THE SIS BANK

She was my first hero,my first leader, my first skipper. In fact she was the commander of our entire society. I remember I was 9 at that time and I was thrilled when I got to be a member of her gang, but she had strict policies for the gang members. She decided who will do what and which games will be played every evening. She had it all figured. She also had a rival called Chitra who headed a rival gang. We weren’t supposed to as much as blink in their direction. If anyone was seen or reported talking to them, he/she was cast aside. Nobody would talk to that person till our captain lifts the ban. That was squad leader Didi! She held the reins with discipline and rules set in stone. I was her unsighted follower.

Soon we entered our teens and I was perplexed! I just couldn’t stand her dominance and was sweating at the thought of the ordeal ahead. We used to fight regularly and occasionally threw in a few punches. It was always she who used to hit me and then deliberately shout for help while hitting me “daddy help, mummy help”. My parents used to rush to the situation and save HER instead of ME. Amazing!!!

She was the worst secret keeper when it came to girlfriends. Whenever she saw me with girls she made it her life’s mission to carry the tales to mom and you can guess what happened next! I had to put an end to this, so I decided to drift away from her gang and explore uncharted waters.

All through my junior college and graduation years she had her own methods and means to identify my girlfriends. She would always know which one is more than just a friend. She loved “just” friends and disliked “more” than friends. I still wonder how she managed to literally spell out the difference.

Pulling my leg, teasing me, irritating me was her favorite side interest. She was a master at it. All she had to do was be her oddball self and I would get irritated. Always the first one to criticize me, she was sporadically communicative when it came to openly appreciating my talents.

As we set foot in our twenties things started changing. We were becoming friends. She was had a secure career with multinational banks and I was taking a walk on the wild side with major career experiments. There came a time when no one believed in me and found all my career moves disastrous. Somehow my sister believed in me and kept supporting me through the ups and downs. More downs actually. Ups were rare! My first mobile phone was with her money; she financed my travel plans and paid my shopping bills even while I was already in my mid-twenties. The best part was that whenever I asked her for money, she never pried and just handed over the money knowing that I will never misuse it. I was a trainer and consultant back then, with no income to be honest! But I had my sister. My CC limit, my OD facility and I kept withdrawing as and when I needed money without hesitation. She was my bank, “My Sis Bank”!

While I was in my first year of MBA, I used to take lectures for the second year students in the same college .It was a matter of pride for me and I blew my own horn before my friends. But one thing I never told anyone was that it was my sister who was funding my education. The finest fragment of this arrangement was that I never considered her money as a loan and the thought of retribution conveniently skipped my mind. Deep inside me I always felt that it was my money. She was my sister. We own our siblings, don’t we?

And then she got married. My bank was seized and it seemed as though the passwords changed overnight. Demonetization happened! Not that I was not prepared for it but it was still coming on strong. However the consolation of getting my sister married to a wonderful man was much more than the ache of losing a source of fund. My life had stabilized by then. I was doing much better.as a trainer and a management consultant with a time-honored and substantial income. Of course my Swiss (sis) bank was just a phone call away; with good grace I never had to make that phone call. My career flight had taken off by then and only I knew the how instrumental my sister was in my pursuit of success. More than money, her unconditional love and faith in my ability to excel sustained my endeavors. She believed in me when no one else did. It was her belief that her brother is capable of achieving any heights and nothing I achieve surprises her. It’s almost As if she was already expecting it!

My Sibling Squad!

Sibling relationships are like no other. The nexus is incomparable. You can slam, fight and disown each other from time to time but you can never really estrange each other. Siblings are our first friends, our role models. They are family and always just a phone call away. They don’t need explanations, they don’t judge, they know your true form. It’s a relation with no insecurities. You never have to worry about your sister or brother dumping you. Siblings never leave you, they never can. You grow together, your foundation is the same, and you share a major chunk of your life with them and they will remain a constant in your life no matter what!

My sister aka Santa Claus as I fondly call her, is now a mother of two lovely girls! I too am a proud father of a lovely little girl! The bond between my daughter and her elder sisters is just beautiful. They love each other so much!

My daughter with her future sis banks!

Sisters are wonderful and elder sisters are a boon! I had just one elder sister but my daughter is lucky enough to have two! I look forward to watching them grow together and develop the same bond I share with my sister! And I am sure my sister feels the same.