My Little Brother.. :)

On Sunday -10th August 2014- it was Raksha Bandhan, an Indian festival that celebrates the lovely bond shared by siblings. Typically on this day, sister ties rakhi (a sort of thread-band) on her brother's wrist, puts tilak (vermillion mark) and feeds him sweets.  And the brother promises to protect her and gives her a gift. In my case, I always give my brother a gift too besides protecting him when he was a small. :D

<3 <3 Credit: Stacie Turner Photography

When I was a  kid, this festival brought a lot of excitement (partly due to love for brothers and partly greed). LOL. I used to tie rakhi on at least a dozen wrists (that includes my 1 real younger brother - V, cousins and neighbours.) Needless to say, I was showered with clothes, chocolates, pencils etc apart from a little money. I remember carefully selecting rakhis, the cutest one reserved for V and metal ones (which in my naivety I thought was silver!) for my favourite cousins.  All the money that I got, I would buy something for V from it. All money! :D

My sarcastic brother aka Garfield (left) and nerdy & clumsy me aka Jon (right) :D

My mother tells me that I wanted to kill V when he was born. hahaha I don't remember saying that nor can I imagine that I had harboured such feelings for him. Because as long as I remember, he was and still is the most precious thing in my life. He is my first love, my first baby. :)

When we were in school, I had morning classes and V had afternoon sessions. So I would go to pick him up every evening where the school bus dropped him. There was this spare plastic box in my house to keep thread spools, pins, money change etc . I would take whatever I got my hands on -  2 Rs, 5 Rs. Then would head to the local general store and buy chocolates, fried snacks and wait for V. As soon as my chubby brother got down, I would take his bag, water-bottle and give him chocolates/snacks. Then we took the long route to home so that he could finish the goodies on the way. I also recollect getting into a physical fight with a girl because she stole V's chalks that I had got for him. The funniest part is that I was wearing only inner-wear, because I had just come from school and was changing clothes. I saw him crying, and without thinking just ran to that girl's house like Super (Wo)Man. Lol! 

Eccentric Stewie from The Family Guy like V :P

I am lucky to have him as my friend and my strongest ally. Especially while living in a house where there is a disconnect between me and my parents' thought process. I am more expressive about my affection, he is not. But I know that he loves me a lot too. That he is there with me, 100%. That he will support me for the right reasons, if and when the time comes. That he cares for me and worries for me. Doesn't show much but he does. I know. :)