I have seen many plays in which one constantly feels for the bahu and the saas is continuously being unfair to her son’s wife but this is one play that generates feelings that are completely different. While watching both these episodes I felt for Rafia and Asghari more than anyone else. I must say that there are many girls like Ayza who want their husbands all to themselves and do not stop for a second to think about the family they are married in. It is actually good to see a play which for a change focuses on the problems the boys’ parents and family have to put up with after their sons get married. These two episodes focused more on how Ayza has changed things in Hammad’s house and the way Hammad listens to everything his wife says and completely discredits his family because he is the one who is paying the bills. While there were scenes in these episodes which I wanted to fast forward but I must say there were many scenes that were highly relatable, to a surprising extent. For now these relatable happenings and scenes have to be the reason I continue to watch this play.
The rifts over the servants in both the houses, was something which I am sure many people can relate to. Aima wanting to quit working once she gets married is how many girls think. Although Aima has decided to leave her job once she gets married because she cannot manage her house and work at the same time but I do feel that she should also not work after marriage if she is going to marry someone like Hashim. Hashim is not the perfect husband-to-be in any way at all. He is the kind of person who would make his wife work so that he can get some easy money. There is absolutely nothing wrong with a woman contributing financially after marriage but I think it should be the woman’s decisions whether she wants to work or not and Hashim does seem rather “greedy”. The way he mentioned the car yet again to his colleague even after Aima told him repeatedly that she was not going to ask her parents for the car goes to show his immature thinking and also that he will happily accept whatever he gets from Aima’s parents. By the way the 70 plus package and the pick and drop facility did remind me of Kashaf!
Although Akbari and Ayza tried their level best to ensure that Aima and Hashim do not get married but the proposal was finalized nevertheless. Hammad hardly ever asks Ayza to show his parents some respect and she is allowed to say whatever she wants to about anyone in the house, even daadi. Not only this but he stands up for his wife every time she asks him too and I have to say that I am really looking forward to the time when he realizes just how unfair he is being to his family. It was rather strange that Asghari let Ayza take Humnah out for shopping because she should have known that they will end up buying very expensive things. It is almost as if Hammad’s wedding has opened new avenues for his siblings and Humnah is making the most of it. Another thing that may have been very relatable for many was Humnah’s reaction when she found out that there maybe a joint wedding. I have seen many girls in particular who do not like this idea very much.
It was good to see Aima being happy about the baby who is on the way and the conversation that the two sisters had went to show that even after everything that Ayza has done, Aima holds nothing against her. At the same time Aima held her ground when Aima tries to talk her out of the marriage and that was another conversation which I really enjoyed.
Another extremely relatable scene for me had to be when Daadi was taking out old clothes out of the trunk to gift to Humanh’s in laws and when she said that they just don’t make these clothes anymore…how many times have I heard that before! Seriously this definitely happens and usually it is the mothers or the grandmothers who take out all their old clothes to give to the bride or her In Laws as if they are a treasure and would be considered a very special gift.
Overall, I found these two episodes interesting because of how real some of the scenes were. It really felt like I had seen all this happening somewhere before, around me. I could have enjoyed the play even more if there was a little less repetition and the focus was more on Aima and Ayza and the scenes with the grown ups and their issues were chopped up. I am especially not enjoying the Amna-Akbari confrontations/problems. Right now I am waiting to see what happens once Hashim and Aima get married because I think Aima will really have to work on Hashim in order to change him in a good way.
Fatima Awan.