That is how my mother calls him lovingly ( sometimes!)...and it has stuck on! It's my darling brother's birthday today...this year is really special coz he is also getting married this year...and I am just counting the days to go to India and enjoy the celebrations, food, fun, laughter and cherish all the good memories I am going to savour for the rest of my life...I have looked forward to his getting married for a long time now...and I think I am more excited than he is! :D
We are very close to each other, and when he got engaged, I decided to go surprise him in India (though the decision to go was really last-minute)! S insisted that I go and I am really glad I did...I want to be there for him for all the important events in his life, just like he has always been there for me...
I remember when we were in school, and as both parents were working, they trusted him to bring me home safely ( though he was a lil kid himself!) ...and gave him specific instructions and to never let go of my hand...ever! :) He took it upon himself to literally never let go of my hand and even if I wanted to itch, I wasn't allowed to! :)
We were in the same school and I would run to him for EVERYTHING! If I forgot the vegetables for lunch, my skirt came off, my ponytail came off....god! I was such a pain in the ass...and when I think about it now, he was a teenager stuck with a little girl and it embarrassed him too...there are so many such incidents that come to mind....and I must admit I thought he was very bossy sometimes and hated him(sometimes!) while growing up...but he was always wonderful, very protective of me....and I always turn to him for everything next to my parents! ...or we plot together to escape my parent's wrath! We look out for each other... In fact, S often tells me that I spoke ONLY about Madhu when we first met! ...I am glad they get along very well now and they gang up on me and tease me about things....I am very happy that they are good friends now and it is very important to me.
We don't talk to each other every single day but often find ways to communicate every other way - be it offline messages, the photoblog, facebook, skype calls on weekends....and I am updated about everything and everyone all the time! I feel like I am never away from him....in that sense! :) He has a great sense of humour and keeps me updated about all the wonderful things I miss about India, Chennai - movies, music, good eat outs, gossip, fun stuff - I catch up with everything as and when I can!
So dear Madhu Paiya, here's wishing you a wonderful year ahead filled with loads of love, happiness, success and good health. You are the most wonderful brother I could have ever had...and I am so glad I have a sibling like you! :)
S and I had just got back from a pretty long stay in the UK, a long time away from home, our people, family and friends and we were in the midst of setting up our home here in Pune. S was off to work and I was left to do the arduous task of unpacking and arranging all our stuff, since I didn’t have a job to go to, at that point of time. I was feeling very lonely, bored and longed to see a single soul from my family or friends or even someone remotely familiar…so basically I was homesick!
As I was brooding and waiting for S to return all day, I get a call from S informing me that my friend Nikitha’s friend (She lives and works in Bombay) would visit me and pass on a parcel that she wanted to give me. So I tidied myself up to look presentable and decent for the stranger friend who would come home anytime. Within a couple of minutes, the doorbell rang and I greeted the stranger guy ( who happens to be a sweet guy by name sumit). He smiles and says here is the parcel and I see that his hands are empty! Out of nowhere, Nikitha springs up and gives me a big warm hug and you can clearly hear shrieks of joy from the union and I can’t stop grinning. I was overwhelmed with joy to see her, she stayed with me for a while chatting and left for Mumbai by evening. She had come all the way from Mumbai just to give me a surprise!
I had a warm fuzzy feeling all day and was full of smiles when S got back home and I eagerly started relating the surprise to him!! What a wonderful surprise that was, just when I needed it. Indeed, A friend in need is a friend indeed!! Niki is a darling friend of mine, she is like a charming little kid with the most warm smile and a loving personality!
My fellow bloggers seem to be thinking on the same lines as I do...its freaky, plain coincidience ( I am such a drama queen!)! Raaga's recent post about parents struck a chord! Lovely post, raaga!Recently, I have been wanting to go home so badly to see Amma and Appa. I do talk to them everyday and we were discussing my childhood days...Amma sometimes says " Its nice to see you happily married, but you were gone so early...the house feels empty". I just laugh it off when she says that but I really miss her. I miss her patiently listening to my 'evening account of the day's happenings', though I do the same with S now. I miss her constant interviews about the right method to make "Molagu rasam", she still does it through the phone!! Every little thing or major happening, I have to tell them, with complete details....and I talk to her about everything that I am happy about or anything that bothers me, with abandon!! She is indeed, my confidante to whom I can talk to, without being judged. I always feel she is my mother, who knows me and loves me more than anyone else? ( Funny part is, I used to hate her as a teenager and thought she was extremely interfering. I am grown up now, and I know how to get my way, nicely now!)Appa is someone, everyone is afraid of, except me! I can monkey around with him without any fear. Appa is not the most demonstrative types, but I know for a fact that he loves me with all his heart and I can proudly say he is a wonderful father...from preparing me for my Social Studies exams in 2 days ( I had fun in my cousin's wedding before the exam and when I panicked, he calmly sat down and taught me everything....I got 83%) to our long chats about life, marraige, S, and even his candid opinions about my spending patterns! He never misses an opportunity to say how proud he is of his little daughter ( at one point, i WAS little, you know?)Anna is the bestest brother in the whole wide world. We dont talk as often as I do with my parents, considering he is perenially busy at work....but we can just start off anytime, anywhere like good old friends. In my school days, he was such a loving and protective brother, I used to get so irritated with him....and he has always been there for me, and I am there for him as well. I am very proud of his achievements recently and my heart swells with pride to see him recieve accolades and awards periodically. A very friendly and pragmatic guy, very balanced in his views , can be pig-headed too!! He is my one and only sibling, I dont think anyone can match up to him.... S gets jealous when he sees the way I adore him ( S says the first time we met, I didnt stop talking about my brother! :D...did I???)....I have put a pic of amma holding me as a baby on my orkut profile....here it is...
The pride and the expression on her face is priceless!! I count my blessings everyday for them.....I am such a lucky woman for the people I love and I always feel so loved too!!
I remember when we were in school, and as both parents were working, they trusted him to bring me home safely ( though he was a lil kid himself!) ...and gave him specific instructions and to never let go of my hand...ever! :) He took it upon himself to literally never let go of my hand and even if I wanted to itch, I wasn't allowed to! :) 
