It's Raksha Bandhan today and like every year, I shall become extra sentimental about my siddhu bhai.
Siddhu bhai (I started putting that 'bhai' suffix only after he got married) is more of a guardian than a brother. Unlike other bhai-behens...I and my brother never fight. We never pull each other's hair and never do chamchagiri about each other to our mom and dad. The only thing for which we ever fought for was a softie pillow that we both loved :-D. My bhai is the coolest bhai on this earth.
I must also admit that my brother has been one of the greatest influence in my life. Whether it's my independent streak, my level headedness, my favourite colours or even my favourite book...I can proudly say that my brother has passed them on to me consciously or unconsciously.
As a kid, I was not too attached to my brother. My brother being 8 years elder to me; I would interact with him only when I was stuck with some maths problem or when I needed his help to complete my science journals.
But I seriously started understanding my brother's importance only after he got married. After his marriage, I started wondering if my brother would remain the same old protective brother that he was before his marriage? I would miss him when I could not garner any support from anyone for arguing with my dad, I would miss him when I would see the empty bed on which he used to sleep, I would miss him when I would long for a drive till south Mumbai on a dull saturday night, I would miss him when I had no one to give me detailed description about the new restaraunt in Mumbai or some new dish that he must have tried sometime. Yes, I missed him a lot despite the fact that he lived just 20 minutes away from my residence.
This had taught me a new lesson for life and that was 'Spend as much time as possible with your near and dear ones'. Today it's been two and a half years since my brother has got married. I have got use to being a single child in the family. I guess I have become more mature and more independent now.
Things are changing for better now...but there's one thing which has never changed and that's my brother's protective avtaar :)
