❝ my beginning, my middle, my end ❞

{II} Homecoming

Abhimanyu stood in front of an intricately designed, grand wooden door. He looked at the immaculate, golden nameplate, the words "Birla Mansion" embossed on it, and immediately felt distant. This place he called 'home' never felt like one, yet he had to return to it for one person—his mother. He closed his eyes to get rid of the pain he was feeling. But instead, his childhood flashed in front of his eyes like a film, and the pain increased by manifolds. His hand immediately went to the rudraksh chain in his neck, trying to seek solace from Mahadev.

"Nahi Abhimanyu, you have to do this. Maa ke liye," he said to himself. He looked down at the rudraksh chain, knowing that his Mahadev would help him, like always, and pushed open the door.

He stepped inside and took long strides, not wanting to wait another moment to meet his mother. He stopped at the center table when his eyes fell on the scattered magazines and stationery. His compulsive behavior kicked in; he gathered them, stacked them, and neatly arranged everything on the table.

"Kitna bikhra hua hai sab," he said and walked up to the kitchen, where he knew his mother would be.

Manjiri stood near the kitchen island, cooking food. The delicious aroma of 'ghee' wafted to Abhimanyu's nose, and comfort took over him immediately.

"Maa aur maa ke haath ka khaana," he said softly and tiptoed to the kitchen island to surprise his mother. He back-hugged her and melted into the warmth.

"Ghee ki khushboo laad-sahab ko yaha tak kheench hi layi!" she said, recognizing her son's presence.

"Aapke haath ki daal-baati-churma ka toh koi sawal hi nahi Maa! Itna ghee jo aap dalti hai, khushboo kaise nahi kheenchegi?" he asked, drooling.

"Toh ab jaldi jaa. Quickly freshen up. I'll serve you food. Bhook lagi hogi na?"

"Bohot! Abhi bhaag kar gaya aur daud kar aaya!" Abhimanyu said, his excitement clearly reflecting in his voice.

~❈~

Abhimanyu showered at lightning speed and jumped down the stairs to eat the finger-licking 'daal-baati-churma' Manjiri had made. He saw his taiji-tauji and cousins, Parth and Nishtha, already seated at the dining table. He did not remember the last time he had had food with his entire family, so having at least half of the dining table chairs occupied made him happy. The Birlas were too busy and self-absorbed to even have food together.

"A family that eats together stays together," he mumbled under his breath, sarcastically, as he walked over to the table.

"I thought I will be directly seeing you in the hospital tomorrow," Anand, his tauji, laughed, seeing Abhimanyu approach the table.

"Kya tauji aap bhi!"

"Aur nahi toh kya bhaiyya! You weren't home for three days. Pata hai? Mujhe mera science ka journal khud likhna pada!" Nishtha complained.

"Khud matlab? What does Abhimanyu have to do with your science journals?" Mahima glared and questioned her daughter.

Nishtha bit her tongue, realizing what she had just said in front of her mother.

"Woh Mom—"

"Kuchh nahi taiji! She meant that I usually help her revise concepts before she writes her journals. I wasn't there this time, so she had to do it herself," Abhimanyu covered up to save his baby sister from being caught. Mahima shook her head and went back to eating her salad. Nishtha mouthed a 'thank you' to her bhaiyya and avoided eye contact with her mother.

Nishtha wasn't interested in science, but Mahima wanted her daughter to follow her legacy and pursue medicine. She did not want to upset her mother hence, ended up taking science in her 11th and 12th grades. Seeing her struggle, not only did Abhimanyu help her with assignments but also pushed her to follow what her heart said. Nishtha's elder sister, Anisha, had already gone against Mahima's wish and was pursuing photography. She had seen her sister genuinely enjoy her work and decided she would do what her heart said! However, she was still trying to find her inclinations and had no strong argument to convince her mother, so she stuck to the science plan.

"Arre Abhi khada kyun hai? Go sit at the table. Main garma-garam baatiyan lekar aayi hoon!" Manjiri said walking out of the kitchen toward the dining table.

Abhimanyu's stomach growled, and he went to sit at the table. As Manjiri served the food on his plate, he reached out for the jar of ghee.

"One! Two! Three!" he counted on as he poured spoonsful of ghee on his food.

"Abhimanyu! Bas bhi karo! You are a doctor—for god's sake—a CARDIAC surgeon, in fact! How can you eat all of this?" Mahima chided him, shocked at his eating habit.

"Kuchh nahi hota taiji! All food cooked at home is healthy and hygienic. Yeh khaane se kuchh bhi nahi hota. On the contrary, aisa comfort food khaane se brain mein serotonin release hota hai, which lifts our mood and reduces stress levels," Abhimanyu said, the doctor in him taking over, "I am sure you know that...aap bhi toh doctor, I mean surgeon, hai na?" he added sweetly, trying to talk to his aunt in the language that she understood the best.

"Waah beta Abhi bilkul sahi samjhaya hai!" Anand exclaimed, "On that note, Manjiri serve me some daal-baati-churma too! And Abhi, pass that jar to me!"

"Yeh hui na baat!" Abhimanyu grinned as he passed the jar of ghee to his uncle.

Mahima watched her husband with a scowl on her face as he poured four spoons of ghee on his plate and dug in, devouring the authentic Rajasthani flavors. Seeing their father, Parth and Nishtha followed suit by drowning their food in ghee.

Abhimanyu, Anand, Parth, and Nishtha enjoyed their food wholeheartedly. Manjiri stood by the dining table, thanking god for her son's happiness.

"Happy Homecoming!" he said to himself as he dug into the plate of ghee-soaked daal-baati and let the earthy flavors take over his senses.

~❈~

Akshara's heartbeat got faster as she tightly clutched the handles of her bag and walked on the jet bridge. After five years, five long years, she had stepped foot in India, in Udaipur. She wondered what would have changed in all this time. Her favorite spots—the gardens and parks she used to play in as a child, the bakery she used to get delicious pastries from, the restaurants where she had had family dinners—would they all be different now? But the thought that bothered her throughout the journey was how that one person would greet her—Aarohi.

"Has daadu sent a car for us?" Abhimaan's question broke Akshara's train of thought.

"He has," Luv replied to his son.

"Toh jaldi chalte hain na! I am so excited to go home and show didu my room, my toys, and my Lego sets!" Abhimaan said, practically jumping. He had slept well on the flight and was now fully charged up, unlike Akshara, whose thoughts couldn't let her sleep.

"We will, but we need to collect our luggage first," Ishita said, trying to control her son's excitement.

The four walked over to the conveyor belt to reclaim their checked-in luggage. Abhimaan excitedly kept pointing at all the bags that he thought were theirs. Soon, they had all their bags and headed toward the pickup point. They spotted a chauffeur dressed in an impeccable white uniform holding a board with their names. She didn't express it, but Akshara's heart broke a little seeing that none of her family members had come to get her at the airport. Their excitement when she agreed to come to Udaipur on the video call made her think that at least someone would be there.

"Stop overthinking, Akshu! They know chachu and Ishimaa are with you! That's why they didn't come," she mentally admonished herself.

"Chalo, let's get into the car," Luv said, motioning everybody forward.

Everyone took their seats in the swanky sedan, and the chauffeur began driving towards the Goenka Villa. Akshara rolled down the window and breathed in the early morning Udaipur air. Even after so many years, something about this place still felt homely and welcoming to her. The scents of sandalwood from the temples and ghats where pujas were performed, aromas of spices and oils from the street food stalls, and the salty breezes from the lakes all laced the Udaipur air. Her head cleared of all thoughts, and she rested her head on the headrest of the seat. The 40-minute drive from the Maharana Pratap Airport to Fatehpura probably was not going to be as difficult as Akshara thought it would be.

"Happy Homecoming, I guess," she whispered to herself as she closed her eyes for the remainder of the drive home.