Bulbul's Di.

"Can't you behave like your sister?"

"Look at your sister beta, why don't you learn from her?"

"Why do you make such silly mistakes in maths? Look at you sister she is so careful"

"See, how you are arguing with me, your sister never replied back at your age!"

These were a few vey common one-liners at my household since childhood. If you are the younger one among your siblings, you must have got used to hearing these throughout your childhood too, right? No, no. I am not a jealous sister whining, I am just trying to prove a point here. You tell me, what would your opinion be of your sister, if throughout your life, everyone around you have taught you to be like her? - She is perfect - Isn't that what you would grow up to believe? It's true in my case too. Idolising Pragya di wasn't a choice for me, it came to me naturally. I have idolized her ever since I remember - sometimes I joke that I have been looking up to her right from inside ma's tummy. Di laughs at this. In fact, to this date I hero worship my di - she really is the best. But the one thing I regret along with it is, my fatal childish assumption that followed from all the idolizing. My assumption that, di can never make a mistake.

I wish I thought otherwise, all those years back - then maybe today, she would have been as happy as Purab and I are with our twenty-five years of marriage and two college going kids. I wish I had told her just once, in anyone of the occasions, "No di, you're wrong, don't do this".

***

Di always loved her independence, the idea of staying in a different city, without adult supervision, arranging for her own food, taking care of her own needs, managing on her own - more or less, what brought cold feet to most eighteen year olds, it brought a shine of excitement in my di's face. She was always dad's little ninja that way. Hence when her school got over and she was about to start college, she decided to move out of Mumbai. After doing a lot of research on what course to go ahead for, and after shortlisting lots of college options, my di finally got an offer from a college of very well repute in Pune. Both mom and dad were happy, Pune was the best option - it fulfilled di's desire of staying independently in a different city, and also it was only a few hours from home, so in case of any trouble my parents could easily reach out to her.

It all began, when di landed with an internship with the country's biggest media house - Mehra Media House, in Delhi. She had just completed the second year of her management course, it was the term break, and all students were expected to complete a three hundred hours internship. I still remember that ecstatic phone call she made to me, to tell me about the offer - how proud my parents were - I don't think I ever made them that proud. But then who can compete di?

Di had then moved to Delhi for a month. She was staying with our mamaji's family there. The day she started working at MMH, one more man had joined the company.

***

Aaliya's Bhai

He is just four years older than me, but in some ways I feel he is the parent I don't remember having met. Ever since our parent's left us, we were raised by daadi and our uncle looked after dad's business. He never needed to take care of the funding for raising me, but beyond that he took care of everything. Daadi used to take care of him and he took care of me - he fed me, put me to sleep, helped me with my studies, advised me whenever I needed it, taught me to be tough and helped me become the strong woman I am today. The only thing he never advised me on, was interaction with the opposite gender - daadi would never let him teach me that.

Bhai was, and still is daadi's biggest pride. He was just twenty - two years old when he won an all-India music competition and had won an album contract with the most prestigious music company of that time. He was a celebrity overnight! True he always wanted to be one, and we all saw it coming - but suddenly when your own bhai is a celebrity the world is dying to get a glimpse of, it is a different feeling. Ever since he was twenty - two, bhai has always rocked the music charts - I think today after all these years, I can proudly say - he is one of those rare celebrities, who have never known failure throughout his career. Now he not only sings, but also promotes new talents, he is a music director and also an entrepreneur. Bhai has the best of everything in life - I sometimes wish, he had a heart too.

He was twenty - four then, a steady celebrity rocking the charts, with more endorsements in his bag than most actors, and also more women with him than most can imagine. Daadi had once around this time started to harp about getting bhai married and settled, but bhai had snubbed it on her face stating he was commitment phobic and had no intentions of settling down - hurt yes, but daadi had accepted it. It was also around the time our uncle who managed our business in Delhi, suddenly had a massive cardiac arrest. Uncle was immediately brought back home in Mumbai, where he was undergoing treatment. He wasn't allowed to travel for a month, so bhai had decided to replace our uncle for a month and take care of the business. Sometimes, I wish, and I wish so for Pragya's sake, that, I had gone instead of bhai that time to look after the business - then they would never have met - their story would be so different today. But I didn't want to go back then, Neil and my relationship was going through a tough phase, I suspected Neil of foul play and hence I didn't want to risk a long distance relationship at that point. But today after leading twenty-three years of a happily married life with Neil I feel, Neil and I were destined to be, we would have been together anyhow - had I shown more trust on Neil and had gone, maybe then bhai's indifference towards love wouldn't sting me so bad - because I would have then witnessed how it impacted Pragya's life - then maybe today, bhai and my relation wouldn't have been so sour.

But the fact it, it was bhai who had gone.

Purvi's Bestie Prags

We were best friends from childhood. And ask me, I will tell you, Prags is not what you think she is. She is smart, intelligent, witty, chirpy, fun-loving and all that. Yes that she was no doubt. But more than all of those, she was a hopeless romantic! Do you know anybody who has the movie Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge' on the loop in her video playlist titled "Emergency Movies"? And do you know anybody who watches small clips from the movie every day, depending on her mood? I am not kidding, yes the movie was not just a movie, it was an alternate universe where she resided, believed in and thrived! Perhaps I should have seen this coming, when she mentioned about Abhi to me first, but I was too star struck to notice the impending disaster.

When she first told me Abhi was her reporting manager, I was shattered in jealousy! Life is so unfair, here I was a die - hard fan of his, I could do anything to just get a glimpse of him - and there she was, who got to work with him, in spite of hating his kind of music. In fact I was mildly surprised when her tone towards Abhi changed every time we spoke. Initially he was the arrogant bas***d' she reported to, then he was "the chilled out rockstar", followed by "my friendly boss" to "Abhi". Then one fine Saturday, Prags urgently called me over a Skype chat. She was sitting on her bed cross legged, hair tied to a messy bun and she had a slightly amused and yet tensed look.

"Poo! I love Abhi!" she grinned.

I was stumped.

"Your DDLJ kind of love, or Abhi's Happy Love kind of love?"

"Full DDLJ Poo!"

"Does, he know?" I enquired slightly uncomfortable.

"No, but he will know tonight! I plan to tell him!"

"You plan to propose to him that is?"

"NO Poo. Just tell him. Information sake! Not expecting him to act on it. But he has the right to know nah."

"He has a girlfriend. Didn't you know? That super model, Tanu" I brought up.

"No, no they broke up some months back, it's not out in the media yet"

"Oh. Honestly Prags, I don't think it's a very good idea!"

"Oh Poo! You're such an aunty! I asked Bulbul too, she thinks it's a great idea!"

I wanted to point it out to her that Bulbul would stand by her even if she hatched a murder plan, so what use was her opinion. But I refrained. Knowing Prags, I knew she had made up her mind, a heart break was evident. I was thankful she was leaving Delhi in a month!

Next time we spoke, it was a few days later, she had called at night. She sounded uncertain. Upon enquiring she had said, "Yaar Poo, I am in a fix. Abhi likes me alright. But he is not sure, he says he wants to be in a trial relationship for the rest of my stay here, if he thinks there is a potential for us, we will continue to be together, else we will snap ties in a good note"

I was repelled at the idea, my fan-love for him was diminishing by the minute, and if anything was catching up at a faster rate, it was my worry for Prags, for she seemed too blind to see what he meant. She was no service offer the rockstar could try out and then decide to honour or not. And how was he the only one to decide, weren't they both together in this? What if both felt differently at the end? Then? Knowing Prags, I knew I couldn't bombard sense into her, it would make her stubborn towards going to Abhi, so I had tried casually, "So, obviously you said no to the ass's retarded proposal right?"

"Don't judge me Poo, but I said yes"

"What!?!"

"Remember, I told you, it's not a fling, it's DDLJ love, happens only once, can't risk it baby!"