Happy Birthday Chonikudi!

I once convinced a girl 5 years older than me that I am the female-avataar of lord Krishna and that she should touch my feet. That way I would free her of all her woes. And she did. That girl was my elder sister.

 

Things haven't changed much yet. She continues to be my elder sister and I continue to take her on a ride every now and then. Though she is living the promise I made to her. She continues to free me, the lord, of all woes. She is not just my sister - she is my life, my love, my everything. We have moved past being each other's friends, philosophers and guides. Now there is only word that can explain what Sony means to me - she means life to me. Literally.

 

We have been and continue to be each other's pets.

 

I have never felt so crippled in expressing love for someone. So I will skip that part and will scribble a few crazy things I remember about us -

 

1. My earliest memories - She used to read out loud tables from 2 to 10. She was so loud and she read them so often that when I was 3 years old, I knew by heart all of them. I am not kidding.

 

2. She would let me sleep during study hours (since I used to be perennially sleepy. Not like things have changed much now) on one condition - that she gets to sketch/paint secretly (yes, she is an awesome artist) in the disguise of those long books.

 

3. We would go out to play with the kids in the neighborhood and she would make sure I do not lose the game or have to do any of those annoying things like chasing people in a running game. She knew my legs hurt and I cannot pace up with the boys.

 

4. She would tell me amusing stories of the exciting life she lived, all alone, in Poona. And all that I wanted back then was join her the very next year. And I did.

 

5. Poona would obviously not be one hundredth as nice for me if not for her. We went EVERYWHERE ourselves. We would fill the fuel tank in our scooty/activa and go around the town. Like one end to the other - with NO work! Yes… we would just go roam about, check out guys, eat something cheap if we were hungry. We did not need friends, boy friends, family nothing. We were so-o-o self sufficient and probably the happiest duo in the entire town. Even now, the thing we tell each other during tough times is - "kanna, don't worry. I'll soon come and we'll go ride around the town. Ok?"

 

6. And a birthday memory - we would go to Ganpati temple in the morning, then Idli breakfast, then movie tix, visit to aunt's house, lunch (egg curry and roti) at east street, movie at west end and THEN meet friends well after 6 in the evening. That was routine for both birthdays.

 

7. She was my bank, my ATM. We never took extra money from parents for our frivolous expenses. Sony would work part time at some place or the other and we would spend every single penny on having fun - movies, fancy food, some clothes, anything!

 

8. We have counseled each other about every single thing in life. We have no secrets. NO SECRETS AT ALL. There is only one person the world I share my passwords with and that's her. And I know no one will ever get that right. I repeat - no one.

 

9. There are soooo many other things I can't and won't write on this blog. Except that I have been with her on every single birthday of hers, save this one. Yes, it's her birthday today and we only love each other 100 times more than how much we did a year ago. We can't help it. We are addicted to each other.

 

Happy Birthday Sony. I promise you will see me on the cover of TIME magazine soon. I love you. 

P.S: Sony's real name is Sonali. We call each other the same names, but the ones exclusive for her are Chonee and Chonikudi. :)