#365DaysOfWriting Day 76: To My Shruti Di…

Shruti Di and I are cousins. She’s a year older than me, and in childhood, the two of us were inseparable. Shruti Di is not just my sister…She is the first person with whom I became friends. She was the first friend I had.

In Primary School, I was the shy, reclusive kid who only spoke when she was addressed. Naturally, I did not have a lot of friends back then. I never needed one really, because I had Shruti Di.

We’ve grown up playing with Barbie dolls, and computer games like Roller Coaster Tycoon and The Sims. We weren’t very similar in a lot of ways but we managed to get along like a house on fire — Shruti Di loved to dress up while I was never particularly fond of it. Yet, I patiently became the model she used to style. I remember one of her favourite pastimes was doing my hair. Shruti Di did not like reading unless it was a scary story (she always owned more Goosebumps than me), but ensured she made me narrate the stories of all the interesting books I’d read. One of the craziest memories I have is of the two of us locking ourselves in her room, and trying to imitate the dance-steps of our favourite actresses back then — Madhuri Dixit and Kajol!

Of course once we entered our teens, we did not hang out as much as we used to as kids. We had new friends, new interests, and a whole new world of pain in the field of academics! She struggled with Hindi quite a bit, while Mathematics always remained my arch enemy. However, our bond remained strong as ever. Even though we never spoke everyday, we could always take off from our last point of conversation.

Shruti Di is the “perfect” elder sister. She knew how to take care of all of us, was always around to ensure we remained in our senses even though we were sure we were going to lose it, and she, till date, makes the yummiest food in the world!

Today is her Champagne Birthday! She turns 28 on 28! On this day, I’d just like to say:

Dear Shruti Di,

Thank you so much for all the fun-times! It is impossible for me to imagine my childhood without you! Thanks for always taking care of me and being there! I wish you still were in Bombay!

Lots of Love,
Divya