All part of growing up

WONDER YEARS

There is a sense of competition to be the brightest in class, the demand for attention from parents and also fights when it comes to sharing things.

Many a time, parents play the role of a peace-maker during fights while sometimes, the siblings sort things out themselves.

Harsha has three sisters and is the eldest amongst them. She is currently working in a bookstore with one of her sisters, Sruthi.

“We never fought much during our childhood. Only now, our fights have increased. We usually fight about clothes and household chores. Sometimes, I take responsibility and start doing the household work. But she becomes lazy at times,” explains Harsha.

Sruthi nods in agreement. “We make sure that we don’t have any communication gap. We constantly talk about our lives and keep each other informed. We work at the same place and stay in the same house so there is really nothing to hide from her.

Since the other sisters are staying in our hometown, we have become very close to each other.”

When asked how they deal with their differences, she says, “When she starts scolding me, I become quiet and let her do all the talking. Once she calms down, we start talking again.” Ali, whose siblings are in Dubai, stays in Bangalore. He has three sisters and two brothers and is the youngest amongst them.

 “We used to stay together until I was in fifth standard. Later, they moved away for higher studies in Dubai. Ever since then, I have lived all by myself with my parents. I remember that we used to have small fights and played together. Nowadays, they have their own families but I make sure I call them everyday. All the love, affection and care I get from them are through telephone calls."

Many forgive their siblings easily. Says Lekha, a PU student, whose sister is ten years younger, “We have petty arguments, which are usually fun and rarely get serious. We fight for things like food and remote control. If the fight ever gets serious or physical, my dad generally interferes and stops us. We don’t speak to each other for a while and I forgive her easily because she is very young. She also forgives me as she is too young to hold a grudge.”