Picture credit: SwaSan caps from FB

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The then track had once again left me despondent despite not watching a single episode. Reading about it was enough to get me to the stage of pulling my hair and staring at the screen, wondering what in the whole world was going on. Swara and Sanskaar break up, Ragini is left alone and Laksh has disappeared. As though this is not enough, Swara and Ragini are playing each other's instruments, the serial timeline is going to take a six month leap which would have them open, of all the impossible things, a Marriage Bureau.

My jaw hit the floor at that news. (I had hoped against hope that I had the wrong piece of news). I was and am unable to find any logic and rationale behind what is supposed to be the future track. Both the sisters have separated from their husbands, irrespective of the reason, and instead of trying to mend their relations with the men whom they love beyond doubt, they start a Marriage Bureau.

I had to get it out of my system and this rambling story was my attempt to do the same, trying to imagine what exactly they must have been thinking and how they came across such a decision.

It is meant to be light hearted story; despite the soul searching I have had the sisters do and is not intended to be judgemental of anybody.

As usual all feedback, good and bad is welcome.

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The Match Fixers

(They fix matches, weddings and even marriages, if they fail)

Swara and Ragini sat beside each other, each lost in their own thoughts, wondering as to how they had reached that point, yet again, in their lives. Once again the sisters were together and against the world. Though this time, the definition of the world seemed to have undertaken a different meaning.

Swara asked morosely, "Ragini, so what are we going to do?" only to receive an equally morose answer, "I do not know, what do you want to do?" Having had this conversation for the last few hours, Swara lost her cool, "Look Ragini, first I say 'what are we going to do?' Then you say, 'I do not know, what do you want to do?' Then I say, 'what are we going to do?' and you say, 'I do not know, what do you want to do?' For Heavens' sake, let us do SOMETHING."

Ragini sighed, "All right, what do you want to do?"

But Swara had enough and she huffed her way to sit some distance away from her sister, hoping to get a break from the looping conversation they had been having since that ill-fated moment, when she broke off her relations with Sanskaar, holding him responsible for Laksh's disappearance.

Swara was in a dilemma, all she had ever wanted was a family, parents, grandparents and siblings. Was it too much to ask for? It appeared to be, every time she prayed for that dream of a family, she was faced with heartbreak. It was like the Gods were deaf to her prayers and she was disappointed, why did He not answer her prayer? At rare moments, she did hear a soft whisper, 'God has always answered that prayer, Sweetheart, the answer is NO!'

Yet, she could not or rather, would never heed that voice. She was determined that come what may; she would have her dream of a perfect family come true. And life seemed equally stubborn in teaching her a lesson; that some things are just not meant to be and her idea of a perfect family was not the one intended for her. But then Swara was stubborn and convinced that what she wanted was right and went about battling society, people, even the very persons whom she wanted as a family not realising that, at times, the only war she was waging was against herself and the one who loved her above everything, Sanskaar Ram Prasad Maheshwari, her husband and the love of her life. The reason why her heart still beat even though it was broken and why she could still breathe even in his absence. It did not matter that he was gone, willingly or pushed away by her, she was secure in the knowledge that he would always love her, more that she could ever love him. She was so sure of his love for her that she always relegated him to the bottom of her list of priorities, she knew their relationship was unbreakable and hence she went about creating her perfect family, convinced that forgiveness, granted even before asked for and irrespective of it being deserved was the glue that would hold her illusion together.

She looked across at Ragini, who appeared to be taking the news of Laksh's disappearance with surprising equanimity, unable to understand how anybody could love someone to the point of obsession, to the extent of destroying everything else, and yet could be so calm that nobody knew where he was. She was not blind to her sister's faults, she just choose to ignore them as she did with everyone else's flaws, persuading herself that the ease with which she forgave them condoned every crime they committed. She knew that Ragini had always been blind in her love for Laksh, had always chosen Laksh over everyone else, going to the extent of even trying to kill those who would not allow her to be with Laksh. She could be unreasonable and willing to cross all limits of sanity; nothing mattered, right or wrong, family or friends, when it came to Laksh.

But now Swara wondered, maybe, that is what Sanskaar would have liked, not the obsessive love, but that she choose him over everyone else, at least once, at least for a few seconds. She brushed the tears away, she could never be like her sister, she loved Sanskaar with every fibre of her being, her soul and his were the same, but she could not give up the dream of a family for him. And so as the things stood, she had her family but had lost him, again.

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Ragini was not as calm as she appeared to her sister, her mind was in a turmoil and the constant familiar questions assailed her, 'Why could she never be a little more like Swara, her sister who could always find the right thing to do, who never lost her head even when faced with the prospect of losing her love?' Ragini knew her failings; she knew what everyone thought of her, a cold, calculative woman who could never make a rational decision. She had always had a loving family, the absence of a mother being more than made up by her Sharmishta Maa, first as a loving neighbour and now as her mother. She knew how blessed she was with the family that Swara forever craved for, and was twice as blessed with the family she had married into, everyone willing to give her as many chances as needed.

But she would never stop at ruining all the chances she had, she would throw all of her family to the wolves, she would do it without a second thought, if it meant choosing Laksh. He was impulsive and immature, would never learn despite life teaching him harsh lessons at every turn, he could never love her with the passion she craved for but he was her weakness. She could not think beyond him and she paid scant regard to that tiny voice that would try to reason with her, 'you love him, it is true, but do not make it an obsession, you have to understand that, at times, love means not being by his side. Love means you are firm enough to tell him that he is wrong and you would not abide by his decisions because they are not correct.'

But she could not, or rather would not, hear that voice, in her all-consuming love for Laksh, she had once again chosen to give up her family.

Ragini sighed, she could never be like Swara, she did accept that she had a wonderful family, no two wonderful families, who would always be with her and whom she would always leave for Laksh. And today, she once again found herself abandoned by him and yet supported by her family.

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"Swara..."

She sighed and looked at Ragini, her sister's face appeared to be a reflection of hers, misery and sorrow etching lines on her face, "Yes, Ragini?"

Fumbling and twiddling her dupatta in her fingers, refusing to meet Swara's eyes, Ragini said, "I want to be a little like..., will you help me learn the guitar?"

Swara sat in confounded silence, trying to fathom what exactly Ragini wanted till she understood, Ragini had always found it difficult, nay impossible, to say the word 'sorry'; she seemed to firmly believe that if she simply behaved good it would translate to an apology. Swara agreed that actions did mean more that words, but at times a vocal apology was also necessary. And today with this request, Swara felt that her sister was finally trying to say sorry, though it did not sound like that. But she could accept it and follow up with an admission of her own, "I will, if you help me with the Sitar!"

She hastened to explain, "You wanting to learn the guitar is symbolic of your willingness to change, so how could I give up an opportunity to do the same? Maybe along with learning each other's instruments we could also teach other to properly prioritise the people in our lives. I will learn to put Sanskaar ahead of everyone else and you will learn to choose your family and loved ones over Laksh if the need arises."

Ragini nodded, astonished that her sister could understand exactly what she wanted, that is what she had actually wanted to say, she needed help in learning to be a little more like Swara, who would not turn obsessive for the man she loved. At least this way, they would not be simply waiting for the days to pass, she thought, her thoughts once again wandering to Laksh and his missing whereabouts.

Swara lapsed into her thoughts, as she relived her temporary loss of reason, she could be convinced that Sanskaar was absolutely wrong in what he had done but was she right in throwing him out of her life? But then again, there was not much of a life left either, with him gone. And even if she made genuine attempts to change her outlook, it would take time and in the meanwhile what would the sisters do?

Ragini was also silent, remembering her fall from grace, from a soft spoken girl who loved Swara to an obsessive woman willing to kill the very sister she adored. She shuddered as she thought about the scheming she had carried out; falsely accusing Sanskaar of molesting her, kidnapping her Sharmishta Maa, insulting her in laws, maligning her sister's character, instigating Laksh to pretend to commit suicide and the final act of performing 'shraad'. She should summon the courage and find the adequate words to apologise to everyone. Life really was giving her a chance to start all over again, she had always justified her actions by thinking that everything she did was for her love, the very love who was always quick to leave her. She could love him till the end of time, be married to him a thousand times over, it would not change the fact that he would always leave, though the reasons would change as per the circumstances.

She looked at her sister and said, "Swara, I am sorry, I do not know how to set things right, I had so many chances and yet each time I felt I would lose Laksh, I lost my head. I just could never let him go and now I have lost him, yet again."

Swara replied, "Look at us, both so stupid, however hard we try, whatever we do, we never seem to have a chance at a happy married life. When Sanskaar and I pretended to be married and were later, forcefully married to each other, I refused to see and accept his love for me. When I did realise that I loved him, it was too late, he left me. Then when I convinced him, Kavita came back and pulled me into a conspiracy that resulted in Maasi's death and my incarceration. We overcame those odds only to have Laksh betray you at the Mandap by marrying Kavya instead of you, for which Baba was adamant that I break off my ties with Sanskaar. Finally Kavya's drama comes to an end, which turned out to be beginning of the Rajat fiasco and all of us know how that ended. In my amnesiac state I hurt Sanskaar over and over again, going to the extent of publicly humiliating him. I regained my memories but our ordeal was far from over, Sahil, my rescuer, mutated into an obsessive lover and almost killed Sanskaar. He was arrested but our joy was short lived, your fake pregnancy idea did create fissures again. Finally Adarsh Bhaiya and Pari Bhabhi, along with our respected Dadi decided to wreak havoc in our lives and today, even though Bhaiya is jailed, they have succeeded. Both of us are without our husbands. We really need help to fix our married lives"

Ragini, who had been mulling along the same lines, blurted, "We could open a Marriage Bureau"

"A marriage bureau, are you out of your freaking mind?" Swara stopped, unable to find any further words to address this latest madness from her sister. At that instant she was sorely tempted to actually label Ragini as a certified lunatic.

But then Ragini was in no mood to hear Swara or her version of logic, she simply rushed on, "Swara, answer me this, how many times have each of us got married?"

Swara who was staring with her mouth open as Ragini had cut her short, felt her jaw hit the ground, 'just what sort of a question was that, and how would it explain Ragini's bizarre idea?'

Ragini took one look at her sister and decided to answer herself, "We have each gotten married thrice, irrespective of the circumstances or the willingness, we undertook the wedding vows, in some form or the other, but most importantly, each time, it was with the same person. Right?"

As Swara gave a dazed nod, Ragini plodded on, "And how many times have we had our Maa Baba get married? Or the number of times we got Adarsh Bhaiya and Pari Bhabhi together?

As the light of understanding appeared to dawn on Swara, Ragini beamed," And that makes us experts in the art of fixing matches, weddings and marriages. Most bureaus close a file once the wedding is done, we will be the only one that offers a lifetime guarantee, with some terms and conditions, of course. It does not matter how many times the couple breaks up; we will see that they get married again, and always to each other."

Swara gave an equally beaming smile and hugged her sister, "You are so right, after all 'A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person' and who knows it better than us. You are right, my sister, that is indeed the best thing to do. And in the process of helping others fix their weddings and marriages, maybe, we could learn to fix our own marital failures."

And both the sisters, walked hand in hand towards a new future, humming together,

'Phoolon ka, taaron ka, sabka kehna hai,

Ek hazaron mein meri behna hai,

Saari umar, humme sang rehna hai,

Phoolon ka...'

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Notes:

The initial dialogue between Swara and Ragini is mostly based on the dialogue between the vultures, Buzzie and Flaps of Walt Disney's 1967 animated musical comedy film, The Jungle Book. The vultures in turn, were Disney's tribute to the British band, The Beatles (the four of them, have a physical and vocal resemblance to the members of the band).

The quote - A successful marriage ... is by Mignon McLaughlin

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So how was my attempt to find some logic, a reason, a faint semblance of rationale behind the decision of the sisters to switch instruments and open a  marriage bureau? Do let me know.

love,

Nyna