To My Sisters

It is Raksha Bhandan today. So obviously this post is dedicated to my sisters. I have two elder sisters. Akhila (Akki) and Anu. And I am their only brother.
My sisters, even today remember that day, when a nurse at the hospital brought me wrapped in a towel, a pink baby and asked them to hold me; their little brother.

And of course, I had a wonderful childhood; I was treated royally by my two sisters. Couple of interesting things from my childhood related to all of us is - I demanded that we play “Ganesha” game. So that I would pretend to be a Ganesh idol and Akki & Anu would perform pooja, offer prasadam and even carry me till the well. Of course, they were kind enough not to throw me into the well for all that boring games I asked them to play.

Both my sisters would fight with each other, if they got a smaller share of the cake that was brought home but they never cared how big a piece I walked away with. 

They did transfer to me the family fooling pranks. Akki would fool Anu and Anu in turn fooled me, by taking me to the two palm trees near our house and telling me fake stories that the trees were once lovers who were cursed by a saint to become trees, so she would ask me to apply talcum powder on the trees, to prevent them from diseases. My cousin Anupama and I repeated this prank with her brother and thus forwarded the legacy to our juniors.

I have had a fun filled childhood. I have fought with my sisters, had fun, enjoyed family outings, laughed at various jokes, good or silly and also chased my sister Anu around the house, with a stick or even a knife. But it’s interesting to notice that when we grow up, suddenly the same siblings, who we once liked or hated you for various stupid reasons become the best of the friends.

Both my sisters are today my best friends. We have shared a lot of fun stories from college, we have tapped each other for advise, suggestions or recommendations. And today, we have grown to be the best of friends, which is a wonderful feeling.

But one thing that always makes me sad is the fact that today we are headed in three different directions and we hardly get to meet each other at the same time. The last time all three of us met was in 2002. Of course I have met them individually in Mumbai and in Los Angeles but the fun shared in togetherness is something I miss. It appears like we shall meet up this year; all three of us. And I eagerly wait for those moments. I look forward for all that fun by refreshing childhood memories, bringing up funny acts of dad or mom and remembering the good old days, people we once were and at the same time, appreciating each other for the maturity and positive changes that time and experiences have brought in us.

This post will be incomplete if I do not mention the three people who chose to be my sisters. Vijaya Lakshmi from my class (I guess in 7th) made Rakhis herself and tied it on the hands of every boy in the class. Well at that moment it was a joke, but today I extremely appreciate and respect her thoughts.

Samsu, my neighbor, being a Muslim tied a Rakhi to me and I consider this as the best example to spit out all the hatred that we have between religions.

Dhanya, my classmate in Engineering, is a sweet dear sister to me.