We were just two sisters from a middle-class family, belonging to the rural district of Bhadohi in Uttar
Pradesh. Frequently relatives, neighbors, and family members used to taunt my mother for having only
two daughters. But when we were graduating all of a sudden, we came to know that my mother was
expecting again and this time my father wanted a son. I was not very happy with the decision but I had
no say over the matter as I was a girlchild. So, I don’t know why but I used to hate that unborn child from
the beginning. When my brother came to life the same people who wanted a son started taunting her for
giving birth to a child at this age. We sisters were not accepting of our brother at the onset of things. But
eventually, my sister accepted it but I couldn’t. One fine day when I was moving out from the family to
pursue my higher education, my 5-year-old brother came to me and started crying, telling me that I
shouldn’t leave him and go else I will forget him and would never meet him. He also gave me his diary to
pack with my luggage to remember him when I return. He also said he would do all the housework if I
stayed with him. Little did he know that I was moving not because of him but for my career. But this was
the melting point for me. I realized it’s not his mistake that he came to life, westerners too have this kind
of age difference between their children and we should be accepting of it. Since then, our brother-sister
bond grew stronger and now we are the best of friends. Every year on Raksha Bandhan I get him gifts
for tying Rakhi to me as I am his elder sister.
