"Don't play with the remote da. Only if you break it and when it is not there you will understand its importance" shouted my mom. I just smiled. i dono if i will miss my remote when it is not
there. But i am missing one person who is not with me in India now. & that's my cousin sister sudha, who we fondly call dhasu :-)
When i came to chennai 7 years back, she was waiting for me at the bus stand and lead me to her house. A small 10 minute walk. At that time I never knew she is not just leading my way
to the house, but she is gonna lead me in my life as well.
Honestly speaking, we were not that close initially i.e. during my school days. Those times the relationship was more of a sense of liking and respect than liking and love. I used to project
a goody goody boy image in school days. She used to appreciate me for my marks, make fun of my walking style, my mannerisms, my acting in school skits etc.. I went to a village near
pudukottai with her (the first time i was out somewhere without my parents) and i still remember the way she took care of me and my cousin.
When i came to chennai for Engineering counseling, I remember her waiting for me to come out of the hall. My relatives were waiting to congratulate me. She started running towards me
and i just narrowly escaped from getting caught in her arms, went passed her and hugged my cousin. Her only reaction was a smile. From then on to today for all the mischief i have done
to her, her only reaction is that cute innocent smile :-).
'Ivan padikara mariyae theriyala yae (it does not look like he is studying)' - this is how my uncle makes fun of me. When ever he does that my cousins will join with him and make fun of
me. First in queue to make fun of me will be dhasu. But when ever my mom comes home to pay me and uncle a visit, she will ask me how i am studying? before I start answering, my sister
used to reply- ' All through his school days, he studied on his own. It s no different here. He is doing well'.
Not that she supports me in everything i do. If i do something wrong, she treats me with a scorn. I had(ve) the habit of reading magazines while eating. She tried to change this habit
many a time but i dint relent. I have always thought i must leave this habit for my sister & aunt but sorry dhasu some things cant change :-)
One highlight of my college period was that was the first time I cried like a kid. Yup. My sister was given a wrong injection by a doctor and she started gasping for breath. She lost control
of her eyes and hands. I was petrified to say the least. But, gaining strength we took her to a doctor. He gave some injections and my sister turned normal. After 45 minutes of all this
ordeal, i came of out of the hospital and started crying. Not a masculine water-in-the-eye weeping. But kiddish water-running-from-the-eye crying. I waste my tears only to people who i
love. She is one of them :-) The comedy is I prayed to lord vishnu that i will come to a temple of his, once a month for the next year.I kept up my promise & visited the temple for the
next three years not just one :)
When my uncle expired and my sister was the only bread winner of the family, i proposed that i move to the hostel. It was not surprising that they dint allow me to do that. But what was
more startling was the way my sis and cousin kutti, laughed at the idea. I can still visualise the moment. In the bed room, my mother/dad said to both of them 'Bharath will move to hostel
soon' and both of them just laughed at it and said 'He has been with us all through. & He will be with us all through!'. If at all i can pick 5 best moments of my life, this one has to be right
there.
I have never seen her differentiating me and Kutti. Right from the b'day gift she gives, to the happiness she gets on our success, she has never differentiated us. i even say this to her ' If
Kutti and I are same in all respects, then give me a share of uncle's property' :-) No. They have not given me a share of the family property. But they have always given me a share of
their happiness :)
My campus placement was a bigger fun. You might have seen parents accompanying their wards during the placement time. For me my sister came to college. I was not well- down with
fever and dysentry. Like a touch-up girl in cinema, she was with me all the time, making fun of me, cheering me and forcing me to drink gluconD at all possible occasion. I did not get
through that interview ( Unlucky CTS ) but i still was happy. B'cos that day I did not get a job that sustains my living, but i got her love that sustains every life :) Two days later i got
placed. (Unlucky Infy) :)
Then uncle's family moved to bangalore( second & final time I cried) - Sister got married (faced some problems as it was a love marriage) - and she moved out of india temporarily now.
But all the while, i have never felt she has left me. Some how or other she keeps poking me & i am loving it :)
I got a new mobile an hour back. The dealer offered to take my old mobile for 600 rupees. That mobile was a b'day gift given by my sister. I politely declined his offer. The old mobile will continue to be with me.Only i know its worth :-)
Dhasu, When u have read till this line, i know u will be more surprised than happier. "Is this written by Bharath, the one who fights with me all the time?".. ya even I am surprised for
writing something emotional- that too about you. But i shamefully accept this- 'Dhasu I love you' :)
PS : Thanks to two people who made me write this post:
1. Sangeetha, a friend of mine in great lakes. Only when talking to her about my sister, i realized how much i miss my sister.
2. TNEB, whose power cut made me sit down and write this, which i was procrastinating for a long time :)
