Part 14: Birla's Past part-1: The failed parents Matured

Abhinav looked around. They were in the hotel’s restaurant but it was partially destroyed. It was as if there was some accident here.Chanchal looked at him confused.

“Oh! So, this was the situation.” They both heard the voice from behind and turned. There stood a woman in a brown khadi silk. Her hair was properly combed. Everything about her was immaculate. Not a hair was out of place, there were no creases in her straight saree. Her eyes had a brilliant shine which was not diminished by her bored expression on her face. Abhinav instantly recognised the woman as Rajashri Bundela and she looked like a woman did justice to such regal sounding name.

“I am Abhinav Sharma and this is my wife, Chanchal.” Abhinav introduced themselves.

Chanchal gave her a namaste. Rajashri gave her one of the rare smiles to the girl in front of her. She was wearing a light pink salwar suit. Her long raven hair flowed down her shoulders. She wore way too many bangles. Some of those bangles had bells on them.

She looked at the man. He had a simple face. He looked as if he was nervous but ready to face everything. Rajashri smiled at the determination etched on his face. Looking at him you would think he was ready to battle a tiger. Well, she was not going to calm him down.  That man should do it himself.

“Abhinav?” Akshara’s voice came from behind.

Abhinav just looked at Akshara. He was angry. Chanchal gave a stiff nod. Akshara looked guilty.

“Abhinav, I…”

“Later, just sit down everyone. Choose some chair which is not broken.” Rajashri interrupted her.  

Slowly many others came into the restaurant. The last ones to enter the restaurant was Arohi who was talking with Yash.

“What happened to your research?”

Arohi looked around the upheaved restaurant. She gave an absent-minded reply, “Nothing… why?”

“Well, the kids were saying something about your university break.”

Arohi looked at him with a confused expression.

“Well, Shivu said something like that. You know when he was giving me the key. He said Abhir told him something.”

“I did not even discuss about my research with kids. I just fell asleep immediately. I didn’t even meet Abhir.”

“Talk later.” Rajashri instructed with a bored expression.And they sat down either side of her.

“Now, I don’t have much time. There’s an international cultural festival waiting for me. Everyone just answer when I ask them.” Everyone looked confused but nodded.

“So, Let’s start with the longest one. Akshara And Abhimanyu.”

Akshara sighed. She sat up straight and looked at Abhinav who didn’t look away.

“16 years ago, I met you in a bus. You remember how I was,Broken. The person whom I loved the most, with whom I wanted to live the rest of the life couldn’t even see my face. I lost my babies. In that state, you helped me. Even when I refused. You took care of me for many months without expecting anything. Only because you were a good human being.  Then on the day Abhir was born you became his father. For Abhir, you were the first parent, The first protector.”

Chanchal held Abhinav’s hand as she felt her husband’s body stiffen. She heard this past but hearing Akshara say this feels so different.

“It was as I saw all the signs from universe. I saw that you were his father. I was doubtful if I could be a good mother for him in that broken state. I wanted my child to live in an environment where he was loved. I became selfish and asked you to sacrifice your future, your life for my son.”

Akshara laughed sadly and continued, “And you loved my son so much in that little time, that you did it without a second thought. You made my son your Nikkiji. You became his Superpapa. And I saw my son grow up happily. Six years of peace. Six years of serenity. Six years of life when you let me heal on my pace. And I almost healed. But then, destiny had other plans.My past came back. I wanted to forget the person who betrayed me and love the person who never forgot me and my son. I really tried to move on. But again, I failed. You being my friend helped me get out from my miseries by stepping back.”

“Abhimanyu and I decided to give our love, one final chance.But this time the world around us took a lot more time to accept us.”

“Our love upended Abhir’s whole life. His school changed.His friends changed. His house changed. Even his family changed. But because you were there to help him through this, it was still less painful for him. I know, he was a brave boy. He tried to adjust without any much problem. I was relieved that you were still helping us even though it was just a video call every night.”

“Those days, did you know? Abhir would look at the wall clock every two minutes till it was eight. If you called even five minutes late, he would have made a long face by the end. It almost felt like he was living only for those video calls. And everyone could see that. Even Abhi and his mother.”

Abhimanyu started to talk, “I know I was being silly now.But back then, I was always affected by the fact that my son does not feel happy with me. My mother could not see my pain and always tried to make us together. But Abhir did not resist, he let me into his life. Slowly and gradually. I now know that it was because you helped me. Things were slowly settling in.”

“Our reunion had many reparations. Shefali Bhabhi was forced to reconcile with Parth Bhai. She did not listen to it. My mother and I supported Bhabhi. Akshara still didn’t know about what Parth bhai did. But she too supported Bhabhi. The house was tense because of that and Roohi and Abhir got affected by it a lot. I was trying to manage both Abhir who was homesick and Roohi who was taking some to adjust to the new relations. Akshara and Arohi too were helping me. But Parth Bhai and Shefali Bhabhi’s problems always made the situation stuffy in Birla house.”

Akshara started. “Then, all of a sudden, the news of your death comes and breaks our Abhir. He was confident that you were alive. He would always ask for news. He started eating less. Every night he insisted on sleeping on rooftop because he wanted to wish upon a shooting star. Even if it rained,he would wear raincoat and search for shooting stars. He became really stubborn. He would not listen to anyone. He would get fever and yet he would not stop praying. All he wanted was to see you again. Two months pass by, there really was no news of any survivors. But Abhir insisted to keep searching, to keep wishing. He lost a lot of weight. The more the days dragged, Abhir’s health deteriorated. But he would not let go of his hopes. He became crankier and angrier. His fights with Roohi became an everyday thing. He started fighting other kids in school almost every week. The atmosphere in the house was just so unbearable.”

Abhinav eyes watered up hearing his son’s story. His poor Nikkiji suffered so much in such a short time. First his heart surgery, then meeting his true parents and now losing his papa when he needed the most.

“I couldn’t see my son like.” Akshara continued. “According to his grandmother, I was reason for his condition. I shouldn’t have made someone his father in a whim. I should never have made the relationship that strong. He was suffering because of my reckless decision. I first defended myself, but slowly I felt mother was right. It was eating me from inside. If I were a much more capable mother then, my son would not have been suffering like that.”

Rajashri saw Abhimanyu hold Akshara’s hand as if comforting her. She looked at Arohi who seemed a little uncomfortable. Rajashri knew, If Akshara is saying everything then Arohi and Roohi’s past will be open to everyone. She held her daughter-in-law’s hand. Arohi looked startled at the sudden contact. She saw her mother-in-law. She gave her a reassured smile. They may not like each other much but it was still good to know that she still had her support at times like these. Arohi smiled back.

“After three months, they discovered an almost decomposed body which matched your description.”

Yash said, “I am sorry, but I need to interrupt here.”

“Not now Yash!” Abhimanyu said.

“Well, why not?” Yash stood up. He looked at Abhinav. “Did you never wonder how they were so sure about your death.”

Abhinav shook his head. He never really thought about it.Maybe they misunderstood someone else body with his.

“Is that really important? People can make mistakes right?”Abhinav asked. He just wanted to know why Akshara and Abhimanyu lied to him for three years. He just needed to find out what happened with his Nikkiji.

“Well, this might not be important for you, but it is important for Birla Hospital.”

“Nothing is proven yet. Yash. You cannot go on accusing people.”

“I don’t say anything without proof. You know that.”

Rajashri interjected. “Can you both just stop.”

“Yes, Yash let’s talk about it later.”

“Abhinav Sharma is the main victim here, let him decide.”Yash turned to look at Abhinav.

Abhinav massaged his head. He did not care about that stupid hospital. But if they just keep debating, they will not reach anywhere. He nodded.

“Oh! I’ll keep it short. They took some random body which matched your height and weight and matched his DNA with your DNA. Your DNA was stored in Birla hospital when you visited Birlas for Abhir’s surgery.”

Abhinav remembered both of them giving the parents sample with the child to test for any hereditary factors. At that time Abhinav was still considered Abhir’s biological father.

“The Late Mr. Parth Birla was in charge for that.”

Abhinav looked, so they faked his death. That explains a lot. Why no one looked for him all those years. Why there was no missing person’s report for him. He was dead. Seven years ago, when he felt lost, it was because of them. The day when he broke, that day could have been avoided.He looked at Akshara.

“I didn’t know anything about that Abhinav. I swear.”Akshara said sincerely. “Abhimanyu and I, we both were unaware of this.”

Abhinav looked at his friend. She looked sincere. He nodded.

“You can file a case against Birla hospitals for their forgery. The death certificate they issued will create more problems for you.For example, in for bank purposes and government schemes.”

Abhinav stood up. Yash stopped talking.

“Thank you Yashji. But believe it or not, I really don’t want to hear about Birla hospital’s work. Maybe we can talk about how to cancel the death certificate procedures later. Right now, I want to know Why my Nikkiji is suffering. Every time I see him. He looks like he was hurt more than million times. I know He was affected by my death. But he had the whole family with him… He had his Docman…His mother…”

“No, he didn’t” Akshara said loudly. “I was at fault. I couldn’t be his mother.”

“What?”

“Abhir was inconsolable after seeing your body. He looked like he did not live anymore. Every time I saw him, I felt like I was the reason behind his state. Maa was blaming me for making him love someone else more than his father. It seemed that I was not a capable mother. My decisions were not right. And as if to prove my doubts right, Abhir pushed Roohi down the stairs. Roohi was even lucky to be alive. Everyone blamed our upbringing. How come a 7-year-old kid be this vicious. Arohi was inconsolable. Our relationship which was getting better again crumbled. She again saw me as the snatcher of her happiness. It was like everything changed and yet we were back where we started.”

Akshara and Arohi locked eyes. They both were crying. Arohi remembered the dark day of her life. Roohi was lying unconscious at the bottom of the stairs. Covered in a pool of blood. Arohi remembered the sense of helplessness she felt when she saw the sight. For a moment, she was sure that she would lose her daughter just like she lost her mother. The lines between past, present and future blurred for Arohi. Whatever Arohi did next, whether it was blaming Akshara again or threatening a kid Abhir, Arohi still regrets it.Akshara continued.

“I scolded Abhir even though I know that Abhir did not do it intentionally. That was not it. That was also the first time I slapped my son. Abhir lost me, my support that day. No, that was the day I lost my son. I had clearly failed to be a good mother. Thankfully after many anxieties filled weeks of treatment, Our Roohi finally got better. She fractured her legs. But she was alive. We rejoiced, as we thought we would not be able to see her again.”

Abhimanyu still remembered the past so vividly. His Rooh was on a similar hospital bed similar that of Niel’s. Her head injury and vitals being similar to that of Niel’s. Low BP. Low pulse. Inoperable circumstances. Abhimanyu remembered seeing Neil’s face on Roohi’s place. No, he lost his baby brother.He could not lose his Rooh. Was Neil trying to take his daughter away? Many sleepless caffeine filled days and nights. Mahadev already took his brother; he had no right to take his Rooh away now. He was ready to fight. Even if it meant fighting against his Mahadev. Seeing his little Rooh lifeless on that bed for days continuously was torture. His Rooh was never could stay still. She was always so energetic... so full of life.  That incident mentally and emotionally strained him. He did not interfere with any of the family members problems then. Including Abhir.

“After that, Maa started to slowly throw away all the stuff from Kasauli in Abhir room. To remove all the things that would remind him of his Papa and make him sad. I did not interfere. Because I trusted others more than me at that time. I simply let others teach him and care for him.”

“One day, when she was going to throw away the sweater which you made, Abhir begged her not to. He cried and screamed to let him keep this as a last keepsake. He begged like never before. I saw my son’s suffering and ignored it even though it pained. I stopped Abhimanyu to interfere in that. Maa must know what she was doing.”

Chanchal cried as she knew that particular sweater. Her husband had told him about the story of the sweater. After parting with the son whom he loved more than himself, he felt empty staying alone in the house. He didn’t know what to do with his loneliness. So, he bought many urns of wool and started knitting sweater. It took many attempts. While knitting, he remembered every bit of his Nikkiji. The sweater filled with love and memories. His last gift before the accident.

She turned to face her husband. He looked conflicted. He was really heartbroken.

“Abhir must have felt a sense of abandonment after that incident. He stopped talking to everyone that freely. He became extra moody. He also got suspended from his school football team because he fought with his team mates.”

“Here, Abhimanyu and I were at our limit. Every single day there were fights, Be it Parth Bhai and Shefali Bhabhi or Arohi and Abhimanyu when Arohi wanted to leave with her daughter while Abhimanyu did not allow for that. He couldn’t bear to be away from Roohi when he just got her back from death. And In Goenka house, Kairav Bhaiyya rejected the family’s decision to marry Muskaan and opened up about his sexuality. Bade Papa ousted him. Mimi had a stroke and was hospitalized.”

“And when Abhi suggested to send Abhir to the same boarding school where Shivu was, I couldn’t find a single reason against it. We were not able to concentrate on Abhir with then circumstances. At least He would be in a peaceful environment and his studies will be taken care of. We sent him to the boarding school with Shivu despite his pleadings. Things started to slowly settle down. Roohi was getting treated by the best physiotherapist in India and Arohi also agreed to stay.”

“Bade Papa took the responsibility of Muskaan upon himself.Dr. Rohan fell in love with Muskaan during the time when Mimi was being treated in hospital. Their love story bloomed without anyone’s knowledge and when they decided to tie the knot, Bade Papa supported them by arranging a grand wedding and doing her kanyadaan. They shifted to US after their marriage. Abhir refused to come to the wedding even after so much requesting. Muskaan went to boarding school before she left for the States. After that meeting, Abhir became a little more friendly towards us.”

“Mimi died after a year. Kairav Bhaiyya couldn’t even attend her funeral. Bade Papa was still angry at him. On the day of Mimi’s shok sabha,I found out that Yash had feelings for Arohi. Yash was nice friend by then. But Arohi had rejected. And accidentally, I caused all the elders to learn about it.”

Rajashri still remembered the fiasco it caused in the shok shabha. She massaged her head as she remembered that Manjiri’s tantrums. Truth to be told, she was suspicious of her son’s feelings but she had absolutely no idea about the confession and rejection. She was just getting healed by the physiotherapy but had not much energy back then to fight Manjiri. The physiotherapy sessions sucked life out of her. Manjiri cast dirty looks at Arohi as if she stringed him on. Manish wanted Arohi to move on in her life.While Manjiri was afraid of losing her granddaughter. And in this whole thing, no one listened to Arohi.

Arohi was not in a position to think about her re-marriage.Her mind was filled with only one and one thing. Her 8-year-old daughters who may never walk again. Her daughter’s painful screams during physiotherapy sessions. Her sleepless nights when her daughter cried about her legs paining in night. What if Roohi never be able to walk or do her favorite dance. How will she console her baby? How will she make her baby forget every pain. Arohi didn’t need a husband back then she only needed a friend. Her family troubles increasing day by day. Yash was that friend for her. She only saw Yash as a friend, as a confident. Arohi slowly felt that her daughter was being punished her crimes. She confessed all her crimes to Yash. Her unreasonable accusations at Akshara. Her almost killing Manjiri. Her jealousy. Her blackmailing Abhimanyu. Yes, she had done many vile stuffs in past and she became sure that her baby being tortured for her sins. How and why did Yash fall in love the vicious woman that she was? Arohi had not idea. Even after sharing her darkest past, Yash continued to love her.

Akshara looked out the window and continued, “And the atmosphere in the house again became difficult. This time even Abhimanyu didn’t know what to do? He wanted Arohi to move on but did not want to separate from his Rooh. Everyone was on edge when the children came from school to enjoy the summer vacation. It was as if everyone were waiting for a time bomb to blow off. And it did.”

“Shefali Bhabhi became pregnant and instead of rejoicing she went into despair. That was when I found about Parth Bhai’s vile actions. He became a monster. And his prey was his wife. He did not just beat her. But did much worse than anyone could imagine” Akshara sobbed as she remembered Sheali Bhabhi’s screams.

Abhinav was shocked. He did not expect that. He remembered Parth Birla as a gentleman. He was a reserved person but he did not even think that man was some how that evil.

“I did not waste much time; I filed the case of DV against Parth bhai and he was jailed for six months. Parth Bhai’s and Shefali Bhabhi Divorce happened and then there was this long-drawn custody battle for Shivu. I was fighting for Shefali Bhabhi. That made the situation in the house much worse. Mahima Taiji could not forgive me. Parth Bhai after getting released from jail on bail, became unrecognisable. Drinking, doing drugs or bringingprostitutes to the house. These became everyday thing.”

“When we thought things couldn’t go much worse than this,Parth Bhai did something so inhuman that we never thought it was ever possible for a father to do that.”

Abhinav couldn’t understand anything but the way everyone tensed up gave him a sense of foreboding.

“Is it regarding Shivu’s fits?”

Everyone looked at him with a surprised expression.Abhimanyu stood up.

“How did you know about that?”

“Shivu had an attack yesterday. Why? Didn’t he tell you?”

Abhinav narrated the fight between Abhir and Shivu. How Shivu got an attack and was later hospitalized.

Abhimanyu was shocked. “No… Shivu’s PTE came back. He did not have an incident for two years.” His Shivu. His baby Shivu. Again, Abhimanyu was totally helpless. He was a just a cardiac surgeon but even the best neurological experts in India would not be able to treat him. Shivu needed the best in the world.

Abhimanyu told him everything he knew about Parth Bhai’s suicide.

“Some villagers found Shivu floating in the river.Thankfully the police were in search of them, so we got the information fast and Shivu got admitted in ICU. Shivu just barely escaped. He was in Coma for three weeks.”

Abhimanyu went near the table and poured some water in a glass and gulped it down.

“It was like a curse on the Birla kids. First, I had to see my Junior battling his heart condition. Then my Rooh was on a death bed for days and then Shivu was almost declared dead. The three kids of Birla house.Our three sources of light were nearly extinguished and we would have been in darkness for ever.”

Abhinav went towards Abhimanyu and held his shoulder. Seeing his three children suffer like that would have been difficult. Abhinav remembered what he went through when he first heard his Nikkiji had a seriousheart condition. That was one of the darkest moments of his life. He was helpless. Every breath seemed to scratch his insides.

Abhimanyu held Abhinav’s hand and continued.

“Shivu was put on ventilator. There was no reaction. Therewas a lot of blood loss but the dangerous part was he had a serious brain injury. No movement. No reaction to stimuli.  But we couldn’t just give up right? Brought all the best doctors from all over the world. Even without having time to process Parth Bhai’s suicide, I desperately tried to save my Shivu. Tauji suffered from a heart attack. We were just trying to help each other with whatever we got. Our family was breaking just like it broke when Anisha and Neil died. I was just a ghost doing everything I could.  After 3 weeks we got a tiny hope. He started reacting to the stimuli.”

Abhimanyu smiled as he remembered when Arohi first gave him the news he was finally waiting to hear.

“Shivu woke up, but then we found out that he got post traumatic epilepsy. A severe blow to his brain during the accident was the reason.”

“At first his attacks were severe and frequent but after he started his medications, his attacks became less frequent. He actually did not have any attack for two years, but I guess, even that relief is not for me.”Abhimanyu gave a sad smile.

Arohi looked out of the window, the sun was setting just like that day. That day when she decided her new life.

“Everyone on us were trying to normalise our lives and our children’s lives. And one day I finally decided to marry Yash. It was a decision I took for my daughter rather than for me. I wanted her to grow up in an environment where she could smile happily. Where someone wipes her tears. With Birla family problems just felt overwhelming. I wanted out, I wanted my daughterto take a break and behave her age. I was selfish. I knew that. But I just didn’t know anything else.”

Arohi looked at Abhinav. “Ten years ago, you and Akshara decided to separate. Uprooting Abhir’s entire life in process. Making Abhir feel lost. I should have learned it by then, but nope, I did the same mistake.Being an adult, I automatically assumed that child’s insecurities and fears were less important than the ‘real’ problems. I tried to forcibly change Roohi’s life without considering her feelings because I knew what was right. It backfired. Roohi couldn’t leave her Poppy or her Dida.I failed Roohi.”

“No.” Yash said, his face really serious. “We all failed Roohi.”