The Sibling Theory......

Sibling: Each of two or more children or offspring having one or both parents in common; a brother or sister………now this is what “sibling” means according to dictionaries. My understanding is a little bit different. I have a younger sibling so my perspective of writing this blog is through an elder’s eye. According to my higher scale of knowledge, a sibling is someone who doesn’t only share a parent but also shares your space, your comfort, your food, your toys, your books, etc. So basically anything that you claim to be yours is theirs and gradually it becomes entirely theirs. Strangely, you are more than okay with this development. It’s as if you submit to their wishes because it gives you utmost happiness.

When you’re a young kid and people often visit you, and by ‘people’ I mean relatives and unknown humans who claim to be “friends” of your parents and act as if you are an intriguing creature whose cheeks suddenly seem in dire need of kneading, hence they are pulled and pinched in a systematic rhythm. Most of them generally don’t know how to handle the “talking” part with a kid. So they ask one question which gives them an escape route from the whole talking and hangs you over a dangerous situation where your answer can lead to the fury of either of the parent... “Who do you love the most, mom or dad?” Most kids don’t know how to answer that for two reasons. First, kids are dumb and second, how the eff do you answer that riddle?! I was a smart kid though. With both my parents staring at me as if I am about the announce the Oscar for the best parent, I noticed my little sister chewing on her own shirt collar and an idea popped into my tiny brain and I blurted “I love my sister the most”…. Problem solved!! No glares, no flares! Sab log khush!

Often the term “growing up together” is associated with siblings. But it isn’t just growing up, it’s a relationship that can’t be defined just by the boundaries of growing up. It’s a never ending bond in which your entire lives get intertwined with experiences exclusive just to them.

Now having a younger sibling is an altogether different level of madness. Between the ages of 0-10 the sole purpose of their life is to wreak havoc in the lives of the elder sibling. The amount of chaos they make you clear and handle is unimaginable. The chores of an elder sibling range from wiping the little person’s tears to wiping their crap that they keep littering all over the place. And believe me these kids never stop crapping! But even though you have to keep picking up after them, their smile and little giggles and laughter makes every piece of crap worth it. So in short you can call them “little bundles of crappy and cranky joy”. Now comes the ages between 10-15. This is when the house becomes a 24/7 open playground and the games played may be as professional as wrestling and cricket to as idiotic as being CID officers and solving cases where your pillows are murdered, with some so embarrassing that only comedians who play a role of the opposite gender may understand that. Gradually we grow up to the ages between 17-21. This is when you really become emotionally and socially close with the understanding that is mostly of a budding grown-up and sometimes that of a 6 year old. This is also when your quarrels become verbally intense and rather than a pillow fight you try engaging in a flop battle of wits.

Gradually as time passes and career and education starts to gain a higher ground, many relations have to undergo severe changes, but this bond between siblings is one of those rare things that only grows stronger. Yes, siblings do have to move on with their individual lives and most of the times also physically have to stay away but just the feeling of having a sibling you can always rely on in every situation is the most blissful feeling a heart can ever feel. A sibling is the person with whom you don’t just share your stuff with a feeling of love, you do that because more than love it makes you feel complete. For me, my sibling isn’t just a person or as she likes to say “V.I.P.”, she is the final piece of my soul that makes me whole.

This one’s dedicated to my crappy little dumb-ass who doesn’t know how to make me a better person but is a pro in making me annoyed to her level best!

- Anubhav Arora.