I watched the trailer for “Sweet Karam Coffee” and was immediately hooked. So when the show released, naturally I started watching it as soon as I could. The first two episodes in, I was completely taken over by the plot and the music. Over the
next episodes, I experienced something I am struggling to articulate.
I have always been the feminist raring to go even at the slightest chance of injustice. The reason has been my childhood conditioning. Sadly, I have never been able to do anything about it. The story of Kaveri closely resonated with me, having seen my mother go through the injustice of being taken for granted. All the time. It is a long-standing guilt that I am unable to do anything meaningful about it. But watching Kaveri’s character unfold in the show made me realise more than anything that any change can only come from the person themselves. No one else can help someone who is accepting of the situation, however bad it is. To bring out the voice, to stand up for themselves, to let the world know that it’s been a long time and that it’s enough! You can enable them to see why it is wrong and why they need to find their voice but that’s as far as you can go.
If Kaveri’s character taught me the futility of fighting someone else’s battles, Sundari’s character taught me that you are never too old to go after what you want or who you used to be. If that matters to you! She had treasured that wild side of her for so long without losing the essence of it. That is something! It’s a shame that she was not “allowed” to embrace who she truly was all those years both by her world and herself. In the end, I felt that the creators have tried too hard to avoid the cliche and place a plot twist with Sundari that it left me a bit confused. But after processing her story timeline and how things could have been back then, I could understand it better. Her steady character arc was mostly predictable for me yet I still enjoyed it very much as it is something of a fantasy, something I am yet to witness in my real life and people in it.
The Nivi character was a very familiar one for me, understandably. Having enjoyed most of the privileges she has, there’s nothing new. I just feel that she stands on the shoulders of giants to have those privileges. Even her problems are privileged problems when compared to what Kaveri and Sundari have gone through but significant, nevertheless, in order to keep progressing over generations.
If you see the three women as a linear representation of a single woman over the years, it could feel like we have come far. However, it is not fair to generalise and more importantly, even with the generalisation, it is not enough. There are still miles to go before we can sleep.
Sweet Karam Coffee – Tastefully flavoured, some teachable moments, does not disappoint.
Until later 🙂
