover things hidden within the waters, of a girl with a penchant for fixing broken things even if she does not have all the details with her, of a girl who uncaringly did things her way. Such diametrically opposite personalities were doomed for failure especially when each kept their fears and insecurities in abeyance & tried to pretend a normal life. Sooner or later, things were to break and break it did.
The breaking of the tenuous bond ushered in a moment of clarity, while previously Virat was walking on egg shells around Sai, terrified that one wrong word, one wrong pause would trigger a walkout of Sai. Where earlier he chose to rein in his emotions, his hurt & his dejection to maintain peace now he talks, does not hold back on sharing a piece of his mind. Where earlier he would scrabble around to make everything right if Sai would even frown at his word, now he prefers that she hears it plain and uncoated. This change is not one sided.
An earlier version of Sai would have packed her bags and walked out shrugging off all ties and connections without giving a thought but the present Sai is beginning to realize the value of relationships. The option of throwing away her relationship does not occur even during stormiest spat. The girl who would unilaterally decide, plan and make her moves in a rather righteously dictating manner now tries to put her views across, share her thoughts and seeks partnership in mellowed tone. Where earlier she stepped on various members toes with impunity, she now has learned to give space, accept the boundaries set by them up to a point.
Inspite of that and despite both Virat & Sai staying on in same room, a chasm of misunderstanding, of things unsaid looms like a never ending abyss. Their relationship has become stagnant with each afraid to take it to next step, Virat would rather move away from Sai, Sai would rather play a cheerful nurse companion than address the “issues” that’s keeping them apart. There’s a lively fear that any attempt might actually lead to complete breakdown, both shie away from that, both are drifting rudderless and it is in this circumstances, the past rears up its head again.
The saga of Shivani & Rajiv opens, paving the way for a bridge to be built for Sai & Virat to cross, to come halfway, to compromise. An opportunity that is being used by both to indirectly address their fears, search for solutions.
A beginning has been made on the bridge of the old!
