Sibling Revelry

Author Meghna Pant and her brother, comedian Sorabh Pant, are shattering stereotypes and changing the rules of sibling relationships

- Veenu Singh

The first time author and screenwriter Meghna Pant laid eyes on her younger brother, comedian Sorabh Pant, she smacked him.

To be fair, she was less than two years old at the time and outraged that her baby brother's birth had caused their mother to scream with labour pains. Still, this was hardly a good omen for the relationship between the siblings going forward.

Which is why, when you meet them together for an HT Brunch cover story, and listen to them talk to each other, you're a bit surprised by the way they relate to each other.

There's no sense of the girl-boy divide that is almost always visible in family gatherings where the siblings are of different genders.

There's no push and pull of the older-younger age gap that in most families manifests in clear power dynamics.

In fact, there are no binaries at all. There's just a very strong sense of camaraderie and love. Even though Meghna, as the siblings joke around during the photo shoot, one-ups her professional comedian brother every single time.

"Sorabh may crack the funniest jokes at his shows, but when it comes to pranks, I always have the upper hand," laughs 41-year-old Meghna. "And in all these years, I have been the one to protect him, not vice versa! We've been best friends for most of our life. I did his school homework, beat up anyone who bullied him, and edited his novels, while he once went all the way to another city because I'd left my favourite pair of shoes there, to bring them back to me, and flew to Darjeeling in 2011 to surprise me for Rakhi. There have been only three or four occasions when we've fought, and that's a seriously good track record for siblings!"