Rakhi hai!!!

Raksha Bandhan is not as popular in South India as it is in the North. I don’t know why. May be, the south Indian men didn’t like being reminded by their sisters about their duties. May be, they were not too pleased about the idea of buying gifts for their sisters every year. Or, may be, the south Indian women thought that they don’t need their brothers to protect them. I really don’t know.

I too have a Rakhi sister. Only one. When she tied me Rakhi for the first time, I was like, “Wow. At least somebody thinks that I am worthy enough to be considered her brother. I have accomplished my duty in this world and I am blessed”. My mom was like, “Oh my God. Have I given birth to a skirt chaser?” I guess it is natural for any mom to doubt her son’s dignity if his classmate drops in one fine day to tie him Rakhi. My mom has got her own set of rules. She wouldn’t even allow me to refer girls younger than me as ‘Aval’ (Tamil word for ‘she’ with less respect. Elders are allowed to refer younger girls as ‘Aval’). If I say, “Come on, mom. She is my classmate and she is younger than me”, she would coolly reply, “There are certain etiquette to be followed while talking to or about women, Indu. Never use words like ‘Aval’ or ‘Adhu’ (it) while referring to a girl, even if she is younger than you are. Refer her by her name”. I can understand the ban on the word ‘Adhu’. But, why not use ‘Aval’? I never understand my mom’s etiquettes.

My Rakhi sister has a normal name with abnormal spelling. Well, it is common in Pondicherry. If you were not alert, the French literate registrars would record your newly born child’s name with bizarre spelling. Take for example, the name Gangadharan. It is spelt Keingadarane in Pondicherry. Lord Shiva would be terrorized if he comes to know about this mess made to one of his names. He may even contemplate about releasing Ganga from his head.

My Rakhi sister is the coolest. We went through campus selection program during our last year in college. For this particular company, we got through the preliminary test on aptitude. Being one of the top scorers in the preliminary test, she faced the technical and HR interview earlier than the rest of us. She then got bored of the slow proceedings and went home. The rest of us faced the interview and the results were announced late in the night. She was selected. We woke her up from deep sleep. Too much of adrenaline due to anxiety kept us awake and she was sleeping peacefully. She came back to the college sleepy eyed to sign her offer letter. We both joined that company and are still with that company.

Much later I found out that she is the cousin of one of my schoolmate. A small world this indeed is. She was among the tallest in our class. She stands a good inch taller than me. The shorter guys of our class found her height a bit intimidating. Her parents found her a really tall guy to marry. She has got a wonderful sense of humor. She is always with loads of stories to tell.

Needless to say, I am proud of my Rakhi sister. My Rakhi sister rocks!