There are some bonds the world never fully understands…

Because, they are not just relationships,

they are lifetimes lived together!

She was my Badema.

My mother’s elder sister… but that never defined her. She was more than that. She and Maa grew up like two halves of the same soul. Running through childhood, sharing dreams, excelling in studies, and standing beside each other through every storm life brought your way. There was a silent language between those two… one that needed no explanation, no justification. No one ever knew either of them the way they knew each other.

Maybe that same unspoken bond found its way to me.

After Maa left, she didn’t try to replace her. She became something else entirely. She became my safe space. The one I could speak to without filters, without fear.

The things we hesitated to tell the world… We shared it with each other. Not because we had secrets, but because the world often misunderstands depth. It judges strength, questions vulnerability, and sometimes turns honesty into discomfort.

Perhaps it runs in the blood!

That quiet pride, that fierce resilience, that need to hold everything together even when life is falling apart. The world called it stubbornness, control, even aggression at times.

But what they never saw was the truth:

These two souls were never given the luxury to fall apart.

They didn’t choose to be strong.

They simply had no other option.

They kept moving.

They held people together while breaking inside.

They smiled through storms, carried responsibilities beyond our years, and stood tall even when we felt completely alone.

And yes… there were moments when they didn’t know where to go, where to rest, where to just be.

Their only refuge… was often their own solitude.

The world may have seen their strength.

But recognizing it deeply would have required something more… an action, a return of love equal to the intensity of what was given.

And maybe not everyone is capable of vibing with souls this intense, this responsible and this rare!

Their strength, their grace, their unwavering sense of duty, their quiet love. These are not things that fade. They become legacies. They live on in the people they’ve shaped, in the courage they’ve passed on, in the silent battles we continue to fight with their spirit within us.

This time is of a strange kind.

A day where loss and love exist together in their most intense forms.

It is one's death anniversary… and the other's birthday.

And yet, both of them are no longer with us!

Maa’s and Badema’s presence in memory.

Grief and celebration, intertwined in a way only the heart can understand.

One is remembered in silence,

the other in warmth,

but both felt alike!

Pain… and gratitude!

Today, if there is one truth I hold onto, it is this:

We come from a lineage of strength.

From people who don’t just survive, but endure with dignity.

From souls who carry storms in their hearts and still choose to protect others from the rain.

We are their continuation.

We are their reflection.

To Maa and Badema:

“Wherever you are,

I hope you know,

you are deeply missed,

endlessly respected,

and forever loved.

Miss you Mom!

Happy Birthday, Badema!!”

The No Crown Queens!