"Monu ...will u cry at the time of my vidai ?" my didz would time and again ask me ..
"Paagal hai kya " would be my instant reply .. "It would be the happiest moment of my life ..Imagine the joy of having the whole bed at my disposal.. The almirah in it's entirety. Realisation of the fact that post your marriage ,I would be an eligible bachelor puts me on Cloud Nine."
But as she walked down the aisle on the 5th of February ...this apparently so insensitive brother of hers was overcome by an irresistible surge of emotions ...memories of a 22 years of an awesome association flashed by him in split seconds ...and he was left in tears ...he cried contrary to public expectation!!!!!
Yes, I cried!!!!!!!!
The sudden realisation dawned upon me that henceforth my sweet sis would be Mrs. Nitika Agrawal and not Ms Nitika Singal !
That she would now don the mantle of a bahu and that vermillon, bindis, saris and payals would now characterise her existence...it would not just be her appearance for a fancy dress competition as she had done in class KG ..!!
That from now on I would be touching her feet for blessings!!!
That henceforth she'd just be a guest to our house and her visits marked by much fanfare would be only ocassional !!!!
22 years of an association marked by awesome moments ..moments of joy ..moments of despair.. moments when we taunted each other .moments when we made faces at each other ..
Those unforgettable moments probably constitute our biggest treasures!
I would sleathily enter into the room where she was exercising in the guise of dancing and tease her for trying to shed that excess flab!! "Moti..." (the more she got irritated ,it was all the more thrilling..)
No sooner did she return from office then I would rush off to the jhaal muri vendor
"Futafatt ek muri baniye ..bittu didi ke liye " and he'd understand it all ..would require no further instructions for his most-valued customer!
The wars she'd wage on me on realising from the wrappers thrown around that I had enjoyed an entire Dairy Milk when she was away from home and apprehending that I had not kept back even a single piece for her ...It was like her uttering to me " How could you do this to me,Monu ?" and then I'd unwillingly hand over to her that 50% of the chocolate bar .."Take !! take your Goonda Tax"
The contrasting manner in which we reacted when we got to know that now there was a new entrant in each other's lives ...Hrithik in hers and Aish in mine..
I took it quite sportingly ..even gifted her 16 photographs of her crush on her 16th birthday ...
She,on the other hand, got outrightly insecure ..I donno why .. didz would would leave no stone unturned to bring Aish's flaws to my notice...would be on the top of the world when a movie on Aish on rare ocassions bombed at the box-office
I would be about to appreciate the taste of a new dish served at dinner but would immediately retract when I'd get the hint that it was she who had cooked it ..."Kuch khaas baat nahi hai tera dish mein .it's so-so types ..you can never match my Mom..!!"
I would insist on her calling me "Bhaiya" nd would cite instances of such occurrences in the locality! To this she would vehemently protest .."Check your date of birth dear..it's 16.09.1984 ..that's way way behind 21.05.1983!
On top of that,in terms of education,I am ahead of you by 3 years ( There's a secret to that ..Lemme clarify that I've never had to repeat a class in my entire academic career.It's only that .....) .."Jaa Jaa Chal Hut!Bittu!" ..that was the only way I could extract my revenge ...by not calling her Didi!
She'd chat endlessly for hours at a stretch with my Airtel jiju during her courtship period ..I'd get mischievous and would sit just next to her .."Hum Bhi aap log ka bat sunegaa..hum akela hai" I'd utter."Monu ..plz go away .." the lady would shout immediately as she became so conscious of my presence.."I'll talk to u later" she'd tell my jiju and hang up the phone.
Believe me this is only the tip of the iceberg..we've always being at loggerheads to each other!
However in midst of all this melodrama , she remains world's best didz ..the most intelligent,understanding and healthy girl in the world ( I hope that one understands the context in which I've used the above terms ...with all their grammatical variations and cognate expressions)Her marriage leaves behind a void which gets so overwhelming at times ..
You wake up in the morning ..in a semi -conscious state and try to locate Didz on her share of the bed now wholly at your disposal and then suddenly realise that ..
The doorbell rings at 8.00p.m. and you shout "Mom... Didi has come .. am going to bring Jhaalmuri for her" and then you suddendly realise that ...
The subconscious mind instantly, almost like a ritual, earmarks for her 50 % of the chocolate bar..the Goonda Tax ..and then suddendly realises that the Goonda (Goondi) is 12-13 kms away in another home sweet home.
You spend hours with your mom planning the dress you'd wear at tuitions the next morning ..wondering whether a Steel Grey shirt with Creme trousers would be fine!
Finally the unresolved dilemna takes the form of an sms to Didz " Yuck..Poor Combination" comes the reply instantly .."Wear the black shirt ..the one I had bought for you last year "
Trust me .life has become so confusing when your sole decision maker on almost all matters under the sun is now not at your instant disposal ..the bed and the almirah fail miserably to bridge this gap
There's an irreristible urge to get back to the bygone days .
There's an irreristible urge to send across the message..
"Alone I can only say but together we can shout
Alone I can only smile but together we can laugh
Alone I can only live but together we can celebrate"
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