‘MY BROTHER SUPPORTS ME IN ALL THINGS THAT MAKE ME HAPPY’
Top cricketer Mithali Raj and her environmentalist brother Mithun Raj tell sibling tales on Bhai Dooj
One is a sportsperson, the other an environmentalist. Their busy careers often leave them with little time to catch up, but this is one sibling bond that’s always strong. Mithali Raj, captain of the Indian women’s cricket team, says that her elder brother Mithun Raj has always been a supporter of things that make her happy.
Telling us about their bond, Mithali, now 33, is reminded of an episode from 2002, in her initial days as a cricketer. At that time, because of some personal issues, the righthanded batswoman’s game was slipping. It was Mithun who got her back on track.
“I was in Mumbai and I think he was then in Visakhapatnam. He used to write me mails and call on the landline (as cell phones weren’t common), motivating me to focus on my game,” says Mithali. “He said that he’d take care of the rest. I still remember how he’d say that he was there for me.”
An emotional Mithali adds, “We don’t need any occasion to celebrate our bond.”
Mithun, who’s with the tribal rights advocacy NGO Samata, says that the siblings’ relationship is beyond words. “Whenever there’s something that she can’t discuss with our parents, she’d confide in me,” he says. Asked to reveal something about her that nobody knows, the doting brother says, “I consider Mithali being a sister a gift in itself ”, and then adds, “Every time I enter her room [in their family home in Hyderabad], I smile, looking at the way she has decorated her room with the stuffed toys I gifted her.”