The bond comes of age

When young, they shared chocolates and books. In their teens, they shared their t-shirts and dreams. Now older, they share each other's responsibilities. Meet the new age brothers and sisters, bonded not only in love but also in business and in handling life's everyday crisis.
If the erstwhile 'Rakhi ka bandhan' meant protector brothers taking care of unsure sisters, it has now changed thanks to not just improved education and but also progressive upbringing of the fairer sex siblings.Sisters today have taken over the traditional role of brothers of taking care of aging parents, while brothers are perfectly at ease putting the sibling they bullied through their childhood on their company's board of directors.
Siblings explain they now recognise each other's capabilities from a more professional point of view rather than simply emotional. So, is it the recently acquired empowered image of the once delicate sisters or is it a progressive parenting and upbringing that has brought about this positive change in the brother-sister equation?
Social observers feel it's a mix of both, what with both boys and girls in urban India on a level playing field, attending the same schools and nurturing similar ambitions. Unlike yester years when only the male child received the best of education , today even the girl child is regarded as a harbinger of strength and success, not metaphorically but literally.
Take for instance siblings Kapil Viswanathan and Kami Narayan. Both grew up on common interests of scrabble and adventure and both went to Harvard Business School. Soon they hit another sport they enjoyed doing together - entrepreneurship . As co-CEOs of PreMedia Global Inc, a Chennai based cross border publishing major, this brother-sister duo has carved out a business partnership of their mutual love. "We always had complimentary skill sets. I was always the creator and Kami, the preserver. I have an expertise over sales and she has a great command over operations and we simply invest our respective strengths into the business. Besides, she was always very focussed about her career so the question of not taking her seriously doesn't arise," asserts Kapil.
Agrees Kami, "The best thing is that we don't have to worry about trust issues with each other. There is no question of insecurity either as we both crave to see each other to excel." And is Kami a bullying elder sister? "Well, I used to be when small but now it's the other way round but all in good spirits," she giggles.
The concept of the know-all brother is clearly on a long sabbatical as many brothers are turning to sisters for professional advice. Manjula, producer of box office hits like Pokhiri and elder sister of Telugu superstar Mahesh Babu says that she enjoys a great comfort level with Mahesh. "Surprisingly he expects much more from me as an elder sister and as a producer than I expect from him. That surely comes from his conviction about my capabilities,'' she says. With both being in the same industry, she finds the mention of sibling rivalry amusing. "After all, the brother sister relationship is an incomparable one where, whether we work in the same field or not, whether we take each others work seriously or not, all that exists is unconditional love," she says.
The new found ties between brothers and sisters also has the media raising a toast to this relationship . The otherwise 'couple-smitten ' ads are now making money of sibling love. Be it the new advertisement of a mobile service provider celebrating Raksha Bandhan, or the Saif-Soha pairing up, admen know they are putting their money in the right place.
"That they chose not Saif-Kareena but Saif-Soha says a lot. The duo does wonders in the ad campaign,'' notes an advertising expert. Elaborates ad man Sabyasachi Sengupta, creator of the famed 'Dil maange more' slogan, "Human relations are the core essence of ad campaigns and it is only but natural for an ad to be successful if it features a real life brother sister duo that too as popular as Saif and Soha. It's a love of a different kind against the usual romantic pairing so it's like a sure shot way to catch the eyeballs."
While the younger generation of brothers and sisters find their bonding more confident, the older generation say that this relationship was always special. The makeover of the bond between them notwithstanding, they argue that the expectations between brothers and sisters of this generation have taken unwarranted turns.
Veteran theatre person Rashmi Seth shares her feelings saying that the awareness levels of modern age siblings have increased so much that they have turned materialistic. "In our times, even a Rs 10 note from my brothers would mean a lot to me because I was more keen on the emotional appeal of it. But nowadays sisters demand Iphones , designer footwear and what not. Crude as it may sound but monitory value is overriding emotional value. In fact, for me, the very essence of Raksha Randhan has evolved far beyond rituals and we make it a point not to burden each other with material gifts. I post rakhis to my brothers in Delhi along with some nice philosophical or spiritual thoughts that appeals to me and whenever we meet we gift each other fresh flowers," she says.
Her husband, 73-year-old O A Seth shares an even more touching experience. "I hadn't met my six sisters for long so I recently escorted them all from Amritsar, Mumbai, Kolkata and Jammu to Hyderabad. The eldest of them is 83 and the youngest 61 and instead of just asking them 'How are you?' I took them all for a complete health check up and ensured that medically also they were actually hail and hearty," he smiles.