Angadiya- My Lifeline
I came into this world smiling, crying and seeing unknown faces around me. Gradually, I started to recognize some faces; Angad bhaiya was one of my favorite faces. There are many things one doesn’t remember about ones childhood, but there are a few we do, we remember and cherish them very deeply. I know for a fact that I have always been very close to my elder brother, Angad. I have always wished to be the elder sibling but never have I ever wished that Angad bhaiya wasn’t my brother. He is after all an integral part of me, the part I will never want to lose. He is very precious!
“We both have our own endearments for each other, “Ikki” is what he calls me and for me, he is my ‘Angadiya’ and ‘Chottu’ (little did I know that he would grow up to be so tall).”
Growing up with him has made me develop ‘boyish’ likes and dislikes. We love to ape our elder siblings. Don’t we? I remember seeing large number of cars in his toy basket, which attracted me so much that I ultimately grew deeply fond of cars myself.
We love doing things together like, painting, playing board games, cooking Maggie, and baking cup cakes. We raced in almost everything, who finishes the milk first, who ate first, who got ready first or even who got up from the bed first to get mom’s hug!
“My parents always told me that Angad bhaiya would irritate me, poke me and later try to hold me in his arms but isn’t that what all elder siblings do to the younger ones?”
I cherish the pictures and videos of my brother and me. My favorite one is, when I threw all the clothes from the closet and he kept them back, clearing all the mess I had made, without even complaining once. When we tied each other Rakhi and promised to take care of each other, is my next favorite.
“Our way of expressing is very strange/unusual”
We fight like cats and dogs but if mom says anything about either of us, we seldom fail to defend each other and team up against mom. We drive each other up the wall but if anyone of us cries, we are never happy. We make each other laugh. If any of us is sad, we know just what to do, to cheer the other up.
Angadiya has always been accident prone, whether it is serious or not. He has a tendency to fall down anywhere. I would pick him up, but only after a hearty laugh. We shared a room but were too scared of the ghosts in that room. We were partners in crime. I remember, scratching all the wax from mom’s candles, making unbearable noise while playing with cars. We would sometimes even throw food into the dustbin only to be later caught by mom. We have always irritated mom together, pushed her buttons. We love it!
“People wouldn’t treat him normally even though he is absolutely normal.”
For Angad bhaiya, it has always been different. He was mostly excluded from the groups and was teased. As a sister, I don’t think I could ever bear that. After few such episodes, it would hurt me more than him. Luckily, my friends are very cooperative and understanding towards him. Unlike them, there are also people who tend to be very insensitive in general.
But that doesn’t stop Angad bhaiya from exploring the world. He is very persistent! If he has a liking towards something, he goes for it. Irrespective of what people think of him. Isn’t this a great quality? This is one quality of his, which I really appreciate and have acquired from him. He loves to paint, play football and he is an amazing drummer. He really makes me proud! He has proved himself to those who said, “You won’t be able to do it.”
When I was small, I saw him getting convulsions, learning slowly and remaining sick, but my mother always stood by him, bringing out the best in both of us, especially him. Seeing this in my growing up years has made me stronger and responsible.
“My mom always says that I am his second mom and I have played a great part in molding Angad bhaiya into the person that he is today. But, honestly I feel that he is the one who has taught me, in his own way, to be a responsible person”
If it weren’t for him, I would have probably never been the person that I am today. He is a great brother in all aspects be it pampering me, irritating me or helping me face my fears. I can always count on him the way he counts on me. Isn’t this amazing?
Bhaiya is the one who loves me unconditionally, knowing all my limitations. He means the world to me. He keeps my secrets, he defends me, he makes me laugh, he supports me, he tells me whether I look good or not, he goes out of his way for me. He is awesome! Even though he looses his temper too quickly, he always listens to me more than he anyone else.
I do sometimes miss having an elder brother who could guide me through things and be the mature one between us. But frankly, I don’t mind it anymore. I can guide him and I can be the mature one, only on the condition that he would stay with me whatsoever. People say that the younger siblings mostly live in the elder sibling’s shadow but in my case, I have always been living in Angadu’s glow.
Written by: Raveera