14/4 - Epi 76 ... Only For His Job

Monday 14th April

I really wonder how long Rudra will be able to convince himself that he hates Paro. I also wonder how long he will be able to convince Paro that he hates her ... that will probably be longer, as Paro takes a lot of his words at face value. Though she also tries to read his actions ... but his words hurt her enough that she takes time to get over them. Leaving it to Maithili to keep note of Rudra's actions, and keep reassuring Paro that she's on the right track.

Rudra is one sulky boy ... he cannot get over the fact that Paro did not trust him enough about Tejawat ... Never mind the fact that she told him repeatedly that she trusted Tejawat, that Tejawat was a father figure to her for fifteen years, that he never gave her an iota of proof about Tejawat ... STILL, he expected Paro to trust him implicitly and sign a document to save his job.
Helloooo, Major saab, whether she trusted you or not, was not the point there ... she could not have signed a document saying she knew about Tejawat's deeds at that point of time, when she did not! Ever heard of something called perjury?!
Of course, Rudra is now just grasping at straws, trying to remember why he has to hate Paro, trying to give her reasons for his hatred, trying to pretend that he's married her only to save his job.

So he takes time to bandage her hand (with a dirty hanky) ... and then picks up the broken pieces of mirror, telling her not to do it, because she'll hurt herself again ... and has to add, that the only reason he doesn't want her to hurt herself is that she'll go running to the BSD with more photos.
The only reason ... yes, of course, Rudra. That's the only reason.

And now since Paro is firmly in his life, and his brain finally gets a respite from the "Keep Paro here, without letting her know it's what I want too" plans ... he can think of other things too ... which include putting the envelope together with a plan to figure out who actually sent the pictures ... not too difficult ... and making the culprit betray himself. Easy as pie ... Sumer, the most ineffective, bumbling villain, gives himself away, and gets one hard punch for his pains.

Only one punch?! For taking the pics and selling them to a newspaper, which cost Rudra his job?
And Paro got the entire hate marriage deal, just for obeying Rudra's instructions for once? He was the one who told her to stand outside the house and then forgot all about her, after all.
Hardly seems fair ... but I guess Rudra is so grateful to Sumer for precipitating a situation which allowed him to marry Paro without letting her, or anyone else, know that he wanted exactly that ... that Sumer got away easy.  

Paro is happy that Sumer is caught ... so now Rudra will get his job back, things will be sorted out, so can he please stop acting like a bear with a sore head, and get on with being a normal husband?
Not so fast ... since Rudra can't blame her for the pics, he has to think of something else to keep up the pretense of hatred ... so he brings back all the old grievances ... she ran away with Tejawat, she didn't trust him, she didn't believe him about her fake husband, she never listens to him, and the one time she did listen, he lost his job.
Rudra sounds like a sulky wife, bringing up all the past grievances to her husband every time he makes a fresh mistake.

Paro is upset ... will he never forgive her for a mistake made out of innocence and ignorance?
No, he won't ... because that's the only thing keeping him from acknowledging that he's head over heels in love with his beautiful wife.

Maithili comes to take Paro away ... since Paro can't go to her maayka, Maithili will do the pagphera rasam here itself ... with all the preparations and customs she can manage. Away from the eyes of dragon MIL ... Maithili seems to manage living with her MIL quite easily! She just ignores her most of the time!

Paro is touched ... and along with the new clothes and jewelry, Maithili gifts her some advice ... a husband should be friend, lover and protector. Rudra is already your protector ... now you need to make him your friend and lover as well.
And Paro takes heart again from her loving Jeeja ... yes, she will. She will bring back Rudra's smile.

Rudra unconsciously fulfills the rasam by coming to fetch her from her make-shift maayka ... and stands transfixed by the radiant beauty his wife is. He even drops a completely inadvertent compliment ... and Paro's eyes light up in a shy smile. Which of course makes him fumble to retract his words instantly ... I didn't mean you're looking nice, I just meant that you're ... umm, looking nice. The way  a bride should look.

Good try, Major, but didn't quite work. Maithili's knowing smile says as much.

So Rudra takes her to the BSD office ... where he again sounds like a sulky boy in front of his Colonel.
I married her, I gave her honour and my name ... I've been a good boy ... Paro, mommy, tell the Colonel I've been a good boy and how happy you are ... now can I have my stars back please? 

Paro, more firm and mature of the two, tells the Colonel frankly, but quietly, that she wanted this marriage, though she's not happy with the way it happened ... but she wanted it, and she will fulfill her vows and her duties. She's in it for life.
Rudra is so stunned and mesmerised by her words, that he forgets to listen to the Colonel.

Col Singh obviously sees that Rudra has some way to go to grow up completely ... so he informs the happy couple that a lady from some social organisation will be visiting them to make sure that he's not ill-treating Paro any more ... no more standing out in the rain and other such stuff. They have to play Happy Couples and Rudra play good husband for a while longer, if he wants his stars back.

So both Paro and Rudra know exactly why the social worker is coming, and what they have to do. And Rudra has the perfect excuse to be loving to Paro ... it's only for his job.

While Mohini realises this is the perfect way to hurt Rudra ... through Paro. Because she is much smarter than Rudra or Paro ... she knows it's not for his job at all.