We had three children in the house. The Canadian siblings, 12-year old Dhruv and six-year old Sara, were meeting their cousin from India, 20-month old toddler Shaira, for the very first time. Expectedly, each day was a circus of entertainment – lighthearted laughter interspersed with periodic tantrums and ready tears. Each little person had their individual characteristics and they bridged their differences in educative ways. They used their inherent negotiation skills and communicated in the unique language of children!
The taciturn and blasé Dhruv was ever ready to play the clown for Shaira: turning on her favorite nursery rhymes, amusing her in every way he knew and being ever the protective big brother. Sara vacillated between being the knowing elder sister (at bath time, ‘no missy, you can’t have the soap’) and sometimes regressed to babyhood when the new baby received too much attention. And then baby Shaira – she quickly became devoted to her older cousins, wandering about the house calling ‘Didi, didi!’ or asking plaintively ‘Where is Drewy?’.
It has been heart-warming to see the genuine affection that grew between these three children in just two short weeks. When the visit ended, good byes were said with heavy hearts before they left for distant corners of the globe. I know their time together has made a deep impression on each little mind. Video messages have been recorded and shared, names are constantly remembered, and inquiries periodically made. I like to think they have sown together the seeds of a deep and forever sibling love…
