Siblings – Your first friends in life. No one can replace them ever. It so happens that siblings are your worst rivals during your childhood and eventually turn best friends later. I still remember the days when my brother would lift me in his arms and call me a “chubby rabbit”. My sister and I were worst enemies. I remember her hitting and pinching me, making me cry. She would also tell me tales that she was a ghost of a girl called “Sreedevi” and scare me.
My brother, being the eldest of us developed the habit of being the most responsible brother for us. He’d take us to school and come back with us. Mom would return late from her work and our brother would cook/buy supper for us once we are back home from school.
I still remember the days when I cried that my brother was going to live in a hostel for his MBBS. After a few years it was my sister’s time to go for her studies. And this time I was happier that I’m the Queen of my home 😉 But then I was missing the evening fights with her and our arguments. I’d visit her at her college often too. I still remember the exciting days when parents started looking for a guy for my sister. The day when we first met my Brother in law still remains fresh in my mind. Her engagement was filled with excitement, fun, thrill and what not. It was the happiest moment for us. But I cried for hours that my sister is now going to live in another house. Years flew and all of us got married. Journey with our new families changed the directions of our lives. But the true love within us remains the same.
I remember my mom telling us “My dearest in life is my brother. He is my heart and soul” and I had laughed at it. I used to tease her saying “I have never seen you being close to mama (uncle) like me and my siblings”. She used to say “Love may not be explicitly shown over ages. Your child may tell this later”. And the history repeats now! I often talk about my childhood to Harshu and she questions “Amma, were you and mama so close?”
Seeing our siblings successful in career makes us very happy. Living far from each other, really does not create the distance between hearts. But the pain of not meeting each other for months is still there. New entrants and new families change many things in life. But the love for a sister/brother is always there. It may not be openly shown but it never fades.
At one point in time, your spouse and children may be your heart and soul; Nevertheless your siblings too. No one can understand you better than your siblings; not even your spouse. Your colleagues, relatives, society, in-laws and sometimes even your spouse may criticize you. But siblings are the ones who know the REAL YOU. And of course, siblings are the ones who would defend you whenever someone throws stones at you. My siblings are the best to me and dare not to belittle them in front of me.
Happiness is seeing your kids growing up with so much love for your sibling’s kids. I see that bonding between Harshu and Rithu.