How A Trip To Goa Rekindled My Relationship With My Brother

As children of avid travellers, my brother and I have fond memories of going on family holidays in our wee years. Summer vacations would take us on long-winded road trips to remote hill stations while in the winter we would embark on exciting train or car journeys to visit relatives in the Northern plains of India. Once our father reached a certain station in life, around the time we were approaching our teens, the annual trip abroad also entered the fray. Hence, my brother and I have a treasure trove of shared memories of travelling together. Our nearly four-year age gap, starkly different personalities, and the difference in gender, led to minor tussles but for the most part, us siblings were always close.

That is, until a family trip to Europe in the summer of 2015. I was married and expecting (though I wasn&rsquot aware of this fact), and my brother had just graduated from a course in Acting at the prestigious Prague Film School. My parents and I visited him after graduation for a month-long road trip through western Europe. It had been a wonderful experience till one night of revelry in Munich, when we ended up at a popular club called Milk Bar. High on life, and unbeknownst to me on pregnancy hormones, I got into a nasty spat with my brother, when he refused to return home with the rest of our gang at 3 a.m. Since then, an indefinable rift had entered our relationship, even if things seemed the same to all outward appearances.

Seven years later, I invited him to accompany me on a weekend getaway to Goa. In that time, the arrival of my baby, our 30s, a global pandemic and switch to alternate careers &ndash I dropped my legal practice to be a writer and he gave up the arduous pursuit of acting in favour of working in the music publishing business &ndash had changed us immensely. A rekindling of our relationship with its no-holds-barred sharing of secrets, was my main agenda.

We arrived at Goa International Airport on a rainy afternoon in May. As we made our way through seemingly endless traffic from the airport, a joyous vacation mood set upon us. We picked beers for the road and chatted away till we arrived at our destination. This was the brand new goSTOPS Hostel in Baga, North Goa - an apt choice for a budget-friendly and quick getaway. Not only was this our first ever &lsquojust-the-two-of-us&rsquo sibling trip, it was also the first time we were sharing a room since childhood. Fortunately, the private room with its ensuite bathroom and balcony in the hostel, was a comfortable one and ensured the experience of living together after all these years was pleasant. Its attached balcony quickly became our chosen spot to sit, chat, and eat from a selection of their in-house cafe, as we watched a rain-soaked Goa shine green in splendour.

In the monsoon months of May-September, the coastal state of Goa takes on an entirely different personality. It hides away its beaches under tremendously high tides, disallows the exploration of its varied cuisine by ensuring most of its culinary offerings remain shut, and offers a rare glimpse into its abundant greenery, which in touristy months is overrun by people and their paraphernalia. The melancholy mood of the monsoon fit well with our introspective chats, where my brother and I poured our hearts out, sharing secrets we had kept to ourselves for years. Playing the role of supportive siblings, we lent each other sympathetic ears throughout. We had grown up, at least somewhat, and our exchange reflected this.

With no firm agenda in place - except to enjoy ourselves - we visited the Ozran party stretch on Vagator beach on both nights, and in the daytime, drove around in our pre-booked taxi to explore Goa in the off-season. As time progressed, our moods were visibly elevated, and we laughed and danced our way through the night. This easy camaraderie served as the much-needed balm for soothing our relationship, in turn bringing us closer to each other than we had felt in years.

My glowing account shouldn&rsquot have you believe that everything was perfect In true sibling fashion, minor squabbles occurred when he was exasperated with my constant requests to photograph me. One frustrating yet humorous situation comes to mind. On our second night, we narrowed in on a pretty lakeside restaurant that was done up in fairy lights for dinner. Its entrance, in particular, was quite &lsquogram-worthy and so I requested him to cross the road and capture me in the frame of the leafy and romantically lit awning. Unfortunately, the road was riddled with puddles, and he was splattered with water when a car drove past After this, he simply washed his hands off photographer duty, and I had to request waiters and genial people around to click me.

After two days of endless banter, good food and drink, and quality time spent mostly in each other&rsquos company, we returned home to Delhi having resolved to nurture our relationship, so it becomes stronger in years to come. Taking more trips together, and frequently, seems the best way to do so.