Woh Pehli Baar

Mausam badle… Zamana badla…

Khato ki sihayi WhatsApp ke texts ban gaye,

Purani nazm besure alfaaz ban gaye,

Internet ki iss duniya me jab har koi ek khokli duniya me khoya hai,

Humne aaj phir yaadon ka woh purana sandook tatola hai…

And so began the tale of Naina Agarwal which took all of us down the lane of nostalgia. The poignant introduction of Ahmedabad being a slow-paced, laidback town made me miss the place I had grown up in. What touches the heart immediately is that there is no rush to introduce the leads, but rather a stage is set where the essence of the golden old days is conveyed to us. It makes us realize the simplicity of life in those days. It makes us miss our home, our school, our friends. It makes us want to rediscover our own memories.

When Naina’s hand touched the gates of Pragati Vidhya Ka Mandir, 30 years later, you feel the urge to go check on your own school… I wondered if my school still had the same brick structure, if the gates still squeaked, if my classroom still had that one broken pane.

The older Naina introducing us to her own younger self as a sixteen year old girl with small dreams and big hopes to fulfill them, makes us feel that, yes we were like that too. She truly mentions that in those days our reach in life was very less…

Bas wahi saat circles – ghar, school, dosti, pyaar, umeedein, laparwahi aur ladakpan.

We didn’t have hundreds of Facebook friends or thousands of Twitter followers… All we had in those days were our family, a handful of friends, hopes of future shining in our eyes, and dreams of love in our heart… Each day was limited to these boundaries, and yet none of it felt like an obligation or captivity.

Aaj ki kamyaab Naina Agarwal ki zindagi ke bahot se sach tab sirf ek solah saal ki ladki ke pagal sapne hua karte the.

The story here instills a hope in viewers that whatever happened to that sixteen year old Naina Agarwal was good and she is happy now. People now-a-days are so busy every minute in some or the other thing, trying to achieve one thing after another, that when we read a book or watch a movie or a show, we want to escape… And this show promised us of a light-hearted tale with a happy ending since the beginning. But along with that, it was conveyed that this also was a tale of change… Just like Naina says 1989 was the last year she topped, because her story – the real story of her life began from 1990

Yeh Un Dinon Ki Baat Hai…

Jab naa mobile the, naa internet,

Naa WhatsApp ke messages, naa Snapchat ke stories,

Naa Facebook ke relationship status, naa Twitter pe apne pyaar ki numaaish.

And then the melodious tune for ‘Gazab ka hai din’ starts and you know that you are in for a treat… The story which promised the feels of 90s stood up to its promise in the first episode itself. You can’t stop appreciating the beautiful song and the differences that are highlighted as Naina cycles to her school. How important and precious it was to talk to our distant relatives or friends because there was no free video call… How unbelievable it was for people to gauge the immense success that would be achieved in international cricket by Sachin Tendulkar… The importance of an additional 15 Rupees that people had to pay as fine in case they were delayed in returning the video cassettes… Every city was proud of their local food because people didn’t crave for burger joints… How painters used to spend so much time and effort in designing the billboards for movies…

Aamir Khan perfectionist nahi tha, Shahrukh Khan King Khan nahi tha, aur Salman Khan bhaijaan nahi sirf Prem tha.

You can’t help but lose yourself in the charm of the golden 90s. And young Naina Agarwal’s day begins with fresh dreams and new hope. Her character is positioned across to us as a simple girl next door with family values, intelligence, and determination. Yet, we can see the hidden fire beneath the simple looks as she uses her knowledge and polite behavior to show a bragging Kamya her true place. She is determined enough to fight for that one mark because she doesn’t believe that she hasn’t topped.

Kyunki use apni kabiliyat keval pata hi nahi hai, use uspe bharosa bhi hai.

The simple statement uttered by Shanti teacher in the context of her marks gives us a glimpse of how determined and persistent Naina can be. And we know that in future this very trait would be essential for her in her love life. And then she introduces the person who was the reason behind the change in her life since 1990.

Ek main thi jo ek mark ke liye mari jaa rahi thi… Aur ek woh tha jise apni jaan ki parvah hi nahi thi. Dedh-hazar mile dur, Nainital mein, mujhse bilkul alag, bilkul pagal, bilkul impractical, ek ladka tha… Sameer.

The fondness in her voice as she introduces him makes you realize that this tale is really going to be worth it… Also, as our show has been very clever in foreshadowing the future, this repeat watch makes me realize that the difference highlighted by Naina between her and Sameer in the first episode are the same ones that would be highlighted by Vishakha in future when she would meet Naina.

Sameer Maheshwari is highlighted as a popular charming hero, who knows he is good looking and basks in the glory as everyone screams his name. He is adventurous and careless, living life on the edge, not abiding by rules and not worried about the consequences. That was the first layer of his character that was shown to us…

The next layer is revealed when he saves the very friends who ditched him on seeing principal’s car. His friends are worried about themselves, but Sameer assures them that he wouldn’t let any harm fall on them. And this sets the base of yaaro ka yaar Sameer Maheshwari… A boy who can do anything for his friends.

And then comes the colorful Agarwal family that guarantees a mad ride in future… A Chachi who is like a mother to Naina, and who believes herself to be at par with Rekha. A conservative and overbearing Taiji. A strict and orthodox Tauji… A humble, loving and open-minded Chachaji… A bubbly and carefree sister…

Another layer of Naina is also revealed as she refused to lie about Preeti’s marks but guides her about changing her marks with ball-pen instead of ink-pen. And Preeti mentions that Naina doesn’t lie but if and when she does she could be a very smooth and convincing liar.

On one side the show began with the charm of 90s, and then at this point it also explains the certain drawbacks that were prominent in that era. How every parameter in a girl’s life was set on her ability to get married in future, how the topic of dowry was freely discussed and encouraged, how academic achievements were secondary compared to household skills, how looks mattered more than intelligence… Also, we get to know that Naina doesn’t have her mother… And even in her own family that is a topic that is used to taunt and scold her. Both Preeti and Naina are caught dancing to the tunes of Sridevi’s famous Chandni, but the bigger share of admonishment falls on Naina as Tauji tells her that they expected better of her since she was brought up without a mother and such actions on her part can cause her to not get a proper boy for marriage.

Koi ek aisa tha jiske liye maine jhooth bhi bola aur naa jaane kya kya nahi kiya.

The depth of Naina’s feelings is visible here as she gives us a glimpse of future in her words… That someone who changes everything, and for whom she would change… That someone was Sameer who ran away from Nainital and was pulled by destiny to Ahmedabad, in the very same market where Naina arrived with her family.

You can feel the excitement building as they crossed paths but didn’t see each other, yet Naina feels something… a gentle gust of wind indicating the change that was about to come in her life. Such is the bond created by destiny that she could sense him even before she saw him. While he was oblivious to the cards fate was laying out, she was unknowingly going to be a person who would make the otherwise carefree Sameer Maheshwari stop and think about his actions.

You can’t help but laugh as Sameer trips over the stone, and the chewing gum flies from his mouth straight on Naina’s hair… And accompanying that is the peppy music of tohfa tohfa… He stares at her, shocked by the accident… And she senses him once again… His expressions are that of a guilty person as he quickly leaves from there without confronting her, but then pauses and looks back… A smile lights up his face as he sees her enjoying the simple pleasure of pani-puri… Shaking his head, he decides not to give her a shock, and so forewarns her about the gum in her hair and apologizes through a note…

Kehte hai logo ko aksar pyaar me thokar lagti hai, lekin yeh shayad pehli baar hua hoga ke ek thokar lagne se pyaar ki shuruwat hui.

The ending captures the uniqueness of this love story, and makes us eager to continue witnessing this magic on our screens.

I still remember the first day I met you… That’s the essence of the first episode. Do you remember the first day you met the one you love?