Raksha-Bandhan Wish List

Raksha-Bandhan had always been the most awaited festival of the year, celebrated with utmost zest and esprit. The kitchen smelled of all the traditional Indian delicacies one could imagine; Ladoos, Jalebi, Biryani, Halva and Barfi. There were drumrolls, flower decorations, lights, colorful rangoli patterns on the entrance and this marked that time of the year when we convened our family of twenty-eight.

Traditionally, on this day, sisters tie a special band on their brothers ' wrist as a mark of affection. This thread is called the 'Rakhi '. Every year my Raksha-Bandhan wish list would read, "Dear God, all I want is a baby brother, to tie a my favorite pink Rakhi." At age five, I knew God had to be real because, one day, my mother announced that she was pregnant. After five years of being an only child, I could not have anticipated how much my life would change because of a little brother. I received the honor of naming him, and I chose Pragyat. In retrospect, I should have named my brother "Ravana the Evil." Pragyat followed me everywhere like a galling shadow. My grievances to my mother were countless, especially after he

I knew it had to be my father, so I didn 't answer and stood motionless on my bed. He entered my room, sat calmly next me and said, "Pragyat is diagnosed with Autism." I didn’t really know what to expect. All my rage had vanished into thin air. I was about ten years old and at that age, I don’t think you can comprehend something like autism.

Learning to accept it was one of the most challenging, yet simplest things I ever had to do. It was challenging because it meant accepting that he was going to struggle. It was simple because I knew that feeling sorry for myself wasn’t going to help. The only way to help was to act. The only way to act was to first accept. Not settle for autism, but simply accept that this was what life dealt my family. But I promised knew we were going to push through