The thread that ties

As the country celebrates the festival of Raksha Bandhan today, NT BUZZ talks to Goan siblings about the unique love-hate bond they share and fun ways they have expressed this to each other

NT BUZZ

One time, my brother changed the language on my phone to Japanese. It took me a long time to figure out how to change it back. Meanwhile, he was sitting nearby,  laughing at my confused face.

To get back at  him, I decided to hide his football socks and cycling gloves inside the shoe rack. The next day, when he was getting ready for practice, he looked for his gear but could not find it anywhere. Then, he finally checked the shoe rack and saw his socks and gloves hidden behind the shoes. He looked very surprised.  These little jokes and pranks are part of our daily life. We enjoy teasing each other and sharing these fun moments. They help us stay close and make our home a joyful place.”

– Ayushi Kamrani, Margao

Years ago, our aunt brought us six pastries. Of all the flavours, I was eyeing one. But the next day, I opened the box, to find my pastry missing. He’d eaten it. I unleashed full sibling. My mom promised to get me another… but before she could, the bakery shut down forever. For years I reminded my brother of his ‘insensitivity’ towards his sister. Now that we’re grown, he offers me the first bite of every cake like it’s a sacred ritual. So this Raksha Bandhan, I’m showing up with his favourite cupcakes — and this time, I’ll share them. Probably.”

– Siya Mopkar, Ponda

On one Raksha Bandhan, my brother bought himself a ‘gift’ – a Nerf gun, claiming we would play together. Turns out, his rea plan was just to chase me around the house and use it to shoot me! On another occasion, I fell into a ditch and started crying. Before helping me up, he clicked a photo!”

– Rucha Kare, Margao

On our first trip to Singapore, my brother took us all out for lunch. It was my first time eating sushi and that is when I got introduced to wasabi. Before explaining how it should be consumed, he gave a demo. The first time, he dipped it in a lot of soya sauce so it didn’t hit much. So I cribbed about him making an unnecessary fuss. But then he dared me to eat it plain. And like a simpleton, I fell for it. I ended up eating a good chunk of wasabi and simply couldn’t stop crying after that because it was next level pungent!”

– Meenal Bale, Porvorim

My brother never played any prank on me  but as kids  I remember how we would wait for my mom to sleep or go out and secretly make Maggi. I was not supposed to share Maggi with him because he had some health issues when he was small but I used to feel bad about eating alone. We used to cook together, eat it, and then clean everything carefully. Even today, we still do this occasionaly. We have a very crazy bond. We fight and at the same time we care and love each other.”

– Rachana Pednekar, Taleigao

Growing up under the loving care of our great-grandmother was a special part of our childhood. Like most siblings, we shared everything—except snacks! I often played pranks on my little brothers, especially the youngest. I’d buy snacks and hide them in my cupboard, only to find they’d mysteriously vanish. It didn’t take long to figure out—they knew all my hiding spots. My youngest brother and I often teamed up to keep the middle one away from our stash, as he had a knack for finishing everything quickly!”

– Mahima Shetkar, Pilerne

One evening, I was glued to the TV screen when my little sister, came running in looking panicked saying that mother was looking for me urgently. I rushed to the kitchen, only to find Amma calmly chopping vegetables, completely clueless. Confused, I turned around— and there she was, giggling behind the sofa. Turns out, she had stolen the TV remote in the meantime. By the time I returned, her cartoon was already playing.”

– Aashutosh Prabhu, Mapusa

Whenever my sister  dressed to the nines for some big function, I would say, “Wait… you’re wearing that?”

The transformation would be immediate. She would go from confident to confused in seconds, rushing to the mirror for a closer inspection, trying to spot what went wrong. Within minutes, she would storm back into her room to change the entire look. And I would stand outside, struggling to hold in my laughter.

I would confuse her more with, “Maybe tie your hair differently?”, until finally, my mom stepped in and exposed me: “Saeel’s messing with you! You look perfectly fine. Don’t listen to him.” Let’s just say my sister didn’t find it funny in that moment but looking back, it’s become one of those legendary pranks we still laugh about. “

– Saeel Parulekar,  Siolim

(Compiled by Christine Machado, Adithi Sharma, Kalyani Jha and Sachi Naik)