My Brother – Life Lessons to learn from Him

Dear readers… On the occasion of 'Rakhi', I have focused on what I still need to learn from my brother, and it's not the other way round.
Lessons to learn from my Brother
Lessons to learn from My Brother

“G’morning di 😊”

This is how bro Sandeep addresses me every morning at 5 am on WhatsApp, before leaving for his early morning jog. He usually greets me with an inspirational message having a great image pic.

“G’morning bro 😊”

I reply, only when I’m awake at that time, which rarely happens. I usually get up after 7. And I mostly send him a Shayari message of the poet Gulzaar while replying to him.

Friends, have you noticed our contrasting habits, and can you make out who is a more sorted out person amongst us? No points for guessing that.

I was born on 13th September 1972. The month when the Olympics were organized in Munich, Germany. Also remembered for the tragedy that occurred during the games, when about a dozen Israeli athletes and coaches were killed in Munich by Palestinian terrorists.

Sandeep was born on 24th March 1978, on the eve of Holika Dahan. That’s why Mummy used to say that he is an avatar of ‘Bhakt Prahlad’. And he fulfilled his responsibilities with great devotion, as long as my parents lived.

Well, keeping the facts aside, my five and a half years younger brother is more adept at life skills, for example, cooking and housekeeping, apart from his freelance work. He learnt that when Mummy was ill for about 9 months and passed away in January 2003. When barely a month before he found a stable job after struggling for a year or so in the IT sector then.

Compared to him, I was and still am a laid-back kind of person. Hence, some lessons that I need to learn from my brother are the following.

1) Discipline, discipline, and discipline :

Sandeep lives alone in Pune, and after winding up the kitchen chores, hits the bed at 10 pm, to wake up by 4.30 am to get ready for running. On alternate days, he also does yoga, while maintaining a strict and nutritious diet. He has a fixed time to cook for himself or do his studies.

I still find it impossible to sleep before midnight, as I’m addicted to my writing habit. But I won’t blame anyone at all, as I’)m entirely responsible for my bad planning. I just keep postponing the night to sleep at least by 11 pm, but I fail to do that with each passing day.

2) Always keep the plan B ready in life :

As a kid, Sandeep loved playing with toy planes of various shapes and sizes. Not just that, he used to make terrific sketches, right from the time when he was in class 4. All of his school life he dreamt of becoming a fighter jet pilot.

After schooling, he expressed his desire to appear for the entrance test for NDA to Papa, who steadfastly refused to give him his permission. Papa gave out the reason that Sandeep was his only son, so he couldn’t take a risk of letting him join the IAF.

Therefore, along with his graduation, bro took up a three-year computer course during the late 90s. And later a PG course in computer management. But even after serving for about 13 years in the IT sector, he left the job. And picked up the field of the stock market and trading, to learn more about them, apart from the freelance jobs.

For the past four years, he has been motivating me to do blogging, knowing very well the conservative background of my husband’s family, that never allowed me to work outside the home, as long as I was physically fit. But now, in my current paraplegic condition, I find it favorable to write down stories and blogs.

3) Never let your emotions overrule you :

I was always a highly emotional child, almost like a cry baby. Tears would stream down at the drop of a hat, at any touching incident, watching a movie, or while reading a moving story. But Sandeep has always been just the opposite, forever rational and logical. Of course, he is sensitive but stays away from the bad vibes and the overly sentimental dramas.

He still advises me not to get carried away with unfavorable situations and to adjust to the negative people around me. And tells me to ignore them completely, and focus on doing something constructive and creative.

No wonder, he coped with his life so well post his mutual divorce.

4) Always help the genuine people in need :

“What goes around always comes back.” Sandeep constantly says that.

Apart from taking care of our parents, all alone in Pune, bro never shied away from helping out a family member or a friend in a crisis. For my bedsore treatment, when I had moved to Papa’s home for a year, he used to send money to Papa’s account regularly. He ensured that I had a comfortable stay, with the daily doses of medicines and the dressing materials.

A dresser from a hospital used to visit me twice a day, for about 8 months, to change the bedsore dressing, before I finally went through surgery, to get a bedsore stitched on my left bum. It took another three months for bedsore to completely heal.

Though being younger than me, he wholeheartedly fulfilled the duty just like an elder brother. I would never be able to repay him for his support.

Just as he is more of a parent to me, I feel extremely happy and supremely blessed to have a brother like Sandeep. Lastly, on the occasion of ‘Rakshabandhan’, all I can say is, or rather sing a song for him.

“Phoolon ka taaron ka, 

 sabka kehna hai, 

 (ek hazaaron nahi) 

 lakhon karodon me,

 yeh mera bhaiya hai, 

 saari umar hume sang rehna hai. 

 Phoolon ka taaron ka…”

My Brother Sister Song (LOVE)

I couldn’t have asked God for anyone better in my life, as he is my soulmate in the truest sense.

-Shashi Thakur

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