Part 12: The era of peace ends

Rajashri Bundela made her way into the hall with a confident stride. She held her head high and walked with a regal air about her. She didn't bother calling out to anyone as she entered the room, but instead, found a spot on the sofa and began scrolling through her X feed.

As she looked around the Birla house, Rajashri couldn't help but feel a sense of disdain towards the interior decorations set by Manjiri. From her perspective, the decor was far too tacky for her refined tastes.

Suddenly, she noticed a servant watching her before he scurried off upstairs, presumably to call someone. Rajashri couldn't help but let out a disappointed sigh. In her mind, the servant's top priority should have been to welcome her as a guest and make her feel comfortable by offering some refreshments or water before bringing in the host.

Rajashri wondered why they hadn't been trained in how to properly welcome and serve their guests. Her mobile vibrated.

"Maa… Please don't create any Drama. Let me handle this myself. Abhimanyu is also in Nainital. He would strangle me if his mom was hurt."

Rajashri scoffed at the message sent by Yash.

"That is none of my problems." She messaged back. Yash is reaching 45 but sometimes, he still acts like a whiny kid. Must be that paternal grandmother's genes inside him.

She scrolled through X and came across politically radical statements made by some new actress, and felt her PR team should train her better.

"You!" Manjiri's voice reached her ears. Rajashri shut her phone and looked at Manjiri calmly.

"Yes. Me."

"What are you doing here?" Manjiri asked. Rajashri observed the sequined peach net saree worn by the woman and held back a comment that surfaced involuntarily. They never seem to match in any aspect, do they?

"I am here to give you this invitation. I would have sent you the online link as I didn't want to see your face. But today, I decided that I want to talk to you for the last time."

Manjiri took the invitation and skimmed through it. It was a Cultural festival in Dubai. Many big-shot musicians and dancers from different countries and cultures are meeting up.

"I will be performing a semi-classical Kathak piece with a song mix of Hindustani, Carnatic, and Punjabi Folk. The song is ready and half of the choreography is finalized. It will be the story of Sita and Bhoomi Devi. It fits with the theme of the festival. Earth preservation."

Manjiri just nodded at Rajashri's explanation. Rajashri might be a National Award-winning Kathak dancer for the rest of the world, but in Manjiri's eyes, she was a big failure. A woman who separated from her husband for her professional aspirations. Although Rajashri never divorced her husband, Mr. Digambar Bundela, but they started living separately when Yash was 13 years old. Manjiri didn't want this woman to influence poor Roohi.

"Roohi will be performing with me."

This last line made Manjiri look up. "No, Roohi is not coming to Dubai. We have decided that."

Rajashri ignored that and continued, "I will be playing Bhoomi Devi and she will take on the role of Sita Devi. And after our performance, I will announce my retirement to the world and introduce my successor, my granddaughter Ms. Roohi Bundela."

"Roohi is not your granddaughter. She is still Roohi Birla. My Neil's daughter." Manjiri screamed holding her chest, her eyes bulging.

"My son will complete the legal formalities in one month… The festival is after two months. I am planning to start the training from next week. I heard she got hurt yesterday. So maybe I will just let her practice the hand movements and facial expressions first."

"Are you listening to me?" Manjiri still screamed and Rajashri yet again ignored her as her attention went to juice.

The servant who came with juice shivered because of the screaming. The juice spilled all over the serving tray. Rajashri looked at him with a disappointed look.

"I don't demand that you have the manners of a seven-star hotel waiter, but can't I at least expect some basic common sense from the household staff of the Birla family when it comes to serving me juice? Now pray tell me how am I supposed to drink juice from this glass dripping of sticky juice?"

"Sorry," The servant blushed and looked down.

"Forget it. Go back and fill another glass till three-quarters, not to the brink." Rajashri dismissed the servant.

"Are you ignoring me?" Manjiri asked in a high pitch.

"Well, I am trying but your wailing is not helping me." Rajashri looked at Manjiri ready to fight.

"Roohi already stays with you in Delhi even though her rightful place is here with her real family. But we let you. So why are you doing this? Why are you taking away her identity?"

"I no longer want Roohi to be burdened by that identity." Rajashri with a cold look.

"What do you mean?"

The servant came with a fresh glass of orange juice. Rajashri inspected the glass and then took a sip. She gave a nod of affirmation and the servant beamed as though he passed a civil service exam.

"Good… You learn fast. Nice touch by bringing it in a trolley this time. To minimize the spillage." She said casually. She continued to drink the juice without any worries in the world. The servant proudly went back to the kitchen.

This is why Manjiri never liked Rajashri.

"You never change." She said spitefully.

"It's just perspective, Manjiri, I feel I am a better version than my previous year's version. We should keep evolving."

"Hmph. It's always aesthetic for you. You want everything to look good according to your definition. You could have just drank the juice the first time. But nope, you liked it when you brought it in a trolley. The juice would taste the same no matter how it was served. But you and your Delhi high socialite mannerisms never let you see beyond your so-called-sophistication."

Rajashri shook her head in a sarcastic smile.

"What was I supposed to do? Drink the juice with a sticky glass?"

"You could have wiped it with tissue."

"Yeah… while we are at it why don't I make my own juice next time. That would be much more convenient. Then, there is no need for house help."

"I didn't mean that."

"Manjiri, the house-help's treatment towards the guest represents the host's attitude towards the guest. We had many dignitaries coming to our house as guests of my Father-in-law, brothers-in-law, my husband, and sometimes mine. The guests felt touched by the way every detail was taken care of by the host. That included house-help's behavior towards them."

"There is no point in arguing with you… I just don't want Roohi to be plastic and shallow just like you."

"Tell me, what is so bad in Roohi becoming like me?"

It was their last meeting might as well empty their hearts out.

"You left your husband for your dance career. Five years earlier, you didn't go and serve your ailing mother-in-law on her deathbed. No matter how much you hated her, that was just cruel. You are a woman who does not value the feelings from the heart. You don't even show regret for not being able to save your marriage. You only see the material value. You want others to see you as a woman with no flaws. So you would do anything to fake it. You only love Roohi for your own gain. You want her to be your granddaughter because Arohi is infertile now. You only love Roohi she is a good dancer. You see her as a medal. An accomplishment. But I love her for who she is. Because she is my granddaughter."

Rajashri heard all these with her eyes gradually steeling. This woman and her stupid ideologies. Roohi should never be in contact with this personified toxic waste. She sipped her juice slowly.

"If Roohi learns from you, then she will also care only about how others perceive her and not have any true friends. She will focus only on exterior appearances. She will not be able to learn the importance of human relationships with you as you never valued any of those. She will never learn the importance of sacrificing compromising or adjusting for the ones she loves. She will turn selfish only thinking about herself."

Rajashri completed her juice and asked, "Anything more?"

"See… you dismiss me because I am just a simple housewife. Like this. You don't have value for human life unless they are of some benefit to you. You pretend to be all haughty and successful but I know you are just lonely and sad deep down. You don't live with your son or your husband, that is why you are clinging to Roohi. Because no one wants to be with you."

Manjiri sat down as she completed her rant, exhausted.

"Wow… I think I should say ouch… but false narratives just cannot hurt me. I will just leave you with your judgments. I don't need to justify myself to you, especially after what you did to her. Don't you dare think for a second that I forgot that or forgave you for that."

"Why are you bringing that up? At that time, I had no choice."

"You had. But you chose not to see it. But enough with this chit-chat. Unlike you, I am busy with many things. I need to prepare for Roohi's introduction to the world."

"Stop saying that… Roohi will not perform there." Manjiri screamed again. Mahima Birla entered the place at that time. She just returned from a seminar at Jaipur University. She saw her sister screaming at Rajashri. It was always bad when these two met.

"Manjiri…" She rushed towards her sister. Manjiri's breath was already heavy. Her panic attacks may start soon.

"Rajashriji…Please don't provoke her. You know that she has problems."

"Didi… She will take Roohi away. She said that."

"Manjiri calm down."

"I am leaving now. My granddaughter needs me."

"Rajashriji, why are you suddenly doing this? We all were comfortable with the current arrangement. Roohi stayed with you all year. Except for a few vacations, when else did she come here?" Mahima asked while making Manjiri sit down.

"Well, she cannot be here, because Birla Hospital will be filled for forgery and criminal activities. I don't think you all will have time to look after her. And It's just me being all wife of a retired Supreme Court judge and all that, but I am not comfortable in my granddaughter interacting with a bunch of criminals."

Mahima Birla looked up. Rajashri was not a woman who would carelessly make a statement like that. She looked at Manjiri. Manjiri had a shocked expression directed towards Rajashri.

"You know about."

"Yes. My son did try to hide it, but I found it anyway."

"What are you both talking about?" Mahima asked confused, but she felt the news was not that good.

"Didn't you read the news? The dead Abhinav Sharma is happily living with a family in Nainital." Rajashri said cooly while watching the reactions of the women.

Mahima stood up. Abhinav Sharma. But that happened 9 years ago.

"You look surprised Mahimaji. But not Manjiri and her son. Abhimanyu is already in Nainital with his wife."

Mahima looked at Manjiri. Manjiri looked down. What does this mean?

"Nainital?" Mahima slowly said while connecting the dots. Shivu took a copter for Uttarakhand. Did that mean Shivu also knew about this? She remembered the night of Shivu's birthday.

"I, Shivansh Birla, will destroy your dream. Birla group of hospitals will turn into dust. That is my only goal."

"No… Shivu knows about this?" Mahima collapsed onto the sofa. Shivu will definitely use this. She knew her grandson's thirst for revenge. By now, He had proved his capability.

Rajashri smirked. "Well, well, well… I thought at least 'You' would be innocent. But that was foolish of me."

Rajashri left. Mahima took some time to process it. "Manjiri, when did you know he was alive?"

"About 3 years ago."

"3 years? Why didn't you tell me?" Mahima was horrified.

"At that time, you and Anand Bhaisaab were already so distressed about Nishita, and I handled it. The government records have been taken care of. Don't worry."

"That is not enough Manjiri. You should have told me then. Now we will have to explain the mismatch between hospital records and government records."

She held her head. This was so wrong. She did that long back to help Parth. But now, this is the weapon perfect for Shivu. He will do whatever it takes to get it. Birla Group of Hospitals. It was her hard work. Her husband's dream. She can't let Shivu destroy it. She has to stop him.

"Where are you going, Didi?" Manjiri asked as Mahima stood up.

"Mumbai"

Yes, Now it was time to stop it.

************

Abhir went directly to Krish's room. After every fight, he always went to see Krish. He didn't know when it became his habit. Nor did it occur to him that it became his habit. He just went with the flow.

"Wow, You look like… s**t," Krish said.  Abhir was too engrossed in his thoughts to notice anyone else in Krish's room.

"What's new in that," he muttered.

He went inside the washroom and splashed his face with water. The red blood from his forehead flowed into the white basin. The bloodstream looked eerily beautiful against the white basin. He stared at that scarlet swirling pattern for a long time. Thinking nothing and everything.  Abhir lifted his head and saw his reflection. This time he did not get that much hurt. Well, he was fighting with a few waiters who were not criminals, so it was natural.

"Did you puke?" Abhir asked as he came out of the washroom.

"Nope," Krish said as he tossed a clean towel at Abhir who caught it. "Your Maasi did."

Abhir looked around. Sure enough, Arohi Maasi was sleeping soundly on Krish's bed while cuddling Naira.

"Why is she here?"

"She saw me with Naira and rushed towards my bathroom and puked," Krish said as he searched for Band-Aids. They were under the blue box.

"Here you go! Patch yourself up. Oh yeah. She talked something about the semester, I guess. I was not exactly paying attention."

Abhir looked confused. Roohi did mention something about a research team. Abhir guessed it was in some university. He sat beside Naira. If he destroys Birlas what will happen to her? He will have to take care of that. Why should Naira suffer because of his parents? He already went through that.

"Will you just put the Band-Aid… you can go dive into your deep thoughts after 2 minutes," Krish said.

Abhir smiled. Krish was bad with blood, vomit, and all other stuff that came from all living organisms. He always tried to bunk the biology lab. But look at him, still trying to care when Abhir was bleeding and Arohi Maasi puked in his bathroom. He never complained once. Krish is still a nice guy at heart. No wonder Abhir wanted to remain Krish's friend. He reminded him of Papa. During those times, when he was bullied, Krish was the only one he could rely on. That idiot would somehow always try to save him. Even though it meant he got more hurt. He even brought extra Band-Aids in advance. Abhir smirked as he saw Krish fidget at the sight of blood on the towel. He quickly covered his wound.

"Hey, we need to sightsee Nainital," Abhir said. It was their hard-earned vacation. Krish does not deserve to be stuck in this hotel.  

"Really?" Krish looked happy but then controlled himself. "What about your family?"

"The drama in my family never ends, come on… let's go!"

"We can't just go… let's check the bus timings," Krish said opening the app.

"We are not going by tour bus," Abhir said as he opened the

"I am Birla… It is high time I flaunt my power."

"What do you mean?"

"We are going on the helicopter," Abhir said as he typed something on the mobile. "I am asking Shivu to send Gopichand"

Krish was so happy. He never even saw a helicopter up close, let alone ride it. But then he controlled, He knew Abhir hated using Birla luxuries. He hated the way everyone mocked his Papa's middle-class behavior. Actually, Abhir was one of the people who found joy in small things. He was the one who insisted on a train trip to Uttarakhand. He enjoyed that trip a lot. When they reached Dehradun, he and Krish Hitchhiked to Nainital. They danced in the truck with other travelers. Abhir was not Shivu.

"Are you sure? You don't like doing that. Flexing the Birla money."

"Oh! Please, Krish. We should stop kidding ourselves. If my brother can buy a hotel just so that I can break some tables, I have already been used to the power. When my Marvel official merchandise t-shirts came to me two weeks before the release from Mauritius, I was already using that power. And when I need to bribe that good-for-nothing Warden Awasthi, I will use that power."

Krish looked at him. Abhir looked strangely calm.

"I was always a Birla. But I never acknowledged it. Because, somewhere I was scared that, I would forget my Papa and his upbringing. Being a Birla I will have to let go of that one tiny connection. I was scared of it. It was the only thing that kept me grounded. That was the reason I wanted to do anything to maintain the little amount of peace I could manage to save."

He looked at Naira. She twisted and turned in her sleep. Abhir walked towards her. He covered her with a blanket. Naira calmed down in her sleep. Abhir silently caressed her head.

"But the illusion broke today. I am not my Papa's Nikkiji. If I was, I would be able to forgive my parents. At least for Naira's sake. But…"

Abhir let out a small non-humorous laugh.

"But No. I just cannot forgive them. The era of peace ends now."

Krish held Abhir's shoulder.

"So, I am going to destroy the Birlas until I see the last of them."

"What do you mean?"

"I was shown a dead body. Can you guess where I saw it? Birla Hospital."

Krish looked surprised.

"Shivu and I were discussing that when we were coming to the restaurant. And If Shivu and I are correct in guessing, that shrewd Yash might already have the key to this problem."

"Shivu will deal with Yash," Abhir said as he picked up Krish's jacket and threw it at Krish.

"Meanwhile let's roam Nainital. After all, you begged Kiran for extra pocket money."

"Are you sure?"

"More than anything… I want to spend the money I earned from those boxing matches. That is just my money. Other Birlas do not have any f**king right on it."

Krish thought about it. Abhir needs it more than anything else.

"Ah Gopichand, get the chopper ready," Abhir said as he saw Gopichand on the door. Gopichand's expression was still the same. That man always looks so irritated by the fact that he is being ordered around by some kids.

"I am not Shivu, so don't bother with paperwork."

"What?" Krish asked shocked.

"It's ok. I'll handle everything. You just get ready."

"Abhir Bhaiyya?" A small voice came from behind. The boys turned around to see a Naira sitting up and rubbing her eyes.

"Naira" Abhir went near her sister.

Naira did not answer. She looked confused with her eyes wide open. She looked around.  Where was she? This was not her room. This was not Mamma's room.

"Mamma?"  She said as she saw a woman's hand beside her. But then she saw the face. That was not Mamma. That was Maasi. She was sleeping with Maasi.

"Maasi?"

Abhir smiled at the confusion of his sister.  "Naira. You came by flight. You remember? With Mom and Dad?"

Naira was feeling sluggish trying to remember. Then she clutched her poncho. It was a new one they brought on the way from Dehradun to Nainital. Naira loved the rainbow poncho. It looked like she was wearing a rainbow.

"Yes! We are meeting the special uncle!" She exclaimed loudly as she remembered.

Abhir raised his eyebrow. "Oh! You know about him?"

Naira nodded so violently that she almost fell off balance from her bed. Abhir caught her and Naira giggled.

"Mamma said he was a really special uncle. She said he loves kids." Naira said between her giggles.

"I made a card for him." She then lifted her poncho to reveal a small tortoise sling bag. Out came the pinkest card Abhir had ever seen. Abhir took the card and saw that most of the card was just drawings of stars, birds, dogs, and all the things that Naira liked to draw.  In the middle it was written with a green sketch pen 'Happy birthday uncle!!!' There were many striking's of what Abhir assumed to be Naira's attempt at spelling 'special'. In the end, it seemed that Naira gave up on the difficult word.

"Is it his birthday?" Krish asked quietly as he peeked over Abhir's shoulder.

"Nope. But Naira knows only the spellings of Happy Birthday… So, we always get happy birthday cards... for all occasions." Abhir said in a whisper. Naira looked expectantly at her brother.

"It is a really beautiful card." Abhir lied simply.

"He will love it" But then, Abhir decided to say some truth. It was his Papa they were talking about. He would practically hug the card with tears in his eyes.  Naira beamed with happiness. "I want to meet him soon." She looked around. Her eyes met Krish's and she held Abhir's hand as if to ask him.

"Naira, this is Krish Bhaiyya. He is my best friend"

Naira smiled at Krish. Krish did a small wave with his hand. Naira waved back. Arohi turned in her sleep.

"If Maasi came? Then Roohi didi also came right?" Naira asked realizing it.

"Yep, Roohi Didi, Shivu Bhaiyya, Yash Mausaji, everyone is here."

"That uncle is really special. Everyone came to meet him" Naira thought loudly.  Abhir smiled.

 "Bhaiyaa..what happened? You got hurt here, and here and here and here" Naira said pointing at his Band-Aids.

"I fell down" Abhir lied again.

"Oh No! Is it hurting?"

"Naah!!"  His third lie.

"Hey, wanna come with us? We are going by helicopter."

"Shivu Bhaiyya's helicopter?" Naira asked

"Are you mad?" Krish asked incredulously.

"Yep," Abhir said to Naira and turned to face Krish, "Why, what's wrong with taking her to sightsee."

"You want to take a small kid in Helicopter?" Krish asked with an air of disbelief.

"So? They travel with Brains in those choppers. Naira is bigger than those brains. Don't think too much Krish." He patted Krish on the back and picked up Naira.

"Wash your face and mouth. Then we are good to go. Princess." Abhir took her to the washroom.

After a few minutes, the siblings came out and were ready. Krish reached the door when he remembered something.

"What about your Maasi?"

"What about her? Let her sleep. She is on a well-deserved semester break"

Krish facepalmed. This is the Abhir he knew, always acting without thinking. He replied, unable to hide his irritation.

"When we close the door, she will be locked inside."

"Let's message Shivu then. He is the new owner; he will have the master keys. Stop overthinking"

Saying that Abhir pulled Krish out of the room. Abhir took Krish out of the room to the rooftop helipad where Gopichand was waiting with his helicopter. It was the first time for Krish and Naira to ride in a helicopter, and they were thrilled with the experience. Abhir was happy to see their excitement and smiled a lot. When Naira became hungry, Abhir asked Gopichand to land near a local area where they had breakfast at a Dhaba, which was Naira's first time trying it. Krish noticed Abhir looking at a business card.

Abhir saw Krish about to ask him and said the answer before Krish could open his mouth.

"It is his card."

Abhir looked at the mountains. Nainital reminded him of the Kasauli days

"Now for the ultimate test. Will Abhinav Sharma accept Abhir Birla?