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Saturday, August 13, 2011

What Rakshabandhan Means To An Only Child

Posted by at 9:12 AM On to the Previous Post
Today is Rakshabandhan, one of the famous festivals of India. Every year, 2 days before, people would buy gifts  for their siblings- sisters getting Rakhis for their brothers, and brothers busy buying gifts for sisters.

The shopkeepers start preparations weeks before the day comes. An array of items could be seen everywhere-rakhis, gifts, cards(generally for those whose their siblings live far away from them ). And who can forget the inevitable ingredient of any celebration?
 Food! Kheer,Rabdi,Laddoo,Pakore-Different region has its own special dish for this occasion, each of them being equally delectable.


So all in all, these help the day turn out to be a memorable one for brothers and sisters-a day to outpour emotions(filmy at times!), a day for reconciliation. 

But somehow, I have always failed to sense that affection.
Because I am the only child to my parents.

Now, you would say,"So what? You will surely be having cousins?"to which my reply would be that because of my father's job and my education, I would be away from my hometown almost the whole of the year. Hence, I would miss the company of my cousin-sisters, not only on this day but also every major festival of my colorful country.

So the child inside me have always missed the company of an elder sister. Someone who would always listen to what I felt, who would hide my things and when I would cry, return them back with a small but priceless surprise(maybe a toffee!).
Someone who would always save me from my parents' thrashing if I did anything wrong, who would also, blame me for her mistakes and then when I came to her with a 'swollen' face, would mock me and poke my cheeks.
Someone who would try hard to look down on me, so that I would only excel, and then, she would hug me tight, and would tell her friends, "My bro he is!".

And also, someone who would be there to tie a rakhi around my wrist.

Now I have seen many of my friends complain about their sisters, many of them do it to excessively!
Most of them would tell me,"You must be very lucky dude!"
I know you too might be thinking the same right now, but trust me, I know how much I missed the company of a sibling while growing up. Maybe I got everything to myself, but I know I missed the joy of reluctant sharing! And the small packets of fun involved whenever that sharing would start a fight!

Life was always a beautiful concept to me, and my parents always made sure that it stayed that way, but I know that it would have been tad simpler, exciting, and adventurous if I had a sister around, all the time!

Therefore, as I pass by the beautifully decorated rakhi-shops, I wish all my friends , my well-wishers and everyone I know, a Happy Rakshabandhan, as I sign-off with the following verse:

To me you are a leg-puller,joking about anything I would do!

To me you are a big-time liar,hiding my stuffs, so no one knew!
You always saved me from thrashing, every time I screwed,
My elder sister is my best buddy, this world had to bestow!

6 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  2. Thoughtful bro... well heres letting you know that you are not alone in this regard.I too am an only child and share your feelings :( So just try to take life as it comes.Live long...
    stay strong :)

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  3. i am alone child girl too. yes it feels terrible for me tooo.. :(

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  4. I have a younger sister & a cousin brother. We all grew up together & am very lucky to have them. They are my best friends & partners in crime ;-)

    Since I am the elder one, I have all the responsibilities of protecting my siblings, taking care of them & showering with gifts.

    Just like you crave an elder sister, I used to crave for an elder brother who would protect me, fight with me but also pamper me a lotttt!!!

    Your post reminded me of my wish! *sigh*

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  5. So true sirji.. I love my brother and sister and on this occassion of rakshabandhan i will send Happy Raksha Bandhan Cards to my siblings through cardwale.com

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