Neighbour's Envy, Brother's Pride

Neighbour’s Envy, Brother’s Pride…
10th August 2001
We now resume normal service, with the blasts from the past.
The one person I’ve missed the most since I’ve come to Pune has been my little sister. The little tyke who terrorises and bullies me at any given time of day or night when I’m home. Last week I returned to Bombay for a flying trip, on the occasion of Raksha Bandhan.

Naturally, being full of keedas as I am, I gulled my sister into believing that I had been unable to get any gifts for her. The next morning, on the festive day, I handed her a necklace, pen and a stuffed toy. Purchased the previous evening on my way home.

My sis has certainly shown signs of growing maturity since I left home. I’d worried about not being around to guide her through her college days, but my fears seem to be unfounded. he’s having more fun in college than I did.

I have certainly influenced her with tales of my college life. She’s joined a couple of clubs and is an active member of both. Recently, she escorted her Principal to a function. She’d turned down the chance to host it, fearing stage fright. Something I hope she never repeats.

The confidence that seems to have developed in her is startling, but immensely satisfying. Joining dance classes with Shiamak Davar and performing on stage is one reason. The completion of her dental treatment is the other. Her teeth have been weak since childhood, due to her sickly nature. However, her dentists have rebuilt her entire set of teeth. She now upstages me as the person with the best set of teeth in the house.

The maturity is also evident from her behaviour with family and friends. Gone are the tantrums and childish behaviour. This was evident one night when some friends were over. I learnt later that Mom had been bugging her. A friend told her jokingly to reply in kind. Sis just said, "I can’t do that. Samit’s not here, I’m the only child Mom has around her. So I’ve got to be nice."

It’s an impressive start, one which fills me with a lot of hope. As recently as two months ago I had feared that she wouldn’t be able to come out of her shell. Now I laugh at myself.

It was, on the whole, a lovely trip. I spent my time with my family, catching up on news and sleep. And I’ve returned to Pune with a huge load on my shoulders.

I’ve just come off a 3-day work stretch – 72 hours of almost uninterrupted DTP work. And the exhaustion has manifested itself as fever. So I’ve taken a day off to relax and recuperate.

One other aspect of the trip was the fact that I was with friends. Bunny, Mallu and Groper. The four of us are gelling into a solid group. We originally planned to travel by local train – but ended up going to Bombay by bus. We returned together by train. The journeys were great fun. And returning with a group lessens the pain of leaving your family once again.

But this article is about my sister. Whose real persona, once hidden from the public eye, has begun to emerge and flower. The one person in the world who can claim to be closer to me than anyone else she knows. The one person to whom I’m currently the most important being on the planet.

I’ve no doubt the process of growth that began with her dance classes will continue unabated. I’m just waiting to see the finished product.

It’s an example of a brother’s pride.