IS THIS THE END OF THE CAMARADERIE ?

Born and brought up in a tiny hamlet in the mountains called Jotsoma, our childhood days were spent in gay abandon amidst the idyllic setting of a perfect getaway. I remember with fondness the green forest around our house, the small stream flowing close by and the cherry trees that lined up the road on both the sides. And the best thing about growing up was that I had two wonderful comrades walking along with me – my brothers.
My brothers and I share the most beautiful relationship and I miss them more so because both of them have now spread out their horizon and gone out to explore the world. Till yesterday they were just mere students busy in their own academic fields and today, my little comrades have grown up so fast and left home, that time has come to a standstill for me; it’s just amazing how time flies by…
Although I didn’t join in their purportedly gun battles as young kids, I am aware of how we learned to do things together… many things that has made us who we are today. From learning to ride bicycles in those hilly roads, to learning how to drive; taking long walks in the evenings, venturing out for treks, learning to play the guitar or just sit by the fire and read comic books; the camaraderie was just so wonderful.
As we grew up, things graduated to other new-fangled stuff like piercing our ears at the same time, getting our first tattoos, trying out the first drink, going out for concerts and holidays whenever our vacations matched. And yes, we did stand up for each other like all siblings do, like when we would take both our family cars with our own respective friends and wait up somewhere on the lonely roadside at night for hours on our way back home from town, when there were no mobile phones to keep ourselves updated about our locations. But what binds us more is that we’d always advice each other whenever required. I recollect how I wanted to have a scorpion made on my arm for my first tattoo and how my brothers made fun at me and objected saying it would scare my grandchildren away when I’d grow old and read stories to them. We muse about those days sometimes and laugh out loud. I’m now happy to have scribble tattoos instead; although my mom worries I’d look funny in my wedding gown.
Growing up in an alien atmosphere where we didn’t have much friends belonging to our tribe, we would hardly speak our mother tongue at home. And that means updating the day’s events in the evening either in english or nagamese much to the horror of village guests at home, if any. And even today, secrets in an ao infested crowd are spoken in tenyimie, much to our delight. We have great time pulling each others legs when we have to stammer something in our mother tongue.
My brothers are my biggest critics, from remarking on my profession or personal life and friends to reading my manuscripts and discarding my paintings. We’d confide our biggest fears and happiness, our crushes and relationships and everything that make life what it is. Amidst all these, we give sufficient breathing space, not to end up breathing down each others neck. And there are two things that we didn’t achieve this year as a team; to re - climb pulie badze, a mountain in Jotsoma, and going away to Nainital for a short winter break.
As my buddies venture out in different cities alone, I feel anxious for their well being and would want to do everything to make them comfortable. But I know that my comrades can take care of themselves like I have to learn to walk ahead without their daily company. It is hard-hitting but life always has a leeway…Slowly and steadily we’ll surely come around...I guess this is the way of the world. My aunt always says that we should enjoy every stage of our lives in true spirit and that phrase has, at the present, turned out to be a soothing balm.
I now wonder if this is the end of all the wonderful camaraderie or is it just the start of another beautiful chapter in our lives that will bind us stronger than ever ? Will we ever get chance to frolic together like old times or get lost in the maze of our vocations and materialistic pursuits ? Will there be ample reunions ? There are so many anxious questions but I guess the answers are hard to come by instantaneously…Whatever it is, I guess true happiness lies in the small things of life... Or maybe it’s in realizing that the small things in life can be the big things…