Bhaiya
“Bhaiya” is the Hindi word for big brother, and it also happens to be the only name I’ve ever called my brother Neil. If you have had a single conversation with me, it’s likely that I’ve mentioned my older brother. If you’ve interacted with literally any of my writing, photography, or design work, you’ve seen the impact my brother has had on me.
Ever since I was a wee lad, my bhaiya has always been guiding me and looking for ways to entertain me and teach me things. Despite being only 5 years older than me, he often would act like another parent, lecturing me about what and what not to do. I was always his shadow, copying everything about him that I possibly could. Unlike the stereotypical brothers in the movies that fight all the time, we would only argue about trivial things, like video games and whose turn it was to listen to the Meteora CD that we shared.
I attribute most of who I am to my bhaiya. He introduced me to everything I’m interested in. I started watching Toonami with him, leading to my lifelong enjoyment of anime. I would watch him play video games, leading to my love of video game playthroughs on YouTube. His musical talent and love for the medium shaped my own obsession with music.
The creative areas that I use to express myself came from him too. I hated writing for the longest time before he started editing my essays and helped me to improve my ability to communicate. For years, he’s read nearly everything I’ve written, constantly providing great feedback to push me forward. Before I ever started designing or taking pictures, my brother dabbled in these hobbies. He was the one who first showed me how Photoshop worked, while he made forum signatures and posters for high school organizations. He was the one who lobbied our parents to buy our family’s first DSLR.
But more than all of those other things, he’s always been there for me and been a role model as a kind, caring person and helps me to improve as a person consistently. Happy birthday, Neil!
Drops of the Week
where I *drop* recommendations of cool things this week
Article
“I Don’t Know How to Waste Time on the Internet Anymore” by Dan Nosowitz - interesting read about how the nature of the internet has changed over time and it’s in a weird place. I identify strongly with this piece, though my internet journey is much shorter.
Book
Revenge of the Analog: Real Thing and Why They Matter by David Sax - I really enjoyed this book, which details how analog industries are still thriving. You can see my more detailed thoughts on my blog.
Playlist
Punjabi Party Mix - the music of my people! A lot of these tracks sound the same and my mom is tired of them by now, but I can’t stop listening to these Punjabi party songs.
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:~)
Love,
Nikhil