As usual this year too… my sister text messaged asking me to send her my postal address so that she can send me ‘Rakhi’. I am now waiting for my Rakhi to be delivered. It will be quite evident from my last name that I am a Christian; but being born and brought up in North India… the influence of North Indian festive celebrations are imprinted in my mind… I know this would be surprising for a lot of people that we in our family do follow the Hindu festivities every year. In fact even today I await Diwali's arrival more eagerly than Christmas… because of the fact that childhood memories leave a deep imprint on our minds; which survive in the sub-lateral minds that remain with us even into the adulthood days.
Raksha Bandhan during my childhood days was a big celebration day and an occasion to stuff myself with lots of sweets. Tying of those bright colored and designed Rakhis would leave me feeling nothing less than a courageous king. A feeling… that now onwards it's my responsibility to look after my sister… that feeling always gave me a sense of superiority complex. Betty also felt as important on that day. After tying Rakhis on my wrist and that of a few other neighborhood brothers; she would be richer by a few rupees. I used to wait for her and shower her with all kinds of love; affection and elderly advice in order to entice her into buying some chocolates or goodies.
Rakhi definitely has an affect of strengthening the bond between a brother and sister…. I was always there when she needed me. Maybe Betty knew it as a fact; or else she totally believed that I would stand to guard her in all situations… and thus at times when playing hide & seek; in case she was the one deputed to search for others… she would disappear and would be found sitting at home watching TV. The angry play mates would immediately retaliate and a decision would be taken in unison by them that she would be excluded from participating in any future games. That’s the time; when I would step in and volunteer to do her part… and things again would become normal for her.
Being elder definitely had a significant advantage… but at times I was the one who used to get all those beatings and scoldings from pappa and mummy. I then bear a grudge on this account against her. Knowing that a direct physical assault would invite harsh punishment from pappa, I plan out to assault her indirectly. I would find ways and means to lure her into physical sports like wrestling and WWF and used to beat the hell out of her. My favorite ploy was to invite her into a wrestling match… wherein I would act as Dara Singh and assign her the act of King kong… and as usual I would beat her. In case she got hurt; I would convince her that… Dara Singh being India's pride could not lose to King kong… so she had to take the beating in the right spirit. With passage of time these childish pranks decreased and gradually we moved into our own individual worlds and friend circle.
We moved to Indore… got through our respective colleges and developed our own different tastes and friends… The ritual of tying Rakhi continued; although it was only a routine… but I started missing her presence after I shifted to Dubai. She still sends Rakhi and makes a phone call to me as well. I have stood by her side when ever she needed me and she is confident that I will do so for her till I live. Despite the distance that we stay divided by… I still feel her presence during the Raksha Bandhan. This… I think is the true strength of the thread that ties a relationship together.
Raksha Bandhan during my childhood days was a big celebration day and an occasion to stuff myself with lots of sweets. Tying of those bright colored and designed Rakhis would leave me feeling nothing less than a courageous king. A feeling… that now onwards it's my responsibility to look after my sister… that feeling always gave me a sense of superiority complex. Betty also felt as important on that day. After tying Rakhis on my wrist and that of a few other neighborhood brothers; she would be richer by a few rupees. I used to wait for her and shower her with all kinds of love; affection and elderly advice in order to entice her into buying some chocolates or goodies.
Rakhi definitely has an affect of strengthening the bond between a brother and sister…. I was always there when she needed me. Maybe Betty knew it as a fact; or else she totally believed that I would stand to guard her in all situations… and thus at times when playing hide & seek; in case she was the one deputed to search for others… she would disappear and would be found sitting at home watching TV. The angry play mates would immediately retaliate and a decision would be taken in unison by them that she would be excluded from participating in any future games. That’s the time; when I would step in and volunteer to do her part… and things again would become normal for her.
Being elder definitely had a significant advantage… but at times I was the one who used to get all those beatings and scoldings from pappa and mummy. I then bear a grudge on this account against her. Knowing that a direct physical assault would invite harsh punishment from pappa, I plan out to assault her indirectly. I would find ways and means to lure her into physical sports like wrestling and WWF and used to beat the hell out of her. My favorite ploy was to invite her into a wrestling match… wherein I would act as Dara Singh and assign her the act of King kong… and as usual I would beat her. In case she got hurt; I would convince her that… Dara Singh being India's pride could not lose to King kong… so she had to take the beating in the right spirit. With passage of time these childish pranks decreased and gradually we moved into our own individual worlds and friend circle.
We moved to Indore… got through our respective colleges and developed our own different tastes and friends… The ritual of tying Rakhi continued; although it was only a routine… but I started missing her presence after I shifted to Dubai. She still sends Rakhi and makes a phone call to me as well. I have stood by her side when ever she needed me and she is confident that I will do so for her till I live. Despite the distance that we stay divided by… I still feel her presence during the Raksha Bandhan. This… I think is the true strength of the thread that ties a relationship together.
2 comments:
Very sweet and emotional write up..i am missing my brother...
Hey! just to give u the right perspective to this comment, lemme point out that this happens to be the first item I chose to act on, upon my return to office.
This one made me teary eyed, no I wasnt remembering my brother, I just recently spent time with him.The meeeting made my purse lighter by around 20k, bought him a new mobile, of his choice...
In fact, we were out shopping together on the day of raksha bandhan and I completely forgot about it! It obviously isnt a much celebrated affair down south in Trichur, Kerala.
What touched me was the bottom line therein...that underneath the rakshbandhans, Diwalis,Xmases and what not we are all the same and the things that move us are the same.
Getting back to the 20k I mentioned earlier, I want to elaborate, just in case it sounded as if I regret it. My brother has been pulling thru a bad phase for some time now, all for reasons that are really beyond his control.When he said he could very well pull on with his worn basic Nokia handset, but wanted a new mobile just for the sake of some excitement, I jumped in to sponsor it.I went so far as not to set a budget.
It was my way of just letting him know I am here for him, also a result of my understanding that its when one is feeling down that one needs to be pampered.I always thought my brother was a "STAR", so what if the world is slow to recognise that.I have complete confidence in him, he will recover and come out tops. Where there's so much feeling, we just happened to forget the thread.We are anyways bound by an invisible thread...
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