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ARJUN

I am nervous about bringing Abhimanyu home. I want him to like it. I want him to like my parents and mostly, I want him to feel as if he has returned to his home.

It broke my heart to see his grief of parting from a place and from people with whom he has lived all these years. He looks composed now but every now and then I see a cloud of grief appear on his face. I cannot imagine what he must be going through. To go to a new place, to live with strange and unfamiliar people and hoping that they turn out all right, to learn to trust them – this is so difficult. 

I have planned a little surprise for Abhimanyu. I only hope that he feels welcome.

We finally reach the complex. I smile at Abhimanyu and pat his back. “Come, your home has been waiting for you since a long time.” He smiles slightly at me and gets down from the car. He looks at the complex and his eyes widen.

“Is this where you live?!” He asks in awe.

I shake my head. “This is where WE will live.”

He nods, still looking around in wonder. It is indeed a huge complex with 5 buildings, each building having thirty floors. There are small gardens for every building, a common club which has a dance studio, a badminton court and a games parlour consisting of carrom, foos-ball and billiards, two swimming pools, one for the kids and one for elders, an amphitheater and a small yet beautiful temple.

I take out my mobile and call my father. “We are coming inside.” I tell him and disconnect the call. I really hope Abhimanyu likes the surprise.

“Our home is in the C Block on the 20^th floor.” I tell Abhimanyu and gently usher him inside the complex.

“20^th floor!” He repeats in awe, and I must say, my complex has never appeared to be this beautiful as I see it for the first time through my son’s eyes. I take pride in the fact that this is the first ever multi-building complex to be built in the city. I was very young when Appa brought the flat. It must have cost a fortune at that time. 

“The view is fantastic. You are going to love it.” I smile at him and take in his awestruck expression as he looks at the swimming pools glistening in the sunlight and the beautiful manicured gardens in front of every block.

Even from a distance I see that my father has done everything as per plan. There is a group of band-musicians who on seeing us and getting a sign from Appa, start beating on their drums. Appa has also gathered many kids living in the complex who start dancing to the beats.

I look at Abhimanyu who has a stunned expression on his face. “Welcome home, Champ!” I say gently.

The smile does not leave his face as we walk towards the entrance of the block where the little celebration is going on. I cannot help it once we reach there. I and Appa start dancing, Abhimanyu standing at the centre and grinning while all the kids and the grown-ups dance in gay abandon. In the midst of dancing, I see Appa approach Abhimanyu and hug him fiercely. The boy too wraps his arms around him. I cannot help feeling emotional.

The celebration goes on for a long while and finally the band disperses. The kids introduce themselves to Abhimanyu who keeps smiling at each of them.

“He will join you in the evening, okay? I need to take him to his home now.” I tell the kids who wave to us and leave.

“Meet your grandpa and my father.” I tell Abhimanyu as we three get inside the lift. Appa doesn’t say anything. He simply puts his arm around Abhimanyu’s shoulder and smiles at him fondly. Abhimanyu grins back. I think these two have already become BFFs.

We step out of the lift and approach the flat. Amma is standing there at the threshold with an Aarti-thali in her hands. She has drawn a huge rangoli in front of the house. She looks star-struck at Abhimanyu and then, as if remembering, she does his Aarti-ritual. She applies kumkum on his forehead and feeds him a chocolate. Then she gestures us to come inside.

To be frank, I am slightly nervous about Amma’s reaction. She places the thali inside the small temple we have at our home and approaches Abhimanyu. She looks at him intensely for a while. Then all of a sudden, she hugs him fiercely.

“Why is he so thin?” She asks me in a choked voice, her eyes brimming with tears. I gulp down my emotions and hope that she can feel my gratitude and thanks for her support.

She draws herself back from the hug and tilts Abhimanyu’s face, holding his chin in her hand. “You need a lot of nutrition. I want to see you gain at least four kilos in one month.”

Abhimanyu looks at me in panic and that breaks the tension. All of us burst out laughing.

I take him to my room. He looks at the king-sized bed in wonder. But something else grabs his attention.

“Such huge windows! I want to see the view!” He runs towards the balcony and carefully opens the French windows that separate it from the room. He stands near the railing and looks at the view. There is a hill in front of us. Down below, we can see the gardens of the complex looking like tiny manicured lawns. To the right, we can see the ring-road that connects to the airport. Abhimanyu watches everything around him in silence.

“Well, what do you think?” I ask him as I stand beside him and take in the wonder and awe in his eyes.

He smiles and moves closer to me. “It feels like home.” He finally says.

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