Part-4: Strength and support.

Part-4: Strength and support.

If anyone were to ask Lakhan Singh about his greatest treasure, he would say it was his family. His family consisted of 4 people, first was his first and last love,Chandini his wife, His daughter Chanchal, who just like her name has a lot of restless.. but ironically has a calming effect on others, His son-in-law, Abhinav who became his greatest strength and last but not the least his granddaughter Anchal who is ruled the house.

Being an ex jawaan he was ready to face any kind of situations except when it comes to his family's problems. His wife Chandini was much more of an expert in this field  He never had the courage to see them sad. so whenever there was a fight in the family, he would let Chandini take control.  But today, he knew that he had to be the one to go and talk to Abhinav.

He could see Abhinav standing near the lamp. His back was turned towards him. That shoulder took the responsibility of the whole family. It never shook..But today, It looked so weak.

"Abhinav?"

As soon as Abhinav heard his Papaji's voice he turned and hugged him.  Lakhan hugged him back. Abhinav have hugged him like this only once before. Almost 7 years have passed since that night. The Abhinav, who lost every hope, traveled only to hug him that night. Only Lakhan knew, How much Abhinav was broken that day.

"Abhir is angry at you?" Lakhan asked as Abhinav calmed down after some time

"Papaji... I would have not felt this terrible if he was angry at me... He is my son.. He has all the rights to be angry at me.. but.. I saw his eyes.. Papaji.. They were sad.. They were really sad..."

"Abhinav putr"

"Papaji... I am not a nice father.. Arree!!... I not even worthy of calling myself a father.. My son was hurt all this time.. and I couldn't even be with him.. I couldn't console him.."

"Abhinav.. Control yourself first... Sit down.."

They both sat on the charpoy.

"Now tell me what happened?"

"Papaji.. He was really hurt... And All I could understand was that he couldn't properly share his hurt."

"Abhinav..."

"He didn't come to Nainital.. because he knew I was her.. It was just a coincidence... If that coincidence never happened? then he would have been so miserable and I wouldn't even know about that.. I would have continued to live my life happily  with everyone here."

"I should not have left him alone..." Abhinav cried.

"At least 3 years ago... I should have insisted on meeting him... I should not have waited.  I am not a nice father... "

"But Abhinav, it was not your fault... They told you.."

"No Papaji... I should have gone for him... I failed... No matter what they said, I should have prioritized him... I am a really bad father... "

"Abhinav..."

"He was suffering all alone... and here I was living a happy life... He must have felt betrayed.. as he should... I have betrayed him..."

"When Akshara and I decided to annul our marriage.. we decided to help Nikkiji adjust to the change... No matter how much I felt bad... I showed him a brave face... I thought... If it was painful for me... Then, I thought it would be 100 times worse for him... but we decided to help him get through this.. to help him move forward in his life... I failed... I couldn't help him.. "

"Abhinav... You were helping him... Of only the accident didn't happen..."

"Papaji... I cannot hide behind that excuse..."

"Papaji.. did you know... I always knew what he wanted, what was in his mind even before he could talk... And I knew what he wanted... I could understand his every heartbeat. He would share his every single thought.... discuss his dreams... tell me all about his fears... But now... It feels as if he is far away from me..."

Lakhan patted his back...

"No... It's not him who went far... It was me... It was all my fault... All these years.. he would have wanted me beside him...there would have been times when he just wanted to cry his heart out... But poor boy.. he couldn't say anything... How suffocating his life must have been... He must have hidden all his tears from all to not make anyone sad..."

"When it would have gotten unbearable for him, he would have cried in a corner... voicelessly.. trying his best not to disturb anyone... All those times.. he must have called me... Painfully requested me to come to him... He would have wished to get a hug... But. He never got any hug..."

Abhinav hugged Lakhan again because it became unbearable.

"Papaji. I used to say to everyone that I knew my Nikkiji the most... inside out...but here I failed... I didn't even sense the pain of my son... I failed Papaji. I failed. How can I call myself his father."

Abhinav continued to cry... Lakhan said softly

"Well, that is the catch here Putr. We parents can fail but we cannot call quits. We, parents, have to keep winning.. only if we win, our kids can remain happy... It is a lifelong exam. One exam after another... But we still can not quit.. we can never quit... Putr..."

Abhinav looked at his Papaji

"Putr. You have failed this papa exam... But now you have to win... You have to pass the exam... You should work hard... not for you... No... never for you... "

"Parents always win for their kids. You should also win for Abhir... What do you say Putr? Do you want to give this exam?"

Abhinav looked at His papaji... His papaji calls him his 'strength' but the actual truth is if it was not for Papaji.. he would have lost all the strength to live...This bond between them just deepened all these 7 years... Who would have thought that this bond started because of  "free Wifi"? Abhinav smiled as he recalled the past. Yes, Papaji was right... The moment he took Abhir in his arms, in the hospital, he became Abhir's father... How can he quit?

"Yes, Papaji... I will give the exam again"

"But Putr,... the syllabus has changed.. the questions will be a lot harder than before..."

Yes, Abhir has changed... He is no longer the 6-year-old kid who wanted to be an astronaut.

He is a young man now... He must have changed his dreams... He must have different experiences... He must have many different things which he would not want to share with his 'Papa' anymore...

"Yes, Paapaji... Abhir must have changed... but love for him is still the same... We will find a way.."

Lakhan was proud of his son... This is his 'Abhinav' The one who faced everything but did not break down.

"I'll go and meet him tomorrow itself..."

"I think..Putr... You should give him some time...He just saw his father, whom he thought was dead. He should take some time to think through..."

"But what if he leaves Nainital tomorrow in anger and confusion."

"Then go behind him... Go and find him... Tell him everything... You are a father... you cannot quit.. This time, Take control of the situation by yourself.. Do not depend on others..."

Abhinav's face soured.

"Chanchal called them here"

"Then you should all talk.. delaying the talk would only increase the confusion for the kid."

"I will... talk to them... I was not in a good mood when I was talking to them."

"I know... Chanchal was angry... I could hear her from outside the house."

"I should go and apologize to her..."

"Good decision...A husband who apologizes quickly lives a longer and happier life.. That is why I apologize to Chandiniji, the moment she looks angry.. I don't even want to know why she is angry... I just apologize"

Abhinav laughed... Laughing after crying so much... feels like exercise to the face. He hugged his Papaji one more time, before they went towards their home.

*****

Abhir woke up.. but he didn't open his eyes. He felt something heavy and warm on his chest.  He had a dream about their Kasauli home. The time when Papa made a tent for him.. They worked from afternoon till night to complete that tent. After so many trial and errors, they finally got it right... His chest still felt uncomfortable... He guessed he was still affected by him...But he was feeling happy in the dream. He was happy with his Papa.  His chest still felt uncomfortable. .'Wait a minute' He thought.. This uncomfortable feeling is a physical feeling  

He opened his eyes and  saw a ball of bushy hair on his chest.

"Damn it!! Roohi.. Find a pillow " he pushed her head away mercilessly.   Roohi  rolled towards the end of the bed... she stirred but  did not wake up... Abhir now irritated that he had to wake up early because of his sister.  maybe he even had some hangover.

Shivu was sleeping on the sofa. He looked at the beer cans .. Roohi couldn't even drink 2 full Beer cans.

What would Papa feel if he knew that he started drinking beer at age of 15. Well... he thought.. I don't care about what he thinks about me.

He got out of the bed, It was almost 10 am.. ""Damn it.. Why did I wake up this early" He muttered.

He looked outside the window. Somewhere out there.. there would be a  building , which Papa calls his house. He must have been happy all this time.  Abhir wondered about the wife. Who would be Papa's wife. What was their story? Did they love each other?

Abhir smirked... Love.. He couldn't imagine his papa in a romantic setting.

No... he could.. His papa loved his mother.. He knew.. He saw the man crying all alone on the day of annulment... At first, Abhir didn't know why his mother couldn't love his papa just like she loved his dad... But now he knew, Love is different..  He loved his Dad.. He loved his dad for being the support when Papa died. He tried many different things to cheer him up.. He baked a cake and burned his hand in process.. All his efforts to cheer him up  may not have worked.. But Abhir could no longer pretend that he could not see the love his dad had for him. How can he not love the person who loved him. But he could never forget Papa.. In fact, the more he tried to forget.. the more he remembered. Maybe mom also felt the same.

Dad even hung a swing in their front yard.. which Roohi broke because she was jealous.. "God!! we both were so stupid back then.." Abhir whispered as he remembered that he cut her hair for revenge.

He looked at Roohi, she was sleeping at the edge of the bed.. She could fall down any moment.. Abhir considered for some time..but decided not to do anything. She was the reason he woke up this early. Maybe he is still stupid.

Shivu stirred in his sleep.  Poor Shivu.. He was already the pulled like a tug of war's rope by his parents, Even then, he would come with peace treaty between his brother and sister.

"Wow!!" Abhir surprised at past, "Shivu was actually really sweet child... Can't believe he is the same one who kicked be in the  shins yesterday"

Roohi and Shivu.. somehow.. fighting and apologizing they became support system for each other. No one knew what exactly happened between them but somehow this bond just became more stronger. If Roohi and Shivu were not there, he may have became mad. Well, they also need this bond. For some time the Birla house was not a hose of doctors but the house for custody lawyers. The files were left in the drawing rooms. Many times the lawyers slept in the drawing room and guest room. Shivu's one was really bad. It went for one full year. Shefali taiji and Parth tauji were not at all ready to compromise.. But the shortest and messiest one was with Roohi, Birlas v/s Dr Arohi Bundela.  When Arohi maasi said that she wanted to leave India and settle with her new husband Mr. Yash Bundela and her daughter Roohi, shift to London. Things went so wrong. That was also the year Parth Tauji died.. Maybe it was because of that. Everyone reacted extremely.  The constant fighting.. The bickering.. And then another tragedy.... No wonder Roohi cries at the drop of the hat.

What went wrong?  Abhir thought.

A knock on the door stopped Abhir from thinking more.

"Abhir, Shivu... How long are you all going to sleep?" He could hear Krish from that side of the door.

Abhir opened the door. "Come on!! let's eat breakfast.." Krish said entering the room without even saying a hi.

"Yeah.. Let's wake up them up.."

Abhir the hit roohi with a pillow.. "Wake up!!" And Krish poured water on Shivu's face.

Roohi stirred but Shivu woke up with a jolt.

"Dammit Krish.. I was dreaming of killing you.. Don't encourage me to fulfill my dreams.."

Abhir went to brush his teeth while the still irritated Krish looked around.

"Abhir I need to use Washroom"

"Use the one in Krish's room... I am using it.."

Maybe Shivu really need to use washroom as he left the room without any more arguments.

Krish's stomach growled. Only if Roohi also woke up. Hunger made him really irritatable.

"Roohi.." He called. It did not work so he called her again and again.

Roohi then stirred and her head was about to fall, but krish caught it instinctively, then he pushed her back to the bed. Roohi's face was..really..really..

"Why is she still not awake?" Abhir said as he saw Roohi still sleeping. He saw Krish leaving fast.

"And what happened to you?"

"Soft!!"

"What?"

"I am hungry Abhir!!! I am going.. You all can come whenever you want..." Krish said in an unnecessary angry voice. He was so angry that his whole face was red.  Krish closed the door with a bang.

"Well, Krish is really a drama queen when he is hungry..." Abhir shrugged. Krish could never stay hungry even in their boarding school.. "Hey!! Roohi get up..."

*****

Anchal woke up and looked around. "Papa!!" She shouted.

"What happened Meethiji?" Abhinav asked as soon as he got inside.

"Today you don't have school right? You can sleep some more..."

Anchal signaled her  father to come near. When Abhinav came near she stood on the bed.

"Is it still hurting?" She askedd she looked at her father's badage on his forehead.

"Arre Meethiji.. There was nothing serious about it..just a small scratch.. It is you mummy..  she didn't know how to bandage.. that is why she put this much on my forehead..."

"Really?" Anchal looked at her father.

"Ask your mummy..."

"Papa.. Why did Abhir Bhaiyya push you.. You love him so much.."  She said softly

Abhinav could see that his daughter was hurt by her brother's action.

"Meethiji... you can say..that you felt bad..."

"I really felt bad... Why did Abhir Bhaiyya did that? I don't like him..."

Abhinav made her sit on his lap. "Meethiji... did you know when Abhir Bhaiyya was your age, what he did?"

Meethiji shook

"He kicked a muddy football at my customer because he thought that the customer was cheating me"

"He did that?"

"Yeah, And not only that he stole his muffler, bit the customer's hand and also painted the customer's hotel room with spray paint..."

"Then did you punish him?"

"Yes, Abhir Bhaiyya's Mother and I made Abhir apologize to the customer..."

"Abhir Bhaiyya was really bad boy..."

"Nope... If Abhir Bhaiyya was really a bad boy then, he would not have apologized. But Abhir bhaiyya did.. because he realized his mistakes. Abhir Bhaiyya was really angry at the customer because he thought the customer was bad to me..."

"When Abhir Bhaiyya loves someone.. he would like to protect that person a lot.. Abhir Bhaiyya always thinks about others.. He was like that from childhood."

"Then why...." Anchal was about to ask

"Because Papa hurt him first."

Anchal was shocked. "You hurt Abhir Bhaiyya?"

"Yes, Abhir Bhaiyya was hurt because of me.."

"But I did not see you hurting him..."

"That is the problem.. Meethiji... Even I didn't know He was hurting... But he was hurt... really hurt.. here" and Abhinav pointed towards her heart.

"When Abhir Bhaiyya got hurt from the person he loved and trusted the most.. so of course, he will get angry.. He should get angry.. But most importantly he was sad... very very sad.. so whatever he did yesterday was... "

"was because he was hurt?" Anchal completed.

Abhinav nodded.

"Papa.. You should say sorry to Abhir bhaiyya.. And Abhir bhaiyya should also say sorry to you.. " Anchal said sternly like her class teacher Geetha Madam.

"Of course Meethiji.. I will say sorry.. anything else?"

"Let's to to mela... I want eat cotton candy."

"Of course, We will all go.. And Mummy will dance right? Let's cheer for her ok?"

****

to be continued