The Birlas' - IKSHANA

Chapter - 4: Forbidden Emotions

The breakfast was nothing different from the usual. Neil had finished already. Kids praised their Dadu for his menu and thanked Manjari for the delicious food. Manjari made sure the staff heard all the compliments. They deserve it all because training under Manjari Birla and learning to handle her kitchen was quite a task. Abhimanyu had to put his foot down and force Manjari to let the staff takeover. 

She loved her kitchen and was too possessive about it. She hated when anyone other than family ran the kitchen. She only ever shared it with Akshara once upon a time because nobody else bothered to venture into the kitchen. With age, when her body showed signs of exhaustion, Abhimanyu decided to play the bad cop. He tried his best to explain her that she can't take so much strain and even tried diverting her attention by enrolling her in music classes. 

Nothing could stop Manjari from cooking until Abhimanyu, one fine day, declared that he won't eat anything that is cooked by Manjari, after she lost her consciousness out of exhaustion. She tried to entice him with his favourites but he didn't budge. She wanted him to get her a daughter in law to share her burden out of spite once. The argument ended on a bitter note and Manjari understood that she got swayed by the Forbidden Emotion. 

Her love for her son won over her wish and Manjari decided to supervise instead of stepping in to cook herself. She was a one woman army and didn't appreciate the presence of staff when she was cooking. That was like meditation for her. She had to train herself to teach and guide the staff and the staff went through a tough phase.If not for their respect for Abhimanyu, his generous nature and the adorable kids, they would have quit. They did see the light of the day and they didn't have to look back. Abhimanyu took pride in his decision and now, Manjari cooks whenever she feels like and she follows caution.

The conversation with Neil unsettled Abhimanyu. The distance in their bond was glaring at him and he didn't know how to bridge it. Abhir's entry into their lives changed a lot of things. So many truths were unveiled, so many battles were fought, so many hearts were broken and so many relationships took a hit. Those weigh heavy on his heart till date because his child and his family didn't deserve to go through all that 8 years ago. 

The fact that he was the one who set things in motion hurt him so bad that he changed overnight. Everyone handled the change very well except for Neil. He was just 21 then and had developed his own way of looking at things. Neil handled a lot of things much better when he was way younger. He even managed to forgive Harsh and forge a bond with him. That is exactly why Abhimanyu couldn't pin the reason behind Neil's displeasure till date.

He only understood that Neil didn't take the changes well, a lot later. Abhimanyu was sure that he had some role in it but Neil never told him no matter how much he pursued. His changed demeanor didn't allow him to force the answer out of him and Neil never budged. Neil's ways have been getting on to his nerves a lot, lately and he is struggling with his emotions.

Abhimanyu has mastered the art of blending in over the years, so that no one notices his emotions. Because he knew for sure that his family could read him like an open book if they notice. He expressed freely and didn't hold back his emotions when pushed or asked. He had a lot of hidden layers which could be unraveled by his family easily anyday, if they wished, but he just didn't let them figure out that.