Rakhi-the Thread Of Love & Protection

By Author: Mayuri
Total Articles: 3
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The first time, I gazed upon my little brother, I was seven years old. He was this beautiful little boy who instantly stole my heart and I promised to never let anything bad happen to him. Of course my seven year old self didn’t realize that I could not prevent such things from not happening. But I tried to keep my promise in my own way. I always looked out for him and took care of him. If anybody messed with my little brother, then they had to deal with me.
When he was 3 years old we went to an arts and crafts workshop and made masks, drew drawings, painted, made cut out paper snowflakes etc. We spent the whole day in this workshop and I know we had the best time ever because I still remember it like it was yesterday. When he was older, around 10 years of age, he belonged to the gifted mathematics program and they would have competitions annually to which I was the volunteer for the group in my brother’s age group. I spent my afternoon’s afterschool training him and his classmates for this event. They didn’t win, but I do remember the times I spent getting to know his friends just simply enjoying the ...
... time together with him. After all, he was my little brother whom I cherished. As he got older the activities changed to hockey, music lessons [Music Classes in Pune], cooking classes [Best cooking classes in Pune] etc. I was with him through every step of the way. I took him to his hockey practices every week and went to all his games. He grew up knowing that no matter what activity or hobby he was involved in, his big sister would be there cheering him on every step of the way.
Even as we got older and he started making more friends with whom he enjoyed spending time with and goofing off as boys tend to do, he still sought me out. He would come into my room on Sunday mornings, jump on my bed and drag me out of bed, so that he could play basketball outside or play his latest video game. He knew I had a soft spot for him and would always join him in whatever it was he wanted to do. This went on many years until one day it was time for me to get married.
He surprised me one day by giving me a gift before my wedding. A gift he bought with his own money he earned doing some part time work, when he was all but 15 years old. When I unwrapped the gift he gave me, I started crying and hugged him. Inside I found a beautiful wedding album, the kind I always wanted. In fact, after my wedding when the photographer gave the photos pasted in another album, I took out all the photos and re pasted them in the album my sweet little brother gave me and discarded the other one. Every time I look at the album, i remember my little brother who gave it to me, who had put so much thought into giving me this beautiful gift.
I got married and moved away and over a decade later, when he around 27 years old, we went on a tour to see the Taj Mahal together. It was then that he told me, how much I meant to him. He told me that no matter what path he took in life, that I was the one person who always supported him and was there for him. Being the son in the family, he faced pressures of becoming a doctor or engineer, as all Indian parents want for their son. But my brother was more interested in music and cooking. So, even when my parents were against the idea, he said he knew he had my support and love. He said to me, “you were always there watching my back and speaking out for me, when nobody else did”. He made me cry that day when he said this to me and I cried even more when he said, “I didn’t understand why you had to move away after getting married. Why couldn’t you just stay in the same city. But I understand now that you had to start living your life, but I didn’t realize this till years later.” I never knew my moving away after getting married affected him so deeply, which he kept hidden inside. But he reassured me that he was no longer upset about it, because his big sister was the one person he could always count on to be there for him. So I guess my seven year old self fulfilled the promise she made that day when he was born and I continue to do so even today because he is my little brother, who stole my heart the day he was born.