My journey with my one and only sibling. The indomitable Major(Retd) Vishnu Vijay Viswanathan, B.A,B.L, PGIRPM (XLRI)!!!
Yesterday was Rakshabandhan - no matter how much distance has separated us, my only brother and I have always maintained a very close, strong bond. Even when he was in the special elite forces as a Major and was in some unmentionable part of Kashmir, I always found a way to reach a Rakhi to him. His well being and joyous life are of the utmost importance to me. For my Avadi friends, you know who I am talking about - the one and only Vishnu Vijay or Vijay like most of you know him.
My earliest memories of my childhood in Avadi are around his birth. We used to live in G 63/5. A 600 odd Sq Ft one bedroom apartment "quarters" where my mom, dad, myself, my unmarried aunt (Sarala Athai), my unmarried uncles (Murthy Chithappa, Balu Chithappa) and my grandparents all lived in sweet harmony. There might have been a dearth of space, there was never a dearth of love or harmony in that household.
I must have been about 2 yrs and 9 months old. I was preparing to get in to school for my L.K.G (I took life pretty seriously even then, boon or bane, only time can tell). So talk comes around the impending arrival of the "Great" one. I go, "It is hard enough to concentrate in this house, now there is going to be this baby that is constantly going to cry and how am I going to be able to do well in school" ? ha ha ha - too much for an almost 3 year old ? Well, you know me!!!
In those days there was no technology available to tell you the gender of the expected child. I was rooting for a sister. My ever indulgent dad was playing along with it. Then the "Great" one arrives. My dad knows it is not the sister I am looking forward to. He comes home and I hop along the front bar of his bi-cycle and we pedal along to the H.V.F Hospital (apparently there was a lot of drama around the birth itself that my 3 year old brain must have simply skipped). My dad starts to talk to me about the ill-effects of a "sister". How I will have to share everything - clothes, jewellery, hair pins, make-up yada yada. And with a brother I will have totally exclusive rights over what is mine. And how much he will protect me and defend me in later life. Within the 5 minutes ride to the hospital, my dad had convinced me that I really wanted, no needed a brother. And then magically I am greeting a brother. I was so impressed how my dad could make it happen just like that. Later - I realized I had been fooled by a master story teller. I learned that story so well that years later I repeated it to my daughter when she wanted a sister and I knew we were having a baby boy.
Anyways, not to take away from this story. It was love at first sight. I was so proud of my baby brother. He was way too fair skinned to my darker complexion and so chubby and had this beautiful head of curly, dark hair. He looked so angelic and was faster than me in learning so many baby and infant skills. He gave his bottle way before I did(comparitive ages), was potty trained before I was at the age and was my mom's apple of the eye. All this should have triggered sibling rivalry, but it was never so. Probably because of the adulation with which he regarded me. Exists to this day and I am so greatful for that. Probably because I had a similar singular attention from my dad. I do not think we really felt any sibling rivalry between each other. He was so content to let me take the limelight. He is so bright in his own regard and is the best of the best, but he was always so content to take the backseat. I was the de-facto spokesperson of the two of us. I took care of his needs, championed for things he needed with my parents and generally took him under my wings.
I could not have asked for a better brother than Vijay. I am so thankful to God for bringing him in to my life. Together we had so many adventures at Avadi. Did we never fight? who are you kidding - of course we did. For this and that and even today because we both have pretty strong opinions. And I never give up reminding him who is older :-) But even through all that and the distance that separates us geographically, the bond is always there. Like Fevicol. The journey that started in this sleepy hamlet called Avadi...
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