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  The doorbell interrupted their discussion and Uttam went to receive their order of Chinese. As Nitya served the food, she jokingly said to Aneri, ‘I really wonder how you will cope with two mothers around you. I dread the thought of being with one after marriage!’Aneri joined in the laughter only to be interrupted by the vibrating of her phone. As she excused herself to receive the call, Uttam and Aakash started discussing a complicated dental case that Ashish had taken on, much to Nitya’s chagrin.

  Aneri peeped in and called out to Aakash with one hand over the phone, ‘Aakash, Dad is going to pick me up on his way home from Dilip Uncle’s place. He says he will be here in half an hour. Is that okay?’

  Aaksh rolled his eyes, as if to say he wished Aneri could stay longer. ‘Sure. If it’s not out of the way for Motabhai. In fact, ask him to join us for dinner,’ he said.

  ‘Seriously, Aakash!’ said Uttam, ‘you missed a great opportunity to see Aneri home safely!’

  ‘I know,’ said Aakash, smiling ruefully.

  Aneri joined them and handed the phone to Uttam, saying, ‘Hey, Uttam, please guide dad to the clinic.’

  Uttam, with his mouth still half-full of noodles, mumbled the instructions. Through dinner, the topic once again veered to Aakash and Aneri’s living arrangements with their parents.

  Aakash felt a wave of excitement go through him as Aneri talked about their plan of action. ‘Kinjal and I are going to host a family-orientation party! The idea came about when Aakash was showing me some of his childhood pics from an old album at his place. We thought, why not convert this into a complete nostalgia trip. If all of us collect and share our photographs, ranging from twenty years ago to now, it will be a great way to learn about each other’s family. Also, since we won’t be meeting many of the relatives during the marriage, the photographs will serve as a wonderful way to make their acquaintance, and generally get a glimpse into one another’s past memories and style of living.’Aakash said, ‘Yup, and we just have three weeks to put it all together. I know that our respective parents are cordial enough to each other, but we want them to have a deeper relationship. We know that they will stay together without complaining – for our sake. They will try their best to stand by each other’s side without letting us know how they really feel. So, maybe this exercise will foster an organic bond between them.’

  Aneri’s phone buzzed and then abruptly got disconnected. This happened twice, which seemed to cast a shadow of worry on Aneri’s face. She raised her eyebrows and looked at Aakash with some concern.

  When the phone buzzed again, she promptly picked it up and said, ‘Dad…Dad, where are you? Hello…hello…hello…. I can’t hear you. Hello…Damn! It got disconnected again! There was too much noise. He must be stuck in traffic.’

  She excused herself and went out of the room. Everyone suddenly fell silent and concentrated on the last of their meal. Finally, Aakash said, ‘Aneri’s dad is planning a week-long trip to their native place in Morbi. Something to do with the family’s kuldevi. Dad is still insistent that we all keep aside some time for shopping together for the wedding. In a way, that’s a good idea. We all could familiarize ourselves with each other’s tastes and likings. Let’s see how everything works out.’

  No sooner had he completed his sentence, than all of them heard a distinctly loud gasp from outside. Aakash rushed out to the reception area. Others followed him. Aneri was almost shouting on the phone, ‘Hello Dad…hello…hello…Dad, can’t hear you. Dad…. Who is this? Where is Dad? Dad…’ Aakash gently took the phone from her hands and placed it to his ears. In spite of the thunderous commotion in the background, he could still hear the words from the other end.

  Bharat strained his eyes to locate Uttam’s clinic, whose address Aneri had texted to him. He pulled the car over to ask for directions to one Utsav Hotel, which was a landmark of sorts for the clinic. After asking a few people, he kept on driving in the slow lane. When he was sure that he was on the right path, he rolled the window up and began manoeuvering the car to the centre of the road. Suddenly, a speeding SUV swerved past his car. It missed Bharat’s car narrowly, but Bharat, in a strong impulsive reflex, rotated the steering wheel with full force to the other side, causing his car to swerve violently to the left and skidding for about a hundred metres before coming to an abrupt halt.

  Bharat was violently thrown out of his seat as another car smashed into his vehicle from behind. This impact made his face ram into the steering wheel with tremendous force. Blood started trickling down from his nose and mouth and he felt dizzy. In a semi-conscious state, he could vaguely hear the commotion outside the car. He passed out.

  As a good samaritan helped Bharat’s unconscious body out of the car, he heard Bharat’s phone vibrating from inside the car. After a moment’s deliberation, he answered the call.

  Aakash and Aneri sprinted down the corridors of the emergency department of Harkisandas Reliance Foundation Hospital. Guided by the receptionist, they dashed into the room where Bharat Doshi was being treated.

  Aneri burst into tears at the sight of her father lying on a hospital bed. There were dark circles under Bharat’s eyes and both his upper and lower lip were heavily swollen. As Aneri hugged him, he opened his eyes and forced a weak smile. He raised his hand slowly and summoned Aakash to come near. Dr Ahmed, who was standing beside the bed, read the case paper and cleared his throat and said, ‘Well, you must be Dr Aakash, the dentist he mentioned. This seems more like your case. He has injured his lower jaw badly. I have given him painkillers. Dr Dabir is currently in the OT and will see you in an hour.’

  Seeing Aneri’s state, he smiled and comforted her, ‘Don’t worry. The injury is only limited to his jaw. It must have hit the steering handle with great impact. We would like to do a CT scan of the brain to rule out any complications.’ He again patted Aakash and smiled at Aneri reassuringly, indicating that Bharat Doshi was out of danger.

  Bharat caught hold of his daughter’s hand and brought her closer. He whispered, ‘I am sorry, beta. Sometimes, all this running around gets a little too much. But see, now I am making you do the running around!’.

  Aneri turned away to wipe her tears and then placed her hand on her father’s mouth, ‘Shhh! The doctor has advised you against talking. It will aggravate the pain.’

  A few minutes later, Bharat, with ice packs still on his cheeks and lips, was taken for a CT scan of the brain. In the meantime, Ashwin and Kinnari arrived with Chhaya. On learning that Bharat was out of danger, they heaved a sigh of relief.

  After a two hours’ wait, they were ushered into Dr Dabir’s cabin. The doctor was engrossed in interpreting the CT scan results on the x-ray illuminator. He smiled at Aneri, Aakash, and Ashwin and indicated to them to make themselves comfortable. Studying the scans for a few more minutes, he turned to the anxious and tense bunch of people waiting for his verdict. He spoke in a gentle yet firm tone, conveying the impression that he was confident about what he was saying.

  ‘He was brought in unconscious, which is why we went ahead with the CT scan. But, the scan is absolutely normal. The fainting was purely due to the shock of the impact. We checked him for signs of any internal injury, but have found none whatsoever. Just a few bruises and swelling on the lips. That can be taken care of with antibiotics and painkillers.’ He paused for a moment before he continued, ‘He has developed a restricted mouth opening and excruciating pain on any extended opening. I suspect a probable fracture of the upper jaw. Aakash, you are the dentist, right? Can you have Mr Bharat arrange for a CBCT of the upper and the lower jaw by tomorrow morning? A highly reputed maxillo-facial surgeon has his visiting hours tomorrow afternoon in this hospital. I will personally talk to him to examine Mr Bharat.’

  He immediately picked up the phone and dialled a number from his phonebook. As he greeted the doctor on the other end by his name, Aakash let out a surprised yelp. Deep inside his memory, a scene played out from his past. He could see himself and Kashish intently listening to the doctor as he
talked about ethical boundaries in the medical field. Aakash looked up to him as the demi-god in dentistry.

  ‘Arre, Aakash! What a pleasant surprise!’ exclaimed Dr Poonawala as he entered the consultation cabin located on the second floor of the Reliance Foundation Hospital. Bharat, Aakash, and Aneri greeted him, while Aakash stood up and extended his hand for a warm handshake. When Aakash introduced Dr Poonawala to Aneri and her father, he did not miss a flash of surprise on Poonawala’s face. Aakash realized that maybe the venerable doctor expected Kashish with him. Not getting carried away by nostalgia, Dr Poonawala quickly got to task. He asked Bharat to sit comfortably on his dental chair. Under the powerful halogen light, he carefully examined all the teeth on the upper and the lower jaw, along with the inflamed and swollen gums. When he percussed the upper front teeth, Bharat twitched in pain. He called Aakash to the side of the chair and asked him to look at the front teeth. With the blunt end of the dental mirror and the probe, he showed Aakash that the front upper teeth had turned slightly mobile. He palpated the gums all through the upper and lower oral areas as Bharat yelped in pain.

  He called up Dr Dabir and asked him a few questions about Mr Bharat’s case history, after which he and Aakash launched into a long discussion about the results of the 3D scan, the condition of the trauma, and the management of it. Most of the things discussed were Greek to Aneri. After what seemed like eternity, Bharat was relieved from the dental chair.

  Aakash was in complete awe of Dr Poonawala and the way he dealt with his patient.

  Dr Poonawala again took a close look at the x-ray before he told Bharat, ‘The main reason for the immense pain is…this.’ He drew his forefinger on two parts of the x-ray. ‘There are two thin line fractures, one around your anterior maxilla, passing in a cross from your upper front teeth, extending right up to the bone below your nostrils. The other is slightly behind and is quite small. But, luckily for you, none of the teeth have broken or are involved in the fracture line. The mobility of the teeth that you are experiencing will subside in a week. It’s just because of the impact.’

  He paused for a moment before adding, ‘The good part here is that it is manageable, and that too without any cumbersome procedure. A small surgery is all that will be required. It will last a couple of hours and will be carried out under local anesthesia. We dentists call it Arch Bar Fixation. A flat stainless-steel metal strip will run from one end of your upper jaw to the other end and will be tied with a wire. The twisted wires will be replaced a couple of times and changed again. Even Aakash can change the wires once he sees the procedure. You are already on antibiotics and analgesics, so the infection will soon be under control. There will be certain dietary restrictions for a week or a two till the metal plate remains in your mouth.‘The only problem is that your blood reports reveal a slightly elevated blood sugar level. I have talked to Dr Dabir about this. He will be changing your medicines and we should be able to proceed with the surgery in three days if the reports are normal. If you are okay with it, I can book the appointment for Friday.’

  Aakash, who was sitting next to Bharat, whispered into his ears, ‘Motabhai, we both feel this is the right technique of management, but if you still wish to seek a second opinion, we could always…’

  The offer was immediately waved off by Bharat.

  He took a heavy breath and tried to laugh, ‘Let’s get done with this quickly. My daughter is getting married in a month,’ he said.

  When he asked about the surgery charges, he was brushed aside by Poonawala. ‘Aakash and I go a long way back. We will see about that later.’

  Aakash thanked him again. As he was leaving, Dr Poonawala said softly, ‘Are you still in touch with her? Dr Banerjee?’ Aakash shifted uneasily, but answered, ‘Yes, we met just a week ago. She is pursuing her Master’s in New York. She is doing well. She had come here to look after her dad who was recently hospitalized. He is fine now!’

  Before he left, he saw a smile on Dr Poonawala’s face.

  ‘What’s taking you so long?’ an irritated Chhaya shouted to Aneri who was downstairs, taking an infinitely long time chatting with Aakash. ‘Come in now. Papa wants his medicines. Have you got them?’

  ‘Mom, I’ll be up in a minute with the medicines. Aakash is with me. We have called his parents, too. We need to discuss something with you all.’

  Perplexed, Chhaya and Bharat looked at each other. Now what?

  ‘I know what we have to tell you is going to sound strange. But, Aneri and I have thought it through and we feel it is the right thing to do given the circumstances,’ Aakash started to explain.

  Seeing the impatient look on everyone’s faces, he continued, ‘Motabhai, you have surgery in three days. After the surgery, it will be better if we have a constant vigil over you for your speedy recovery. Your daily schedule, eating habits, office hours, everything will change. Lots of things will need to be taken care of.’

  He then looked at Chhaya and said, ‘I agree with Aneri when she says it’s too much for you to handle alone.’

  ‘What exactly are you suggesting, Aakash?’ Kinnari asked sharply.

  Aneri answered, ‘Well, since we all are planning to move in together post marriage, which is in less than a month, why can’t we push up the plan and move in a couple of days. We already have the keys to the Hiranandani flat since you wanted the accommodation for the guests attending our wedding…’

  ‘Over-sentimentality! You’re going down the same path again, Aakash!’ Kinnari was now furious. ‘We really care about Bharatbhai and want to do our best for his speedy recovery, but you guys have made it a habit to put our care quotient to test every now and then. What more do you want us to prove?’

  She caught Aakash by his arms and looked at him in disgust. ‘Have you ever thought what the world will think of us? It is already getting a bit tedious to shut their mouths with this marriage ceremony in a temple and all. And now, they will again have something new to blabber about!

  ‘Or have both of you become so impatient that you can’t even wait a bit longer?’ she did not wish to create a scene and hoped that the last statement would be passed off as a sarcastic joke.

  Aakash looked at his mother with firmness and said, ‘Mummy, think about Aneri. In the past month, she has seen her father twice on the hospital bed. She is scared for her dad. Sure, she and her mom can single-handedly look after Motabhai, but wouldn’t it be nice if we reach out to them, too, now that we all are a family.’

  His voice softened, ‘I would have been by my father’s side if the same had happened to him. I see nothing wrong in doing the same for someone whom I consider equivalent to my father now!’

  Aakash saw that their parents were thinking. He looked at Aneri. She tried to cheer them up, ‘If nothing else, let’s consider this a long holiday of family bonding. Diwali is coming up and what better way to celebrate than being together?’

  Bharat looked at Aakash and asked him, ‘Aneri, being my daughter, I can understand her concern about all this. But do you really want it, too? Are you happy with the idea or you are tagging along because you feel that Aneri will be happy?’

  Aakash, not shifting his gaze even for a moment, replied, ‘Motabhai, from where I stand, both things are one and the same to me.’

  With so many surprises coming their way, both sets of the parents offered little resistance to the new plan. Maybe, they liked the idea of celebrating Diwali in a completely novel way and were excited about spending a relaxed holiday with each other, or maybe they felt that after a few weeks of living together, Aakash and Aneri would have had enough of them and drop their mission. Aakash and Aneri hardly worried about the many ‘maybes’ as they confidently worked towards realizing their dream plan.

  Two days after the discussion, trucks came to cart their belongings to the new destination.

  Chapter 22

  A week after the two families moved in together

  Seven o’clock, late October

  IT WAS A bright October mornin
g. Health enthusiasts thronged the Brihanmumbai Mahanagar Palika Garden at Hiranandani, Powai.

  On the extreme right corner of the garden, just at the entrance, were a few slides and swings where young kids played with their parents. Many walkers briskly paced the trail, enjoying the fresh early morning air. On the other side of the garden, in a small gazebo, a lively group practiced yoga. An occasional chant of ‘Om’ resounded in the area, giving it an aura of sanctity.

  On a bench by the side of the path, sat a man nearing his sixties, playing a popular Lord Krishna bhajan on his flute. A few people had surrounded him, amongst them being Mr and Mrs Mehta who, with eyes closed and heads swaying, were enjoying the moment. Bharat and Chhaya Doshi looked on as Mr Jawdekar, the man on the flute, played. When Mr Jawdekar ended, a loud cheer of applause rose in the air. Aakash and Aneri’s parents, newcomers to the residential complex, had easily blended in with the existing group of seniors. Most people in the group had been named after the talent they showcased. So, Kinnari Mehta earned herself the title ‘Yoga Maestro’, because of the ease with which she could flex her body and perform even the most advanced asanas. Bharat Doshi, on the other hand, became a part of the group as a good singer.

  It had taken just an exchange of a few pleasantries and introductions to get the ball rolling for the new members of the group. Most people had been intrigued by the fact that the Mehtas and Doshis were not currently, but about to in the future, be related. This morning they had all gathered to hear the tale of this unusual alliance.

  After the narration, Mr Jawdekar, with a most approving smile on his face, said, ‘This is the most wonderful thing I have heard in a while. How I wish I could trade places! I have three daughters and a son. One of my daughters is married and lives in Delhi, the other one is in Bangalore, and one stays in Mumbai itself. My son has been working in a reputed firm in America since the last two years. My wife and I visited him last summer. We realized that he needs to be there for a few more years before he decides to come back to India.’