Raksha Bandhan

Raksha Bandhan was always special to me as I shared my name with it. When I was a little girl I loved this festival the most as it involved getting a lot of presents. If it was a school day, my sister and I would wait to get home, deciding on our way what clothes to wear as if there was going to be a photo shoot. There wouldn’t even be a digital camera in sight. We would change quickly and get the ‘thali’ (an ornate steel plate) and fill it up with ‘rakhis’ of all colours, shapes and sizes. The big golden glittery ones were my favourite but unfortunately they didn’t last long on the hands of our brothers so we worked on a strategy and we picked sturdy designs that lasted longer on their hands. That would remind them to take care of their sisters and not make fun of them or bully them.

We would start with our brother first and move on to the first and second cousins next. Anyone who was remotely a relative and a male was a brother qualified for rakhi. There was a time when we individually had our own set of extended brothers who we made brothers so we could get presents. I can’t believe we did that! There were some brothers we visited only during Raksha Bandhan but they didn’t mind. We loved to see the rakhis on their hands and the smiles on their faces when we stuffed their mouths with their favourite sweets.

As they all say, time and tide wait for none. As years passed we realised the true importance of tying a rakhi. The presents seemed superficial. The number of rakhi stops reduced drastically. Some of them waited for us and some of them complained that we didn’t make it to their homes. Most of them had moved out of our home town. They were all busy in their own lives and so were we but there has come a time when I have realised which brother will stand for me even if I don’t tie a rakhi and which ones won’t bother. I realised the love and blessings they gave while tying a rakhi was priceless.

The biggest gift of rakhi is having that sibling/cousin/friend who you know will stand by you no matter what. The importance of tying a rakhi is what you make of it.

If you have a brother who you have fallen out with, make an attempt to forgive and forget the past. Bless him. The blessings will return to you.

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