Rakta Sambandh 22nd March 2011 Written Update

Neerdhya disagree on whether Sarla should stay

Neeraj & Sandhya are back in their room, and Sandhya tells him that she respects his sentiments about Sarla chachi, but requests him not to allow her to stay in that house. She offers to return Sarla the haveli (but hadn't it been auctioned?) Neeraj tells her that she can't live alone in such a big haveli, and that she's in no position to take care of herself, let alone run such a big haveli. Sandhya offers to send w/ her a servant who'll take care of her and her needs.

Neeraj tells her that when he was young, what if Sarla had decided to send him to an orphanage? (Neeraj, DK was of that mindset - he never regarded you as family, but it was b'cos he was overriden by Puru that you were there. Sarla's not the one to thank here) Neeraj tells her that Sarla loved him like a mother, and so he can't turn back on her. He tells her that he doesn't want to re-discuss this, and that he's going down to see her, and leaves. Sandhya is crestfallen

Sarla and Anjali

Anjali congratulates Sarla on her dramatic entry, and tells her that she looks forward to learning a lot from her. She tells Sarla that while everybody was observing her, Anjali was observing Sandhya, and hers was a sight to behold!

Sarla asks her if that alone was enough to satisfy her? She tells her that Sandhya will be worth watching the day she's turned out of this house. After seeing her hubby sent to jail, Sarla won't let Sandhya start a family here, and Neeraj himself will turn her out. Anjali is thrilled.

Anjali asks Sarla why she didn't meet her earlier? Sarla tells her that they wouldn't have had the joy of torturing Sandhya. Since Neeraj & Sandhya are now married, splitting them will be even more fun. She gloats @ Sandhya's expression on seeing her face again. It's called making her cheeks red w/o slapping her. It's just the beginning, and she vows to make Sandhya's life hell

Rohit asks Shradhya to prepare breakfast

Rohit is getting ready w/ Shradhya helping him, even though he keeps her @ arms length. He tells her that Abha has gone to meet Swami, while she tells him that Anusuya has gone to the temple. Rohit tells her that since aaii is out, she has to do all the work, and not to touch anything of his. He then sends her to make breakfast

Sarla w/ Neeraj, Purvi, Anjali and... Sandhya

Purvi is serving Sarla (I'm glad Sandhya didn't have to) and Neeraj and Anjali are @ the table w/ her. Neeraj persuades Sarla to eat, since she does need to take her meds after that. Sarla is surprised to hear about meds, but Purvi tells her that the doc ordered them for her, and she shouldn't skip any meals. (Sarla-chachi, forgot your own stories?)

Sandhya arrives @ the scene unseen and observes them carefully. Neeraj asks Sarla why she is hesitating, and Sarla tells him that she's thinking about Pankaj and others and the condition they're in. She's wondering whether they'll get to eat properly, when she notices Sandhya. Purvi leaves.

Sarla goes up to Sandhya and tells her that she has been looking for her for a while. She then tells her that she wants to apologize to her, and that Sandhya must be angry. (Sandhya, you too please play a double game of saying one thing to her in public, and another in private) Sarla tells Sandhya that the court didn't punish her, but she could (Well, Sarla's involvement in the plot was less than Prabhavati, Pankaj, Puru and Yuvraj)

Sandhya tells her that there is no reason to apologize. Sarla then notices her mangal sutra & sindoor, and is about to say something about Yuvraj, but Anjali interrupts and tells her that Sandhya is now Neeraj's wife. (Good acting Sarla - to not know that Sandhya is Neeraj's wife) She congratulates Sandhya, and tells Neeraj that he didn't even tell her that he was married(he didn't?) She narrates how Yuvraj cheated them, but Neeraj tells her to let bygones be bygones. He tells her that everything will be okay and the Jagirdars will be happy (only if they can get past Yuvraj's death, which Prabha & Pankaj won't) Sandhya is still suspicious, while Anjali smiles.

Sarla tells Sandhya that this way, Sandhya is her bahu (was, Sarla, was, but then again, Yuvraj too didn't respect you much, did he?) Sandhya is not happy to hear this, but Sarla hopes she can forgive her. Anjali offers to take Sarla to her room (first time she's acted like a bahu of this house) Sarla tells Sandhya that she'll meet her later, and leaves w/ Anjali.

Neeraj asks Sandhya to forgive Sarla

Neeraj tells Sandhya that Sarla is repentant, and if she doesn't believe her words, @ least believe her tears. He tells her that everyone makes mistakes, but it's forgiveness that marks how great one is. He thinks that her hatred has trumped all other relationships. He reminds her that he didn't support them when they were wrong, but if she's wrong, he won't support her either. Sandhya is shocked to hear this and Neeraj leaves.

Sandhya wonders how she can convince Neeraj that Sarla is not repentant, and that her turning up in this house was no accident, but a conspiracy in which Neeraj seems to be twisting & turning. Something that she'll have to find out about.

Rohit falls down the stairs

Shradhya has gotten the breakfast ready, and Rohit is coming down the stairs when he misses and falls down the stairs DancingParty He lands on the floor and is writhing in pain Approve

Shradhya is shocked to see this and goes to help him, but he stops her, reminding her not to break his vow (that's one thing I love about Rohit - even if Shradhya is stupid enough to help him, he'll stop her Approve) He turns her away, and Shradhya turns to go.

Rohit stops her and calls her back, and tells her that he's in too much pain, so forget the vrath (I'd say remember it - had the shoe been on the other (bare)foot, Rohit wouldn't have done squat for Shradhya) Shradhya is initially hesitant to touch him, but Rohit asks her to forget the whole thing, and Shradhya picks him up and helps him to the bed. While she's helping him, he for the first time is looking @ her face. Sarla lays him down and goes to get the hot water.

She returns and tends to his pain in his back, and then his legs, applying some ointment. Rohit is relieved. Both look at each other, Rohit somewhat fondly, and Shradhya somewhat happy. She tells him to rest, while she gets back to the kitchen.

Rohit stops her and tells her to sit beside him. He tells her for the first time ever that she looks beautiful. Shradhya refuses, telling him that the work does have to be done. She leaves, while Rohit looks @ her. Dead

Sandhya face off w/ Sarla

Sarla is sitting in her room when Sandhya arrives. Sarla invites her in, telling her that she was thinking of her. Sandhya tells her that obviously, it wasn't something good, and wonders when she'll reform? She tells her to play her drama on others, not on Sandhya.

Sandhya tells her that Sarla's lost her home, family everything, but not her evil ways. Sarla gets up, closes the door and checks Sandhya's hands, which she jerks away. Sarla tells her that she was checking for cameras & recorders. Since she loved doing detective work

Sandhya tells her that rather than detective work, it was cleaning up the plots of others that she was used to. While her home has changed, that habit hasn't gone. She tells Sarla that she's come to warn her - lie low, or she'll have her thrown out. And that won't be recorded - it'll be telecast live.

Sarla tells her that the hubby has changed, but she hasnt. She asks her whether by winning over DK, she's won this? She tells Sandhya that she snatched Yuvraj from them (actually, Sarla, had Yuvraj stayed in jail, he'd still be w/ you) and her whole family is in jail b'cos of her. Sandhya tells her that they are suffering the consequences of their own actions. Sarla tells her she too will suffer - the court may have freed her so that she can ruin Sandhya. She warns Sandhya to prepare to start losing. She tells her that she's there to turn her heavenly home into hell. She promises that, and asks her to get lost.

Sandhya tells her she heard her, and remembered something she had heard since she was a kid - that a dog's tail is never straightened. She tells her that even if the dog's tail isn't straightened, mad dogs can be taken to the pound.

Sarla challenges her to get her hubby off her tail, who calls her chachi. Sandhya tells her that she will - she'll show Sarla her real worth, and Neeraj her real face. She won't let her stay in that house - that's her promise (Sandhya, do something about Anjali and GB as well) The two of them face off, and the episode ends.

Rakta Sambandh 21st March 2011 Written Update

Adha tells Anusuya to warm water for him, so he can take a bath (according to guru-ji, it's a good moment to do puja) Anusuya is in pain and leaves. As Adha is about to leave, Shradhya tells him that she will try to make the property in Rohit's name as long as he doesn't do this to Anusuya. Adha is happy and he knew that it would happen, referring it to what he did to Anusuya. He leaves. Shradhya is left crying. Sarla calls Neeraj, and acts as if she's a salesperson and tries to sell him a good. Neeraj stops the car next to her and says no to the deal. Sarla does now know which is Neeraj's vehicle. Sarla disconnects the phone and tosses the phone away. Neeraj starts the car and drives. In front of him is a lady walking slowly (Sarla). He honks at her to move away, but she keeps on blocking him. Suddenly, she stops and Neeraj "hits" her. Sarla falls down, and Neeraj sees that it is her and brings her home. At home, the doctor checks Sarla. She's dehydrated and needs something to eat. Neeraj tells everyone who she is, and Sandhya comes down since he asked after her. She sees Sarla unconscious on the sofa and is shocked. She asks Neeraj to come upstairs since she needs to discuss something with him. She asks him that she should not be here after what she did to her, and how DK and Sarla got against her, etc. Neeraj denies since she was also the one who brought him up. He always supports Sandhya, but this time, he needs to take care of Sarla. Downstairs, Sarla is awaken and tells Neeraj that she does not to stay here after what her husband & co. did and she should rot on the streets. Everyone wants her to stay, and Neeraj is looking from the stairs. Sandhya wants again to talk to Neeraj.

Rakta Sambandh 9th February 2011 Written Update

Precap: Dadaji asks Sandhya to help unite Neeraj w/ the rest of the family, telling her that the family will be in her debt.

Dadaji discusses Neeraj’s predicament w/ Sandhya

Dadaji tells Sandhya that while Neeraj did agree to come, he’s not acquiesced to his new environment, and he’s also noticed yesterday that Neeraj seemed disturbed. Sandhya tells him that she noticed it as well, but tells him that Neeraj is totally new to the people here,as well as the place. Dadaji understands, but tells her that they too have a problem – they don’t have any idea of Neeraj’s likes & dislikes. They don’t know what makes him happy, and are scared of saying something that hurts him or opens old wounds.

He says that everybody tried to please him in their own ways, which he probably didn’t appreciate. He tells him that his 2nd son & family ain’t here (then what’s Nina doing here?), or else Neeraj might have liked it more. Dadaji tells Sandhya that he wants Neeraj to be happy, but not living separately, but as a part of the family. He knows that Sandhya is capable of doing it, and that if she does, the family will eternally be in her debt. He then tells her to come w/ him inside & see whether the others have woken up.

Neeraj is sitting on his bed ready, & Dadaji knocks. Neeraj is irritated, but turns around and sees Dadaji and apologizes. Dadaji says that he’s there to bother him and tells him that he wants him to meet his Dadi. Neeraj tells him that he was about to request that meeting himself.

Dadaji tells him that ever since she heard of his return, she wanted to meet him soon, and God listened to her prayers & brought him back. However, she fell sick . Neeraj & Dadaji leave to meet her.

Neeraj meets his Dadiji

Dadiji is lying in bed w/ other family members around her, while Hasmeth is telling her that Neeraj looks exactly like Ramesh. Dadiji asks why they didn’t bring him here right away? (Why indeed?) She was very anxious to see him. Dadiji tries getting up, and others try to persuade her not to, telling her that Dadaji has gone to get him anyway. She gets up, saying that she will meet Neeraj, no matter what, even while Urmi tries to tell her to obey the doc. As she gets up & stands, Neeraj & Dadaji enter, and she’s totally fixated on Neeraj.

Neeraj greets her and she hugs him. She tells him that as he was walking in, she thought that his dad Ramesh was walking in. Dadaji turns away, somewhat embarrassed, and leaves. Dadi tells him that she was crying for Ramesh a lot. She conceded that the fight was b/w father & son, but she wanted to see Ramesh one last time and ask what was her fault in all this? She asks whether he couldn’t have ever come & seen her?

Neeraj tells her that that’s not the case, and that Ramesh did talk about her a lot, and he cared a lot for her as well. He had told Neeraj that it was she alone who never said anything against their marriage. Ramesh wanted to apologize to her as well. But he never got that opportunity. Today, Neeraj wants to apologize to her on his behalf.

Anmol tells him that he’ll be forgiven when he calls her ‘ma’ – he may have called her dadima in Gwalior, but here, they all called her ma. Neeraj calls her Ma, and asks her to forgive his father & him. Dadi/ma hugs him, and everybody is happy. (I’ll keep calling her Dadima, or else it becomes too confusing. Sorry Anmol!)

Dadi tells him that she should be the one apologizing – to Ramesh, to Neeraj’s mom & to Neeraj. Despite an ugly fight b/w Neeraj’s bhauji & dadaji, she could say nothing.

Hasmeth asks her whether she’ll only keep apologizing to him, or feed him something as well? (Uh-oh, Neeraj, get another bag of antacid handy ) Neeraj turns to him looking a tad annoyed, and Hasmeth tells him that when she observed her vrath, she made laddoos w/ her own hands, and had the confidence that Ramesh would return, and that she’d feed him w/ her own hands.

Neeraj panics, asking whether he’ll have to eat again, and Anmol says he has to (poor thing! Neeraj should delegate this eating to Sandhya) Then they all surround him like yesterday and start feeding him.

Gayatri bua envious of Neeraj

Gayatri bua (GB from now) is watching this from outside. She’s pissed that everybody is now all over Neeraj. She says to herself that if she wants her wishes fulfilled, she’ll have to control his wishes.

Sandhya reminds Neeraj of his Gwalior mode

Neeraj is sitting outside on a swing, and Sandhya comes & joins him, and asks him why he’s sitting alone. Neeraj says that he’s thankful to be at least sitting – since he came, he’s been continuously eating Sandhya laughs, and he tells her that he wonders why they can’t think of anything but eating. He had no idea that his family either talks, or eats all the time. (I’m surprised that there were no obese members in that family, except to an extent Hasmeth)

Neeraj asks Sandhya why she’s staring @ him like that, and Sandhya tells him that the person who was like that himself is getting freaked out by seeing his own family doing the same thing (Okay, as Gunge, he was a glutton, but w/ the Jagirdars, while Neeraj was a party animal, I don’t recall him being a glutton) She reminds him that always, on the slightest pretext, he’d call a party, or a banquet, or something or the other. She now realizes that this ain’t something he learnt from the Jagirdars – it’s in his blood. She asks why he can’t open up to them – why is the old jovial him just not there? (Well, Sandhya, a lot has happened since to badly damage that)

Anmol & Nina join them, and Anmol tells them that he laughs all the time, but asks who’s sad @ everyone being happy? Sandhya tells him it’s his Neeraj bhaiya. She tells Anmol that he’s left all his joy in Gwalior, and that had he been in Gwalior, he’d have been filled w/ Neeraj’s jokes, which had people laugh until their stomachs hurt. Anmol tells them that in that case, Neeraj has to tell them a joke, and Nina joins in.

Neeraj denies it, and Sandhya volunteers, telling them that she’d tell it today, but tells them that it was one she had heard from Neeraj only. So she narrates the same joke Neeraj did @ the beginning of the serial – a man, and his obese wife were lying, and his wife had one leg on him. So the man asked her whether it was good to die a slow death or a quick one? The wife said a quick one, to which the hubby told her to in that case put her other leg on him as well

Anmol & Nina laugh, and Nina asks whether the wife really put her other leg on him?

GB questions Sandhya

GB is noticing all this from a distance, and is still pissed. She thinks that Neeraj’s remote is in the hands of Sandhya, who can make him grumpy or laugh as desired. She wonders who this girl is for Neeraj, and vows to find out.

Later, Sandhya is in her room making her bed, and GB joins her. Sandhya invites her in, and GB asks her whether everything is okay. Sandhya tells her that everybody is great, and so is everything here, and that she was going to call her tai and tell her that. GB asks her who else she has in her family. She tells GB that she has 4 sisters – all married w/ their own families.

GB then asks her point blank what her relationship is w/ Neeraj. Sandhya is shocked @ her tone, & speechless. GB quickly gathers herself, and asks more politely how did she know Neeraj? Sandhya is still speechless and GB tells her that she doesn’t need to answer if she doesn’t want to.

Neeraj interrupts and tells her that he’ll tell her the relationship. He tells her that Sandhya is his best friend, and he Sandhya’s. He asks her whether there’s something else she wants to know? GB quickly reassures him that she was just there to find out about her, and how she was coping. She tells him that she was there to chat, but now that he’s here, she’ll go, since she has a lot of work and has to prepare for pujas in the evening.

Neeraj furious @ GB

Neeraj then points out to Sandhya that that was exactly what he was afraid of – they’re either out to force-feed him, or drive them nuts. He asks what was the point behind any of those questions? And then she demands that he open up to them. How can he open up to such people?

Sandhya asks him why he’s getting hyper @ such small things? Bua had a question, she answered it, and that was it (Actually, Sandhya, he answered it, you were just gaping @ her, rightly shocked!) Plus she asked them about their relationship, which anyone in their place would ask. Particularly given the circumstances in which she accompanied him.

Neeraj tells her that she never thinks anything is wrong – if she’s good, everything else is good (Neeraj, have you heard what she did to the Jagirdars?) He then turns and walks out. Sandhya runs to him, asking why he came in the first place, but Neeraj is gone.

GB is sitting down somewhere, and says that both Neeraj & Sandhya claim that they are friends, but she’s seen in a movie that a boy & girl can never be just friends, and that movie was a super-hit. (okay, GB, thanks for confirming that you’re a complete moron! Is that why you’re away from your hubby?) She suspects that this friendship is a lot more than just that! So now, she needs to find out the exact nature of that friendship.

Comments

On Dadaji’s & Sandhya’s opening conversation, while they were right in that this is a new place for Neeraj, they’re ignoring the elephant in the room: the family’s ugly treatment of Neeraj’s parents. After all, had Neeraj moved into Sandhya’s home for some time, there too it would have been a new environment for him and Savita & Shreya would have been strangers as well, but they’ve not wronged Neeraj or his parents in any way, the way his dadaji had. Therefore, Neeraj wasn’t tense @ all in Sandhya’s place, except for this new revelation, but he’s totally like a fish out of water in his ancestral home.

If Dadaji wants Neeraj to be happy, that should be unconditional i.e. he should allow Neeraj the option of not living w/ them, particularly since he wasn’t doing that until now. His loving Neeraj doesn’t mean forcing him to live w/ the rest of them. The proper thing for him to have done, given what he knows & assuming he’s genuine, would have been to try & help Neeraj find an independent home & job, so that his dependence on the Jagirdars is over. Another thing he could have done was set aside a deferred payment to Purushottam for raising Neeraj all these years, so that Neeraj has no monetary debts to them either: he certainly doesn’t owe them for raising him, since they tried to kill him.

Dadiji looks like she’s someone who Neeraj might like. Somehow, her suddenly falling sick looks suspicious. I think that Ramesh is still heavily on her mind, which is why she wasn’t given first access to Neeraj, as she’s more likely to remind him of his dad, and why he didn’t want to come.

In this serial, and others, I had reservations about the oft repeated claim that a married woman’s place is in her sasural. The CVs seem to strongly believe that, which is why they’ve put the one woman who’s in her maayka – GB – as the villain of the piece. So it’s not just Sandhya she resents, but Neeraj as well. Apparently, she is very powerful in this house, but senses that if Neeraj is going to be hard to persuade to stay, he’d automatically get a lot of power. Just wonder what’s the deal w/ her – why isn’t she in her sasural? Does she stand to gain big if Ramesh’s share of the property goes to her instead of Neeraj? That’s all I can think of, for now. But please, don’t make this a saas-bahu track!

I hope that Sandhya goes into the same hostile Vrinda mode (okay, minus the tapori language, if needed) when confronting GB. I liked Neeraj grabbing this opportunity to pile on, and it would be funny if he is the reason Dadaji or Dadiji ultimately kicked GB out.

P.S. Today, I noticed that this serial has 2 Gayatris – Gayatri Devi, and now Gayatri bua. I’ll shorten it to GB going forward.

Episode rating:

: Neeraj’s meeting w/ Dadi/Ma, Sandhya entertaining Anmol & Nina

: Gayatri Bua & her entire persona, the ‘stuffing’ of Neeraj

Rakta Sambandh 8th February 2011 Written Update

Shreya sees off Sandhya

Shreya is helping Sandhya pack her bags for her departure to Neeraj’s place. She advises Sandhya to open up to Neeraj and tell him what’s in his heart She tells Sandhya that she showed a lot of courage in defying the Jagirdars and sending them to the slammer, and yet, she can’t muster a bit of courage to tell Neeraj what’s in her heart? (B’cos it’s a bad idea!) She tells Sandhya to spill out her guts to Neeraj, so that she’ll have no regrets about it being unsaid. She tells her that she too is leaving for home today, so she wants to hear the good news They then take the bags and go out and join Neeraj & Dadaji. (This is funny – Shreya looks like she’s almost packing Sandhya off to her sasural)

They join everyone in the living room, and Savita joins them. Sandhya hugs Savita & Shreya. Shreya asks her to remember what she told her, & Neeraj asks her what’s the deal Sandhya denies anything, and they all take the bags & leave.

Savita & Shreya are left alone, and Shreya tells her that she too is leaving. If Sandhya returns, she’ll ask Shradhya to come and take care of her (Are you sure Rohit & Abha will be okay w/ that, especially if Sandhya decides to return indefinitely, or for good?) Savita tells her that that will hopefully not be necessary: whenever she comes back, it’ll hopefully be w/ the good news of her impending marriage to Neeraj (Marriage, Neeraj, they do have a funny way of rhyming, don’t they? )

Neerdhya welcomed @ Dadaji’s home

Dadaji arrives @ his home w/ Neeraj & Sandhya (wish they had mentioned which city it is in. For now, I’ll just assume Mumbai) A servant picks up their bags, and he invites them in. He then calls out all family members, who all come out one by one, and Dadaji introduces them all to Neeraj: (I’ll insert their pics later)

Hasmukh – Neeraj’s bari-papa & Dadaji’s eldest son

Sarita – Neeraj’s bari-ma & Hasmukh’s wife

Raj – Hasmukh’s elder son

Anmol – Hasmukh’s younger son

Urmi – Raj’s wife

Nina – bahu of Jignesh, Dadaji’s 2nd son (Jignesh & Nina’s hubby not shown)

Gayatri – Neeraj’s bua, Dadaji’s daughter

Dadaji then introduces Neeraj to everyone as Ramesh’s son, and Sandhya as his friend. They all exchange pleasantries, but Gayatri bua looks annoyed

Then Anmol perks up and remarks that Neeraj must be confused @ seeing so many of them, but a cold stare from Dadaji shuts him up. He then asks where his wife is, and Urmi tells him that she’s probably in her room. Dadaji tells Neeraj that he’s off to see her, and leaves Neeraj w/ the rest of the crowd.

Family opens up & welcomes Neeraj

Dadaji leaves, and Anmol is excited He then says that now that he’s gone, an end to the formalities, and goes & hugs Neeraj & welcomes him, telling him that everyone wants to see him, and brings him in. Sandhya is happy.

Then Sarita comes in w/ some paneer and feeds Neeraj, and following that, Sandhya, overriding her objections. As if on cue, Gayatri bua gets something for Neeraj, and stuffs his mouth (my, what manners!) She then gives Neeraj a piece of paper and asks him to cherish it like a talisman, so that no evil eye will come anywhere near him. Anmol wisecracks and asks her whether she’s going anywhere

Anmol then tells Neeraj that he must be wondering about everybody’s change in their moods. He explains that Dadaji is extremely strict, and absolutely doesn’t like them lightening up. So people don’t let a beep while he’s around, but the moment he disappears, everybody lightens up Gayatri threatens to snitch on Anmol, and he mocks her by telling her that she doesn’t spare any opportunity to tinge him

Anmol then pulls out an envolope and hands it to Neeraj, telling him that he’s turned everything that’s his over to Neeraj Neeraj & everyone else look stunned, and Anmol clarifies that he meant his family, since that’s everything he has So he’s written all the details of his family and given it to Neeraj, so that he can read it @ leisure and know about them all (Anmol, we need that as well ) He tells Neeraj that from this, he’ll know who’s naughty & who’s nice, who’s good & who’s bad, who’s straight & who’s crooked, who’s miserly and who’s not, who’s present & who’s absent.

Nina tells Neeraj that she too has gotten him a gift, but forgotten what it is or where she kept it Neeraj is amused. Anmol tells Neeraj that she’s the Gajani of this house

Sarita then remembers that Neeraj has not eaten the rest of the halwa, and tells others to feed Neeraj as well. Everybody disperses and brings him something, and is competing to stuff poor Neeraj’s mouth, while Sandhya watches all this & chuckles. Nina notices her and goes to her to give her a jeelebi, and Sandhya declines it, and tells them to feed Neeraj instead, since he’s been missing them for years Neeraj gives her a really annoyed look and they resume torturing him.

While they are at it, Sandhya asks to be shown her room, and Nina takes her to hers. While they are on their way, Gayatri bua wonders why she came, and remarks to herself that She calls Sarita aside, and asks her who Sandhya is, and Sarita tells her that this new girl is someone that Dadaji had said is just there for some time, and will go away after a few days, so not to worry. Gayatri however thnks to herself that by the looks of it, she’s not going away anytime soon. Gaytri tells herself that Sandhya looks like someone who’s here to stay for good (Somehow, sourpussies such as her tend to be right)

Sandhya talks to Shreya

Sandhya is in her room and calls Shreya, who’s unpacking. She tells her that everybody was very eagerly waiting for Neeraj for days. Everybody had either cooked something for him or got him gifts, and she somehow escaped, while Neeraj was still getting smothered. Shreya tells her that it’s after a long while that she’s heard Sandhya be so happy, and wants her to be forever as happy.

Sandhya goes quiet, and Shreya reminds her that whenever she was in trouble, she’d face it w/ a smile, so now that she’s got happiness in front of her, accept that w/ a smile as well. She tells Sandhya that Neeraj will need time to adjust to his new family, so she has to be supportive of him, like he always was for her. She reminds her that Neeraj used to be eternally happy and someone who’d liven up other people as well. If she gave him company and was happy, slowly his happiness would return as well. Shreya tells her she’s just arrived home, and has some work, but after finishing it, will call her back. Sandhya tells her that she’ll talk to Savita & Sakshi in the meantime.

Shreya then asks her whether she’s told Neeraj that she loves him? Sandhya shrieks and warns her that if she persists, she’ll stop calling her

Neeraj miffed @ being smothered

Neeraj empties a bag of antacid powder in a glass of water & gulps it down, and Sandhya chuckles to see that Sandhya remarks that he must have overeaten, which is why he needed this. Neeraj is not amused. She said that just seeing all those things scared her, so she fled

Neeraj tells her that she made her escape, while leaving him high & dry, while everyone stuffed him w/ all sorts of things – some khandvi, some dhokla, some kheer It looked like they saved all this food all these years, so that the moment he arrived, he’d have to finish all those years of food in one sitting

Sandhya asks him why is he angry? Neeraj asks what else could he be – the way everybody smothered him? He’s human after all – how can he finish all that? Sandhya sits beside him and explains that everybody had made something special for him b’cos they loved him. They were only expressing their happiness. She asks him since when do these things bother him? In Gwalior, he’d just laugh them away.

Hearing this, Neeraj gets up and leaves the room. Sandhya is stunned @ his reaction.

Dadaji asks Sandhya for a favor

Next morning, @ the plant shrine, Sandhya is doing her morning pujas, when Dadaji gets there. She does all the rituals, while Dadaji lookes admiringly.

Sandhya then notices him and greets him, and he tells her that he’s impressed that such a young girl is so refined. Sandhya tells him that it was a habit inculcated in her by her eldest sister Savita. Dadaji remarks that Savita indeed seemed to him like a lady of character. He tells her that if she’s done, he’d like a word w/ her. He asks her whether Neeraj is still asleep, and Sandhya tells him that Neeraj sleeps late & gets up late. He is impressed that Sandhya knows Neeraj so well, and she explains how they were close to each other in Gwalior. He understands.

Dadaji then tells Sandhya that the fact is that she’s the only one who knows & understands Neeraj well. So he tells her that if she could unite Neeraj w/ this family, the family would forever be in her debt.

Comments

Oh, Shreya!!! Have you ever read a book called ‘The Rules’ by Ellen Fein & Sherrie Schneider, which essentially says that to attract and ultimately marry a man of her dreams, a woman should play ‘hard to get’? Read it, and you’ll realize that Sandhya is doing everything right by not letting Neeraj know how she feels about him!

On the members of Neeraj’s family, everyone seemed okay except his bua, who is on Sandhya’s case despite Dadaji telling her that Sandhya is only a guest for a few days. This woman apparently lacks both manners and class: since Sandhya has been introduced to them all as Neeraj’s friend, not as his lover, or fiancee, why not treat her as an honored guest? Speaking of which, since Neeraj is an (albeit new) member of this family while Sandhya is a complete outsider and therefore a guest, they ought to have been more attentive towards her. Instead, it was Sandhya who had to ask for her room, while she sadistically enjoyed the sight of Neeraj getting smothered Speaking of which, I don’t blame Neeraj for being miffed: if only he was still Gunge, he’d have scarfed up everything w/o even looking @ anyone. Instead, he needed an antacid to digest everything later Incidentally, I don’t blame him on getting pissed on hearing how he was @ Gwalior. Apparently, he feels that whatever he’d do there was a big error in judgement, and so Gwalior no longer invokes fond memories in him any more than it does in Sandhya.

So Dadaji seems a really uptight person, but whether he’s evil or not is an open question. He doesn’t appreciate Anmol even talking, let alone his jokes, but he seemed very admiring of Sandhya’s culture, when he observed her in her pujas. Judging from his request to Sandhya to help get Neeraj merged w/ this family, he does seem manipulative, since he’s not willing to allow Neeraj the option of not living w/ them if he doesn’t like it. Somehow, I get the idea that Neeraj & Sandhya might develop some friction b/w them, w/ Sandhya trying to make him accept this family as his own, which he clearly doesn’t like. Hope it doesn’t happen and drag out their romance, but sure looks like it. Although if the crooked bua’s instincts are right, Sandhya is there to stay w/ Neeraj, and nothing can split them.

I liked Anmol – the youngest of Neeraj’s cousins (played by Manish Naggdev) Today, he just stole the show from Neeraj – being the absolute bindas character! The bhabis looked good as well, as did Raj. Hope that the cue sheet that he gave Neeraj in the envelope turns out to be useful. Incidentally, Vipul wasn’t introduced today – wonder who he is? May be described in that envelope.

Who do you like among the new entrants? Multiple choices enabled – just vote for one after the other!

Unfortunately, there have been no reports of who the new entrants are, so I hope to find them and fill them in this update, or in a separate thread.

Episode rating:

: Dadaji’s family members, especially Anmol , no Jagirdars today

: Gayatri bua, but I guess everything can’t be perfect. But she looks like the new party pooper

Rakta Sambandh 7th February 2011 Written Update

Sandhya’s marriage is discussed

Shreya and Savita aren’t letting Sandhya do any work and on Sandhya’s insistence Savita asks Shreya to let her Sandhya Didi to work. The Savita brings up the issue before Sandhya about her settling down once again in life and tries to pursue her to marry againa and tells her that all her sisters want is to see her happy. Sandhya hesitates saying that it has been just a while that Yuvraj died but Savita tries to explain that the marriage was a mere deception and refers to an incident that it was Yuvraj who had voluntarily ended the relationship by snipping the mangalsutra off Sandhya’s neck. She goes on saying that she has an entire life to look forward to and however progeressive the world may get, a woman can never lead her entire life alone and that she has had her share of grief and should start her life again with a new life partner. She brings up how Shaymrao would’ve felt regarding all this and then from Shyamrao’s garlanded photograph, a marigold flower (How Filmy!!!!) drops down on Sandhya’s head in advocation to Savita’s words.
Savita grabs the opportunity saying that even Shyamrao soul wishes the same and his peace doesn’t lie in her revenge from the Jagirdars but in seeing her settled in life since in his last moments he had seen her life getting ruined and he can only rest in peace on seeing her life rehabilitated. She adds that Sandhya doesn’t have to do anything in haste but make sure that she doesn’t delay it either. They leave and Sandhya is left back thinking and watching the marigold flower. Then she goes up to Shyamrao’s portrait as if to ask something to him.
The next day Sandhya after prayers, Sandhya is back to stanging before Shamrao’s photo in a questioning mode. Savita calls her for breakfast and spotting her before Shyamrao’s picture asks her what she was thinking. On Sandhya’s denial, she herself clarifies it saying that she wasn thinikng about their conversation that happened yesterday. She gets back to pursuing Sandhya to get married. Sandhya repeats that she hasn’t been very lucky in a marriage and adds that she doesn’t think that after all this anyone will be ready to marry her and that she herself isn’t interested in it anymore. She states that she needs some time to cope with her past to which Savita says that she doesn’t need to get married asap but she will have to at some point of time and that she should stop thinking that she’ll remain single all her life. Any eligible bachelor will readily marry her because whatever happened wasn’t her fault. Sandhya tries to avoid it and as she’s about to leave, Savita stops her again and reminds her that probably Neeraj was already in love with her. Sandhya turns back and is shocked.

Savita decides that Neeraj is perfect for Sandhya

Savita tries to get the topic of Sandhya-Neeraj alliance saying that she was just reminding her about Neeraj’s feelings for her. Sandhya evades the topic saying that the feeling were only till the time Sandhya wan’t married and after that he was just a good friend of her in the Jagirdar residence. And even if he still has feelings for her, she won’t like them to get fostered as she herself is inauspicious and doesn’t want Neeraj to be affected by the same. It was because of her that Neeraj went against those people who had brought him up when he was orphaned. Savita tries to explain that he wasn’t against them but their bad intentions and Sandhya is not responsible for all this. She believes that Neeraj still loves her and that she does the same but Sandhya interrupts her saying that they should get back to breakfast. Savita tells herself that Shreya’s words are now clarified that even Sandhya loves Neeraj but she is sacred of expressing it.

Prabha finds a way out to escape imprisonment

Sarla coes to meet Prabha and she asks her if Sarla had visited her the previous evening as well. Sarla tells her that she had come to see DK. She tells that DK is behaving kinda insane these days because he is repentant of whatever he did against the Jagirdars especially Yuvraj and his conscience is making him feel guilty and he is not able to forgive himself. Prabha casually replies that he isn’t dead yet and that he shouldn’t either because its Prabha who’ll decide his death and till the he should suffer like that. Then she starts taunting Sarla on what she was doing after getting out, whether she was on a picnic or something. She tells her to do something to get her out and that she is raging for revenge and Yuvraj’s face keeps haunting her asking how she let go of Sandhya so easily. Sarla explains her side that she is trying her level best to get Prabha out and probably they might get it. Prabha says that she doesn’t need probability but confirmation.
She then returns back to DK’s topic and asks Sarla on what she was saying about his insanity. Sarla says that the jailer was suggesting that DK should be shifted to the insane assylum but Sarla refused saying that let him suffer in jail. Prabha promptly tells her to get him out of jail and get him proven that he is mentally unstable because if this happens then his statement against them will be proved useless since no court can prove them guilty on basis of a mad person’s statement. Sarla agrees and leaves.

Yuvraj’s spirit tries to convince Prabha, in vain

Yuvraj’s spirit now comes to visit Prabha asking her that for how long is she gonna remain hungry and spoil her health in his memory. Prabha begins weeping and asking why he left her and stating that she won’t spare anyone now. Yuvraj’s spirit says that whatever happened was because of his own misdeeds and that his own life was such that he wasn never able to think about anybody except himself and concealing his secret. He requests her to forget all the revenge and past because no one will gain anything from all this.
But all this comes out to be a dream and Prabha wakes up shouting Yuvraj’s name. The constable comes up asking her to shut up and go to sleep. Prabha cries missing Yuvraj and the idea of revenge becomes even stronger in her mind