Day 28 - Sibling Bonding

45 days back, on 14th July in my Day 3 post, I spoke about the arrival of my two nephews from US. They were traveling alone and we were all worried if they will arrive safely. Of course, they did!

The initial thought was also how the four cousins, nephews at 13 (Arijit) & 9 (Shubhojit) and my kids at 7 (Ipsita) & 2 (Tarush), would react to each other and if they would bond and play together. After all they were seeing each other after 3 years and a lot of things had changed in that time. The last time Jeet and Shubho came to India, Ipsi was 4 and Tarush was not there. The other objective of sending the boys alone ahead from US was also to give them time to interact with the family and get to know their cousins.

Its interesting to see how things change and bonds are formed. Tarush, being 2, had no preconceptions about what to do with whom and so started interacting with his cousins right away. He asked them for things, told them to play with him, got them to operate the DVD to play his favorite movie - Rock On - and rode them as horses. Ipsi, on the other hand, is at an age where she has to analyse if the person is worth it. She approached her cousins (and vice-versa) with trepidation and unsure of how to react and what to say. The initial days were spent in the three cousins tentatively interacting with each other. As the days passed they started playing together and interacting more freely. It did help that we went for outings across all weekends like Innovative Film City, Aircraft Museum, Fun City at Oasis Mall, the Planetarium and other places. As they were forced to spend some time together they started bonding very well.

Interestingly Ipsi and Shubho (both just two years apart) have bonded very closely and in the end were off playing on their own. Shubho was explaining to her about things in US and Ipsi would tell him about things here. Jeet on the other hand bonded very well with Tarush, and that was the unexpected part. His mom (my sis-in-law) also commented that she had not seen this side of her elder son. Tarush would want to sit with his elder cousin and play with him only.

Today, as they left in the morning, I am sure the kids will miss each other tremendously. While Tarush may not have too many memories the next time they meet, I am sure Ipsi and Shubho have formed a long lasting relationship while Jeet has discovered a new caring side to himself.

Siblings bond over common interests. While they may be forced into a relationship because of family, they form their bonds that last a lifetime. I remember with great nostalgia the wonderful summer vacations spent in Hyderabad with my cousins - the games we played, the plans we made, the books we read and the music we danced to. This feeling continues to this day.

All this is possible because my wife has a sister and she has kids. This is another point in favour of having two kids. When the family has two kids, the siblings get to meet and bond and form lifelong relationships. In a single child family sometimes the kids do not have these close relationships as they don't have first cousins.

I hope Jeet, Shubho, Ipsi and Tarush form a life long relationship and that it gets augmented when my sister gets married and has her children.