The Passing Life

“I may never truly know what it is like to have a brother or sister,” I said to my friend Sreeyan, a few days before Raksha Bandhan. We were in the higher grade of school back then.



Raksha Bandhan is a festival with the bonds between brothers and sisters as its basis. Sreeyan had a sister; they did not have a clear understanding with each other as is with many brothers and sisters with a considerable age gap in between. None the less they found their moments of togetherness within family moments.



“What are you saying?” said Sreeyan, “I am your brother, we are brothers aren’t we?”



‘Maybe like brothers, but will we ever be the true thing, with the absences of a family in between to not let the bond wither across long distances over lands and water bodies,’ I wondered and then I said with smile to not hurt his sentiment, “of course we are”



When I saw the picture of my paternal grandfather having lunch with all his siblings for the first time, I was amazed at how big families actually used to be. I even got to feel the love and essence of this big family for a substantial duration of my life. There never seemed to be any less of relatives visiting and there was no lack of people to pour love and care.



My maternal grandmother did not have as many siblings as my maternal grandfather did, but she still had quite many when compared to most families that exist today. Both the group of siblings grew up in a different background, one in privileged and influential one and one in many struggling one but with bonds with strength second to none.



By the time I came into the world, people had moved beyond their home towns and out of the shadows of their joint families and thus family planning became an integral part of living.



The families have become smaller and smaller and many houses had started becoming acquainted with emptiness they had not known before. People slowly became isolated in their own worlds even when they are sitting next to someone they love.



Today, whether a person loves a person more than that device of unknown misery in hand is another topic.



When I was in school, I thought being a single child was the least interesting thing about being a child. I saw siblings at schools, neighbourhoods and amongst relatives, but then I learnt through the experiences of life about the things that were on a better side about having it all to self.



Today, sometimes I feel I have wandered too far from the human connections I once cherished and wanted to last forever. No, a smartphone or computer was not the reason behind it but rather my own thoughts with whom I liked to spend more time with. I sometimes miss expecting more from the bonds I had and expecting more such bonds with life.



Nonetheless I have ventured into a phase of life where I unlike many have accepted to do best with where I am and who I am, and there is still a lot to be done.

Written by Anuran Chatterji

Hey, Connect with Us:)

• WordPress
• Instagram
• LinkedIn