Siblings….. 

Siblings! Brothers and sisters! Oh God! how I wish at times that I was the only child of my parents. I would be the only apple of their eye, the sole recipient of their love and affection. I would not have to share my room, my study, table, my cupboard, my clothes etc. with my siblings. Most of all there would be no fights in the house! I do admit that what I have written is a purely selfish account of my desires. May be I am an attention seeker. But, speaking honestly it would be a very lonely life without my elder sister. 

Although genetically we are the same but as far as our temperament goes, we are poles apart. The reasons for these differences can be traced to interesting roots. My sister is elder to me by six and a half years. When I was born, she became my second mother. She loved playing with me like a doll, she helped to feed me, she changed my nappies and can you imagine that she even gave me a bath. It is a different matter that once she nearly drowned me in the bath tub as I slipped away from her fingers and refused to be “a well-behaved younger sibling.” 

This perhaps is the reason why even now she continues to mother me. When we go out of town we share our suitcase. It is she who lays out my clothes, footwear, my accessories neatly upon the bed as we get ready for the day. It is she who puts away the dirty clothes in a separate bag. It is she again who unpacks as well as re-packs our bags on leaving. 

Being Pampered in this manner, I have reaped full benefits of being the younger sibling. Perhaps this is what which has made me a carefree irresponsible child. I continue to strew things around in my room. I do not share any trace of the love for cleanliness and tidiness which my elder sister displays. My study table is littered with books, while hero is neatly organized. When going out, she takes a few minutes to get ready while I take ages to decide what to wear. 

Even when it comes to handling money, she controls the purse strings, keeps an account of each paisa spent while I tend to lose money constantly. She speaks softly and gently whereas I, the brat of the family screams and shouts. She likes to watch the Discovery Channel while I am glued to the MTV. She is fond of traditional dresses, whereas I go mad over western clothes. Even in the choice of music, our tastes vary diametrically. 

The effects of such differences are to be seen clearly in our personalities. While my sister is a typical example of what an elder sister should be, I have remained a true specimen of a younger sister even carefree, disorganized and dependent upon my elder sibling for many things in life.