Thipkyanchi Rangoli – Aatya-Aaji Track Review

This family keeps chanting praises of Appu – Appu this, Appu that,
Let me also see what’s so special about this little cat!
This little cat who is always ready with her paws to scratch me,
What is it that she has won over your hearts with but I haven’t yet been able to see?
Perhaps, it is her unconditional love for you all that doesn’t let her back out from my tasks,
What is she really for you – the equivalent of oxygen masks?
– IAdoreYouCreates

M Y   T A K E 

Hum bhi hai josh mein,
Baatein kar hosh mein,
Yun na aakhein dikha! 

How interesting it is that a new character enters and the whole atmosphere changes, the whole dynamics change, and… the whole vibe changes. 

Binge-watched the last couple of episodes and I was in splits with this new adorable enemy duo – Appu & Aatya-Aaji. Goad Shatru. 

These two seem to be Jethalal and Bhide from the past life. 

Tu sorry mhan.
Nahi tu sorry mhan.
TU sorry mhan.
Mhatla na TU sorry mhan.
Tu.
Tu.
TU.
TU.

I have fallen in love with this cute bickering. Certainly wins over Apurva-Shashank’s bickering for me. This new duo has given not just tough competition to the old enemy duo ( Shishta versus Khadoos ) but also successfully won the competition of cuteness. 

Appu versus Aatya-Aaji rocks hands down . 

I didn’t genuinely expect Aatya-Aaji to change things as much as she has in a matter of just a couple of days. The Kanitkars’ Wada that had witnessed only tears, sorrow and intense fights lately is now being showered in the rain of smiles and healthy bickering again. 

Though Appu and Aatya-Aaji are always ready with the swords of their words to attack each other, it must not be overlooked that the swords are dipped in the honey of love before they slash each other. The love that they don’t see yet but it’s there. 

Their first meeting was amusing. I really appreciate how thoughtfully the eve-teasing bit was added to introduce the conflict right at the start because of the different perspectives of Apurva and Aatya-Aaji. 

The guys and their dialogues sucked. Got me pretty annoyed and enraged. And that’s the win because that was what those sick dialogues were supposed to make one feel. 

Apurva being Apurva unapologetically stepped up to intervene and help when she caught those guys harassing the two girls over there. 

When Aatya-Aaji joins the scene and calls out those guys, Apurva has this expression of contentment on her face until those guys leave and Aatya-Aaji starts blaming the short clothes of women. 

While Aatya-Aaji’s whole stance that women give men a chance to harass them by wearing short clothes did put me off, I appreciate how she chose to call out the guys in front of them and then touch the clothes topic when they were gone though.

Of course, that’s a very problematic perspective but it has been here for a long time now. Even today, a section of entitled people blame women’s clothing instead of men’s sick mentality for the abuse women are subjected to. 

There are several ways to touch a topic. The Thipkyanchi Rangoli team seems to be focussing more on handling it with caresses of fun like they did during the secret bai track, marriage counseling track, and now this women’s freedom bit. I actually like how they manage to introduce intense conflict which often gets resolved in a very light manner that doesn’t seem unrealistic. 

The whole separation after you are a mistake was intense but what followed it? We all know what did. Hilarious DaDu’s counseling session. Romantic dates of the new girlfriend-boyfriend duo in town, Mr. and Mrs. Kanitkar. Sweet promises. 

Even now, the Wada track has been quite depressing, and what’s following it? We all know what is. Aaji-Sasu versus Naat-Sun who are fighting like they are five-year-olds. Incredible relationship progression. Shashank getting more and more comfortable with intimacy but going slow while introducing Apurva to it (the balloon scene is what I am referring to here). The Kukki Gang’s plans that backfire because not just their opponent is strong this time but also there is this gupther around them that they are unaware of. The gupther named Smart Shashank Kanitkar.

It becomes tough to watch a track that has just angst because a lot of people who watch the show already deal with a lot on a daily basis. Those who treat Thipkyanchi Rangoli as an escape to protect their sanity are bound to struggle when that very escape becomes the reason for their mental exhaustion.  

Having said that, it’s unrealistic to expect the show to have only pleasant tracks. If we’ve appreciated the show for being realistic all along, then we should always keep in mind that as a realistic show, it will have tracks that might disturb you because that’s how real life is. 

But that doesn’t mean that you’ve to stick to it when it bothers you either. You don’t have to. The priority has to be clear. If you are not just a viewer but rather a fan, it might feel tempting to offer your support to the show in whatever little ways possible which includes watching even when it deeply upsets you and adds to your miseries but it’s always a good idea to remember that the first person you need to be loyal to is your own self. Everything comes later. 

Coming back to the adorable enemy duo – their second meeting was even more hilarious than the first one. 

Tu… JA ithun.
TU ja ithun.
Mi ya gharachi malkin aahe.
Malkin? Tond baghitlay ka aarshat?

xD. The only weird thing was how long Shashank and everyone took to shush Apurva and tell her who she was talking to. They legit watched it silently for too long but I am going to assume that they were too taken aback to react. 

When Apurva got to know who she was talking to though! 😂 Apurva Vartak Kanitkar who is known for her uncha swar literally struggled to utter a single word. And the turned-down handshake though… haha. 

Baby, bring it on! 

I can’t believe the Kanitkars actually rushed to their room, leaving the adorable enemy duo alone behind despite seeing their fiery equation. Shashank kept looking back at them while leaving though as if unsure if one atom named Apurva and one atom named Aatya-Aaji were going to result in an explosive molecule when added together. 

While Kanitkars chose to hide the Wada matter from Aatya-Aaji, Appu and Aatya-Aaji clashed again.

Kay zala aata? Hmm? Aata kay problem aahe? Hi sagli mazi… aapli manasa aahe na. Tyanna mi arey mhanen nahi tar karey mhanen. Tula kay problem aahe?
Arey mi evdha bolle tari ti mala tuch mhante.
Aata tuzyashi boltana mi tula tuch mhannar aahe na. Mi mhannar aahe ka? 

Well, Apurva had a valid point. 😂 

And there starts the war of words again.

Mi mi mi.
Tu tu tu.
Tu tu tu.
Mi mi mi.
Wand.
Undgi.
Mi swata tuza trunk gheun, asa tuzya hatala dharun tula bus madhe basavun denar aahe. Chhan bye bye pan karel pan tyachyaadhi tu mala sorry mhanaychas.
Nakhaevdhi porgi. Mi ila sorry mhanu? Adlay maza khetar.
Tu jar mala sorry mhanali nahi tar mi tula kuthehi jau denar nahiye. Adlay maza te he… khatara.

Oof. Just oof. Apurva’s I’ll come to see you off and even wave bye-bye though – hilarious. Flaunts Apurva’s transparency for yet another time. She clearly doesn’t like Aatya-Aaji and she lets go of no chance to make it visible. Sure, that might seem rude though but it is what it is. I prefer you say it on the face than cribbing behind the back or just maintain distance. I am not fond of people who talk nicely to you in front of you and indulge in back-bitching. Certainly not the trait that I appreciate. Aatya-Aaji is no less either. 

While we did come up with the possibility of the one who had deliberately called Aatya-Aaji to intervene in the Wada matter, Shashank was not even the last on the list. My bet was on Suva-Aai or Amey but it turned out that it was Shashank but now that I think about it, it makes sense. While I do believe that Shashank is practical and why his helplessness had to seem genuine that there was nothing they could do to save the Wada, it still felt odd. 

The way he just gave up by the end felt odd but now I see why. It is still weird why he left everything with Aatya-Aaji though. At least now when she claims that the Wada belongs to her and she has already sold it to someone else – it does make sense. 

Aatya-Aaji, Naat-Sun, and the Tasks

Aatya-Aaji’s tasks have been quite interesting in my personal opinion. Apart from the Gomutra part that undeniably put me off, the rest worked pretty fine for me. Any kind of forcing puts me off so regardless of how healthy and beneficial Gomutra is seen as nobody should be forced to drink it is what I feel. 

Aatya-Aaji has thrown Apurva out of the comfort zone that she has been in almost all her life. Quite often, life does that to us, doesn’t it? It demands… rather forces us to get out of our comfort zone time and again so I am glad Apurva is learning to deal with unfavorable circumstances because that’s going to be more beneficial in the long run however annoying it may seem at the moment.

Apurva has been the pampered kid first and now, the pampered daughter-in-law. I see the whole task thing as a blessing in disguise for Apurva that she herself doesn’t realize how truly she needs. 

It’s not my point if Aatya-Aaji is right or wrong. My focus is on how these tasks are actually beneficial to Apurva.

The Govrya Task – From the surface, it has no significance whatsoever. It seems foolish to make her do it and while Ayurveda lists the benefits of cow dung, I see it beyond that. For me, the whole task was about making Apurva do something that she has never done in her life and might have never done otherwise. For me, it’s not about making the cow dung cakes but rather putting her in a tough spot that she clearly despises being in and watching her succeed. Succeed in something that she literally tried for the first time and nobody actually thought it would be possible for her. 

The Thaaleepeeth Task – Cooking is not a luxury but a necessity. Everyone should know how to cook basic meals. We keep hearing these days that women don’t need to know how to cook and stuff like that because apparently, they see it as feminism. I don’t. It’s not about men or women. It’s not a gender thing. It’s about being self-reliant. Sure, you can earn millions and keep maids for you but we all just recently saw during the pandemic that even that can fail; how there can be situations when you cannot even order food from outside. What would you do in such situations? Sure, I don’t disagree that you can manage most of the time but can you disagree that there might be times when unfavorable circumstances arise that leave you with no choice? Why I say cooking is not a luxury but a necessity. Sure, you cannot not cook on a daily basis but you should know how to make it when you need to. 

So for me, asking Apurva to make Thaaleepeeths was a way to push her into the kitchen. Apurva barely cooks ( she doesn’t necessarily have to either ) and I am sure, Aatya-Aaji’s has sensed it by now. Despite knowing that she probably can’t cook, just pushing her to try and get familiar with the kitchen stuff regardless of what the end result would be was the purpose in my eyes. 

The Maun-Vrat Task – If the Maun-Vrat seems a very unfair task or even torture for that matter to you then probably you are yet to realize the power of silence. A great book by the way. Do read if you can. Many people practice a specific period of silence every day. It’s a way to increase self-control. It allows your mind the stability that it lacks with the constant chatter. It helps you with discipline. Being quiet for a while every day offers more benefits than we’ve probably ever realized before. 

Someone like Apurva would have never gone on a silence fast ever in her life had it not been for this task. 

Apurva is getting to learn the things a lot of us pay for learning. Sure, I am not dismissing the main thing – the willingness. 

But life doesn’t ask for your willingness when it throws you into circumstances to teach you lessons that you might have never learned otherwise. 

This whole track was meant to be fun in my personal opinion. I am not saying Aatya-Aaji is right. I am not saying she is wrong either. It’s not about right or wrong. Moreover, what’s right and what’s wrong will vary from person to person. It’s your perspective that makes something right and something wrong and everyone has a different perspectives which is usually heavily influenced by their life experiences. 

I haven’t had the experiences that you have had in your life so I can’t see something the way you see it and vice versa so the viewers are bound to have different opinions on this track and every opinion is right from their perspective even though it might not be right when seen from your perspective. 

You cannot make people look at a situation the way you look at it. You can only state your perspective and hear theirs if you wish but that’s about it. There is zero scope of argument here simply because while the situation stays the same, our perspectives differ. 

A lot of family-oriented people have had someone like Aatya-Aaji in their life. They say and make us do a lot of weird things that make no sense to us but we do them nonetheless. Not out of pressure but out of love and affection. Simply because we acknowledge that their thought process, though may not be right, is different. This doesn’t include obnoxious things, please. I am talking about the routine things that many of you must be familiar with. 

In the whole track, if there is someone who is a disappointment then it is Shashank Kanitkar. He is actually seeking fun at his wife’s plight. I expected him to help her with the Thaaleepeeths. Even the ladies gang of Kanitkars did everything possible to help Apurva but Shashank? Ugh. He didn’t even linger around when she was cooking. How disappointing! How frustratingly disappointing! 

Looks like he has forgotten that Apurva is being the generous wife and daughter-in-law who is choosing to do the tasks that she doesn’t need to do. Those tasks are extremely difficult for her and exhausting her like never before but she is still choosing to do them – because she wants to save the Wada. The Wada that is slipping out of their hands because of Shashank and Dada-Kaka. 

Looks like he has truly forgotten everything! 

Forget about admiring Bayko, he is not even keen on helping her. Entitled human! 

Apurva Chooses What She Does

Unless you are of the kind to victimize yourself, you acknowledge that you have a choice – in the majority of cases if not every. We are always making choices. When we choose to do something – there could be several reasons behind it. Choices are not always made out of willingness but also out of need at times. 

You don’t like eating healthy but you don’t want to fall ill so you quit junk food and improve your eating habits. That choice is out of need and not out of willingness.  

You don’t like exercising but you want to stay fit and in shape so you make it a point to hit the gym or exercise thrice a week. That choice is out of need and not out of willingness. 

You procrastinate and don’t study till the last minute but realize that it’s important so you change your stance and get into studying even when you don’t want to. That choice is out of need and not out of willingness.

Because the need matters to you. 

There is no denying that Apurva wanted to do none of the tasks and adamantly refused initially but she changed her decision and made the choice of doing the tasks because the need matters to her. The need to save the Wada. 

Doing tasks given by Aatya-Aaji is Apurva’s choice not out of willingness but out of need. 

Kanitkars – The Supporters or Cheaters? 

Amey supported Apurva in the Saaree bit. Tila saadi nesta yet navti tarihi tine nesli. Tuza maan rakhnyasathi. Suva-Aai was the silent but evident supporter here, subtly agreeing and cheering for her daughter-in-law who was making savage sense while countering Aatya-Aaji. Suva-Aai was literally the shining star along with Apurva in this scene, wasn’t she?

Mai in the Gomutra bit – Aatya-Bai, raahu dya ho. Tila savay nahi. Vitthu Baba and Babi Aatya when Apurva was trying to escape – var pal. Tikde ja.

Suva-Aai before the take care of Saguna task – Aika na, lahan aahe ti. Tine hi asli kama kadhi nahi keleli. Gaila sadha haat nahi lavla tine. Tumchya Sagunala kasa kay sambhalnar? 

Mai before the Thaaleepeeth task – Mi karte na saglyansathi Thaaleepeetha. Suva-Aai – Appu nako, Appu nako. Tila kahi nahi yet. Mai chya haathchi thaaleepeetha khaun bagha. Itki masta kartaat na. Mi karel na madat tyanna. 

The ladies gang helped Apurva with the Thaleepeeths. Surprisingly, even Aparna Kanitkar did.

Sure, they annoyed Apurva by teasing her and laughing at her during the Maun-Vrat but all of that seemed pretty healthy to me. More or less similar to how Apurva has teased and laughed at Shashank from the very beginning with her Kukki Gang. Apurva didn’t seem to have taken offense either. She has planned to take revenge though and rightfully so. 

Ghya hasun jitka hasaycha aahe. Nantar tumhi aahat aani mi aahe. 

Cheering for you already, Appu! 

The Only Idiot Kanitkar – Shashank Kanitkar

Shaking my head.

The man had so many golden chances to shine as a husband in this track but what did he choose to do? Nothing.  Nothing at all. I feel Aatya-Aaji allowed him to help Apurva to bring them closer and increase their understanding as a couple by making them work together ( at least I would like to believe that for the time being until revealed otherwise) but Mr. Idiot Kanitkar just stood aside. 

The man had the audacity to laugh at his wife who is literally moving earth and heaven just for him and his family. Slow claps. 

Shashank was appalling in the milk task. Appalling! 

Tula kay watata mala doodh kadhta yet asel? – Then why do you think that she is an expert at it?

Science madhe kay mala gaicha doodh kasa kadhaycha he shikavat hote? – Ah so you think they taught her that in B.A.? 

Institute chya aivaji mi gothyat jato kamala? – Ti jate ka mag? 

Kahihi bolto ha manus! Kahihi! Almost made me wish that he needs to shut his mouth and keep the Maun-Vrat instead of Apurva. 

It was a relief to have him acknowledge that his wife is going out of the way and tolerating all the discomfort so that their family doesn’t have to face troubles but that’s about it. 

Bottom Line 

I think I might have been offended if Aatya-Aaji was actually avenging Apurva and had her deliberate intention been to trouble Apurva but no, I don’t really feel that’s the case here. I no longer feel that Aatya-Aaji even dislikes Apurva for that matter. I cannot explain why but that’s just what I feel. I feel she has a deliberate intention behind everything that she is making Apurva do. A deliberate intention not out of revenge but for Apurva’s good at least in her mind – she has it, I firmly believe. Aatya-Aaji doesn’t seem to be targeting Apurva. Nah. Doesn’t seem like that to me. She clearly has something going on in her head which I believe ia in everyone’s best interest. 

Most Heartwarming Moment 

Kanitkar women acknowledging and admiring Apurva for everything that she’s doing for them! Them getting concerned, mad, and overwhelmed all at the same time! Calling out Aatya-Aaji in her absence and even on her face for her behavior with Apurva! Proudly singing praises of their daughter-in-law nobody can ever instigate them against! Flaunting how their daughter-in-law is the best they could ever have! The absolute best!

Disclaimer – This is sincerely my perspective. You can have a totally different one. <3