He was her lil bro…

21st May 1992, a cherubic baby was sleeping placidly in a cot next to her mother. She was just five-year-old and ebullient at the arrival of her brother. That day, he looked like her miniature version.

He had a kiddo face like the cute kids who appear in the TV ads. It was after three years, when her mom had left him to her for an hour to look after. However, she rambled away, and due to her nonchalance and carelessness, he fell down from the cot. She was petrified on hearing the howls and ran back to his rescue. She received a well deserved flay from her mom that day.

As a child, she was no less skittish. She used to pull his leg and unwittingly run him down. He was the only one in the family who was younger to her, and hence the only one whom she could bully and patronize. They had got into the mode of cat-and-dog fight by the time he turned eight. Needless to say, she used to be the undisputed winner. They used to quibble over matters such as who gets the bigger slice of cake, the leg piece in chicken and the better looking ice-cream. At that time, she was taller to him, greater in size and strength, and so she used to bulldoze him out of my way.

There was one thing about him. He never showed any propensity towards studying or books. He was always riveted at the TV watching cartoons or holly-wood movies, or he would rather go out and play. But books were always his enemies. As a kid, he used to ask a lot of questions, he was sharp no doubt and had an eye for grasping things well. He loved to talk and make friends. Their mom and dad were initially worried to see his loathe for studying, but then he was just eight, and so they relied on the brink of hope that things would change.

Things didn’t change and he was 14. Taller than her by then. He started winning over her in clashes. Mom and dad had turned all the more worried about his marks. He was a paragon of a notorious back bencher and he could do anything to evade studying. Dad used to scold him a lot when he went awry. He then adopted the route to mendacity. He used to concoct so superbly casual that one could hardly distinguish. Lying had become his only resort to happiness.

To everyone’s surprise, he scored well in 10th and changed school. He had an excellent track record of extra curricular activites, oration and dramatics. Plus, he was outgoing. The new school - where he occasionally paid a visit. He used to leave from home for school, and then detour to meet his friends. He had become totally wayward. Their parents would not have got to know if the school teacher had not informed them about his misdemeanor and poor attendance.

Things had gone totally overboard. He had become so thick-skinned that no amount of criticism could bring him to track. Dad told him that he should either choose staying at home and study, or go out with his friends. He didn’t take a second to decide and just left home.
And never came back…