Seetha Kalyanam Vaibohame

The bond

The day Sowmy had been brought home from the hospital Ranju realized something, their parents lives were now going to be revolving around the new baby. She knew that the four of them could not sneak in bed together. Appa would not be tickling the two kids to death until laughter makes them roll out of the bed but she also liked the idea that she and her brother could sleep in another room, which meant she could read her story books until late night.

This change was not easy for Shivu initially. Ranju still remembers the first few nights when the kids began to sleep in the other room. Arun had tucked them both in, kissed their foreheads and asked them multiple times, "Naan venumna inge paduthakattuma?" (Should I sleep here) But the kids had vehemently refused. So Arun had smiled, nodded and left the room saying, "Edhavudhu venumna appa va ezhupungo seriya?"(Tell me if you need something)

Ranju was 7 and welcomed the new found freedom but it wasn't the same for the 5 1/2 year old Shivu. He was still a mamma's boy. Ranju found him whimpering in bed so she pulled him close to her and hugged him, "Dei Shivu azhaadha da. Adhu thaan naan un kooda irukkene. Amma Sowmy ya paathukanum illiya? Inge vaa naan unakku paatu paadaren" (Don't cry Shivu. I am with you. Mom has to take care of the baby. Come here I will sing for you.) and she patted him to sleep.

Ranju and Shivu were almost like twins. Ranju barely got to be the baby, in the sense, Shivu came into her life very early on. The two were always together. They even went to school together. Shivu was actually sent to school a little earlier because Ranju was alone. Hence, even though they were a year and a half apart in age, academically, they are only a year apart.

They went to the same school and held each other's secrets. Once when Shivu failed an exam, Ranju forged her father's signature to get him out of trouble. Ranju was the typical older child. She was responsible, understanding, helpful and was always ready to step up when it was needed. She was always the class topper and the teacher's loved her, although not all students liked her authoritative behavior.

Shivu, on the other hand, was more sneaky. He was good at getting in trouble and getting out of trouble before things to reach his parents. He was Seetha's darling. He knew exactly how to manipulate Seetha. He enjoyed annoying Seetha and Ranju as well. He would irritate Seetha by hugging her before having a bath or kissing her cheeks before brushing his teeth. Initially Arun and Shivu had a strong bond but as he started to grown up and hit his teen years, there grew a visible distance between the father and son. Most of the communication happened via Seetha.

Both Ranju and Shivu were very fond of Sowmy but Sowmy was a little scared of Ranju. Ranju had the authority to scold Sowmy which the others did not. Arun would neither raise his voice leave alone his hands on Sowmy but Ranju was stern with her. As Sowmy became a teenager, she wanted to just argue with her sister. Sowmy, right from the beginning was extremely close to her dad but wasn't so with Seetha. Her world revolves around her father and she claimed proudly to her siblings too.

There was one other person who would dance to Sowmy's tunes and that was Shivu. Shivu was extremely patient when it came to Sowmy. He was the toughest player in the field and, as a captain of his school sports teams, the boys could not fool around. Some of the younger boys were terrorized by him. He did have a slightly haughty side but that never showed.

Ranju and Shiva were the typical partners in crime while Sowmy was their little baby sister who needed to be protected by them. This was their relationships.

Brinda Subramanian