How it Feels Like Being the Sister of an Army Man

The love, care, and affection between brother and sister are immortal. They are born best friends. A relation that starts from birth and continues till life, is the one shared by the siblings. Brother is the wall of protection for his sister, whereas sister plays the role of emotions healer and mental supporter. When a brother is there, a sister always feels protected. I too have a brother and am proud to declare that, he is an army man. You must have read several articles about how it feels to be the son of an army man, the wife of an army man and so on. But, I am sure you must not have heard about the feelings of a sister, whose brother is a defense personal.

My brother is contributing his sincere services to Indian army and I am really proud of that. It really feels great when someone so close to you, is the wall of protection for many. People feel proud of our defense forces and so do I, but what are the things that the family of a defense person faces sticks to them only. Raksha Bandhan is the festival that is eagerly awaited by the sisters all over the country. The day that commemorates the sanity of siblinghood bond, is celebrated with complete pomp and show in India. I like all other sisters also wait for Raksha Bandhan festival desperately. But, my festivity is not like other sisters.

On the festival of Raksha Bandhan, it is a ritual that sister visits brother’s house and tie rakhi as the sign of her love and affection. I have nowhere to go because my brother is serving the nation at that time. Throughout the year, you feel proud because you are the sister of an army man, but that one single day that makes you selfish is, Raksha Bandhan. I too desperately wish to tie rakhi to my bro and celebrate the golden moments together, but it is not possible because before protecting me, he has the responsibility to protect the whole nation. When the trend of online shopping was not as popular as it is at the present time, I used to send rakhi to brother through the post. Sometimes it reaches on time and many times late. The postal delay of rakhi distresses me and more than me it hurts my brother. If my rakhi reaches late, he never tells this to me. He always says that it has reached on time.

I salute to all the army personals who serve the nation before their family. As we sisters eagerly wait for Raksha Bandhan here, so as our brothers eagerly wait for the occasion there too. The one whose rakhi is late, others cover up the situation by tying their rakhi to him. In this way, no brother’s wrist serving the nation is left blank without rakhi on Raksha Bandhan. Yes, at times I feel like my brother should be there by my side so that we can celebrate Raksha Bandhan with full fervor, but the very second thought that comes to my mind is that my nation needs him more than I do. It's being almost ten years that I have not celebrated Rakhi in real with my brother. I send rakhi online and convey my wishes over the phone. This virtual rakhi celebration means a lot to me because my brother is making other’s Raksha Bandhan safe.