Open Letter To My Little Brother In Chennai

DISCLAIMER: As in all open letters of mine, most names have been changed for the sake of online privacy.

Hi Ashley, this is the first open letter I am writing to you; having already written quite a few for your big brother Andy. It’s a while since I have written any such letter (last being about Andy in the beginning of 2026); so please excuse any rustiness and I will do my very best to ensure it sustains your interest, though I will have to warn you that, just like the letters to Andy, this one will also be long!

To start with, I met you for the first time before you had even turned two. You called me “Uncle”, which evoked quite a few laughs and Andy recently suggested (when I mentioned it in a poem about you) that it was partly due to my deep voice 😛 !! My father has said multiple times that my voice sounds like that of Amitabh Bachchan 😀 !! Andy and I always used to tease you about your “chubby cheeks”; which perhaps gave you the determination to start maturing at a very young age!! You were near impossible to defeat in debates (even with, or rather specially with adults!!) and always had strong witty comebacks, which meant one always had to get one’s facts right when entering into a conversation with you!!

Ashley, I don’t know if people have mentioned it, but you used to even outshine our big brother Geoff when it came to “mokkais”!! One of our most memorable moments was the dinner at a bar-cum-restaurant in Jan 2008 with Andy and your Dad; to celebrate India’s famous Test match victory over Australia at Perth. It was the first time I had alcohol in my life, a small glass of diluted Whiskey. In May 2010, you came to Mumbai for the first time. We were watching the World T20 final between England and Australia and some of my relatives on my maternal grandmother “Kylie Grandma” side were also staying with us. My maternal cousin Samuel’s grandfather was (still is!!) an avid cricket fan and was keenly watching along with us. We were supporting England and Samuel’s Grandpa was cheering for Australia. Initially we thought he was doing it just to tease us (we [especially me!!] used to hate Aus with a passion since they were dominating cricket and were infamous for their sledging and “mental disintegration” tactics), but then he became dull as the match progressed and Eng cruised towards a famous win; so we realised that he was truly supporting Aus!! My Dad still has fond memories of this!!

I will always relish the memories of you, Andy and I playing cricket; whether inside the house with a plastic bat and a soft yellow ball and part of the door of Ron Grandpa and Lucy Grandma’s room acting the stumps [at only one end] (plus we had a “one-pitch one-hand” catch rule and sometimes being beaten meant losing your wicket!!) or outside with a wooden bat, tennis ball and proper stumps at both ends. When it came to your batting or bowling, you always used to surprise us; even I could never bowl or even bat the way you did when I was your age!! Initially you were a huge Harris Jayaraj fan like me but then diversified with other composers like the legend AR Rahman, Santhosh Narayanan etc; in fact, Ashley, it was due to you and Andy that I also became a SaNa fan; though my favourite in India is, was, has been and will always be Harris!!

We watched the Harry Potter movies multiple times and often made fun of the mistakes and the changes from the book version, especially Lucius Malfoy acting completely out of character and trying to use the “Avada Kedavra” curse on Harry at school in the second movie, Dumbledore too acting completely out of character and almost trying to strangle Harry in the fourth movie, Harry breaking the Elder Wand in the final movie etc. We also found the Tamil dubbed version of the movies hilarious; with you pointing out the scene in the first movie where the witch with the food trolley on the Hogwarts Express kept shouting “chocolate” and “biscuit” with a strong Tamil accent!! I am a huge fan of Ronald Bilius Weasley and can relate to him in many ways; but since you didn’t like Ron much, this was an area where we used to banter a lot.

Ashley, if you were to be Sorted into a Hogwarts house when you were eleven, I would have thought Ravenclaw would have suited you the most, based on your wit, cleverness and intellect; but perhaps Slytherin would have been an equally good fit – due to your cunning, resourcefulness and street smarts. Regarding ambition, I am not sure how ambitious you were at eleven; but now you certainly are ambitious without a doubt and hence remain a good candidate for Slytherin. A bit of cunning from you I still fondly remember is how you once took advantage of my naivety and made me believe that something like “Diet Badam Halwa” existed!! Moreover, you used to sprinkle some mint stuff on the Jim Jam biscuits at your home and made me believe that it was an altogether different flavour released in the market!! Not boasting, but my strong long-term memory ensures I never forget the mischief you used to get into during your childhood and teens!! 😉

Many of our evenings at your house were memorable, since you, Andy and I went to the terrace and (of course!!) played cricket, sometimes losing the ball. Even more fascinating was watching the bats (the animal bat, not cricket bat 😀 ) as it grew dark; it was almost like a “Chennai version” of Halloween 😛 !! Not to mention, the stories you used to tell me about the erstwhile haunted house next to yours sounded quite creepy!! And of course, Ashley, how can I forget about you making fun of all TVS products, especially the “XL Super” and  “Champ” Mopeds; as well as the Kinetic Luna (which was basically Kinetic’s version of TVS Champ) !! You even called the Samsung laptop that I used to have as an “irumbu petti” and fittingly it came to an end within 3 years; after I spilled coffee on it by mistake!! Also, you may not remember, but once while we were watching TV in the hall; a lump of hair was moving on the floor (due to the fan) and you tried to scare me by saying it was a honeybee – I didn’t think then that it was specifically a honeybee but still from the sofa it was not completely clear to eyes and hence I thought it was an insect and got a bit scared; since you know I am scared of any creature that has six legs or more – insects, spiders, centipedes and millipedes!!

We had a fantastic trip to Mumbai in Jan 2015, including riding the Monorail and the Metro for the first time; you were especially thrilled by the Monorail, though it was (still is!!) rather slow compared to the metro and the local trains. However, the trip was a bit soured by our missing the return flight to Chennai. I am still sorry for being the main reason for missing our flight; as an argument with my father delayed our start, before things became worse at the airport check in counter; where we were further delayed due to a Canadian NRI passenger just in front of us having a long and heated argument with the lady behind the counter. I must say I am very very grateful to you, Ashley, for taking everything in your stride and being cool about the whole thing. It is one of the reasons why you are such a dear brother to me. I will never forget the people who stick to me when I am at my worst and you are one of them.

We eventually took another flight to Chennai the next day and were shocked to see legendary singer Hariharan sitting alone in a lounge, apparently unnoticed by most people. I will end the letter on this note, as there are still many things I want to write about you, Ashley, but I don’t want to make this letter too long and hence will include those in another open letter to you. Hope you enjoyed reading this one as much as I enjoyed writing it!! Take care, love you and see you soon bro!!