My Brother doesn't tell me.

Generally, siblings are supposed to share those things with each other which cannot be shared with parents. I have an elder brother. He's almost seven years elder to me. At times he becomes like a third parent for me -- which is TOO MUCH to handle, trust me.

He's a Commercial Pilot by profession.

We do have our share of kid-like behaviour when we're in the mood(most of the times, that is). It gets my Mom want to poke her finger through her eye into the brain and twirl it around [This line -- Borrowed from an episode of FRIENDS]. She does enjoy our controlled interaction, but that mildness often turns into insanity. My mom gives up and says, "Kaun kahega ki yeh ladka ek Pilot hai." ("Who will say that this guy is a Pilot.") I point at him and laugh hysterically whenever she says that.

But he often treats me like his kid. There are so many things which I have to hide from him. Generally, siblings are the support system for each other. They call saying, "Hey, I'm at the bar right now. Tell mom and dad that I'm at Carol's and will be back home in time." The guy at home does his job of covering it up. Even if he doesn't want to, he will. Because he might want the same job to be done for him when he's out at the bar. But I can't do this with my brother. If I am at the bar, I'll go to some quiet place, call him up saying, "Hey, I'm at Carol's. I'll come back home in time. Just tell mom and dad about it." And then I have to be extra careful about all the possibilities of getting caught. [This situation was used just for an example. I've never been at the bar without letting my folks know. I'm a good girl :D AND, I don't know anyone called Carol. :P]


Because of this, I'm sure even he might be going to such places, fooling mom, dad and me. If he tells me, it's not like I'll go and tell mom about it. But he just wouldn't tell me.

In the exact same way, he doesn't tell me about the girl in his life. I'm sure there is someone. I just know it. Don't ask me how. I want to hear it from him, SOMEHOW. I've given him certain signals which might tell him that I know there is someone. [Like looking at him suspiciously from the corner of the eye, stretching out my right hand and pointing towards his face and wagging my finger saying, "I know Everything!"] It did get the crap out of him, for sure. But he STILL wouldn't tell me anything about it! DARN HIM!

Perhaps he's hiding it because he feels:

• That I'm a kid! *Sulks within*
• If I find out that he's dating people, I might feel that I am free to do it too. And he doesn't want me to do it.
• If I find out, I'll tell mom and dad about it and then they'll push him to marry her right away! [OH COME ON!]
• If I find out, I'll tease his ass off.
• If I find out, I'll stalk him wherever he goes -- like an elder sister. (Though I am younger)
• If I find out, I'll be all judgemental about her.

Whatever it is, I don't think I'm going to be all judgemental and crap. I will just be a nice and supportive younger sister. SO YOU SHOULD TELL ME ABOUT IT. I'm not that small! I've already had my share of teenage adventure. I know what it's all about. I know how to go about it(sort of). SO TELL ME!

I'm your little sister. You can trust me! :(


P.S. If you have any suggestions/guidelines/tricks/torture methods which might help me to get it out of him, PLEASE do tell me. Thanks.

P.P.S. I really REALLY hope he doesn't read this.

My take on Chalks.

When we read 'chalk', the first thing that generally strikes our mind is a blackboard inside a classroom. A teacher wearing teacher-like saree and a big-framed pair of spectacles. A bunch of students sitting on their benches, looking towards the blackboard -- at the movement of the piece of chalk held by the teacher.

BUT. To me, the first thing that strikes my mind is -- 'yummy!'. No kidding. Have you ever eaten a chalk in your childhood days? I have. And I loved the way it tasted. I still remember that taste, and it surely was addictive. Those who have tasted it, I'm sure they'll agree to what i just said. It gives you pleasure when you keep a piece in your mouth. Your mouth starts watering. The taste is Divine.

I still get the urge at times, to eat it. But unfortunately, my brain has developed. It now knows much more than what it knew when i was a kid. Now my developed brain has given me the sense and reason of not tasting the 'yumness' anymore.

See, it's chalk. There can be two perspectives: (All this might not make sense to those of you who know TOO much. But I'm sure there will be people like me reading this.)

• We know our chemistry. Chalk is nothing but Calcium Carbonate. We've also learnt that calcium is good for our body. So eating a chalk means increasing the calcium content of our body. Which means chalk is good for our health.



• As chalk is Calcium Carbonate, we also know that Calcium Carbonate is also known as limestone. So chalk is lime-stone. Chalk is STONE! So this gives the fear of developing kidney-stones at a later stage. Which means chalk is NOT good for our health. (I wasn't a Biology student, mind you.)

These points are contradictory. So even if chalk increases the calcium content of our body, the fear of develping kidney stones is more than the contentment of having plenty of calcium, somehow.

So everytime I look at chalk now, I TRY to think about a teacher, a classroom and a bunch of students.

Blame It On the Mindset.

How many people have you heard saying-- "Is desh ka kuch nahi ho sakta." ("Nothing can be done to this country"). No matter how many countries you've visited-- The States, Canada, Europe, Australia. Once you're back to India, you are back to your old habits.

There, you won't dare to pee in the bush along the road. You will never throw a Diet Coke can out of a moving car onto the road. You will always wear the seat belt. You will cross the road only when the signal tells you to do so. You will follow all the rules and norms of the country, in spite of it not being your own country. But once you are back, you make a fussy face at the people and then become one of them yourself. Even if you try to maintain the discipline, you will find yourself in thick soup.

You stand at the crossing. You stare hard at the road to look for a zebra crossing, it is so faint. The sight, sound and air movement tell you that the cars are rushing past you at the speed of 90 km/h.
The pedestrian signal shows RED. You are the only one standing there, waiting for the cars to stop and your signal to turn GREEN. You see all the others around you, who's business was the same as you-- to cross the road, have dodged the speedy cars and reached the other side of the road, smirking at you. Once your signal is green, some cars still rush past you. If you suddenly come in their way, they'll honk right into your ears and praise your eyes -- "DIKHTA NAHI HAI KYA!" ("CAN'T YOU SEE!"). The next time you'd want to cross the road, you'll give up.

You will first curse your fellow citizens saying-- "If they don't give a damn, why should I?", and then dodge the cars yourself. There is provision for us to follow things. But who wants to? There are proper roads. Proper lanes marked. Proper signals. Proper dustbins provided at several places. But who wants to use them? You feel, "Everybody throws the trash on the roads, why should I be the only good citizen and hunt down a dustbin?" That's how nobody ends up improvising at it.

When you're caught by the traffic police, they ask for a fine. Don't you prefer getting rid of the entire thing with a Rs. 100 note instead of paying a thousand rupee fine? You overlook this deed of yours, and later say -- "Is desh ka kuch nahi ho sakta." ("Nothing can be done to this country.")

You are one of the evil-doers! Even the ones who are being loyal, feel cheated. I'm not saying that I follow everything. Though I will admit that I did try, but gave up very soon. It's all on the mindset of every individual of our country. Nothing will change unless we all think in the same lines and improvise towards a better system. I believe India has a lot of scope to improve. So should you.