Raksha Bandhan ~ the bond of love !

The festival of Raksha Bandhan  celebrated in India, is famous for the bond of love that a brother and a sister share among themselves. While a sister ties a rakhi ( a decorative string made pretty with glittering beads, flowers and other decorative stuff ) on her brother's wrist, the brother is supposed to honour the 'bond of love' by taking a solemn oath to protect his sister and to take care of her throughout his life and yes, also to present her with a gift. That's how it goes !

While growing up, this was one festival that was not taken all that seriously. My brothers ( I have two) and I used to take it for granted , get dressed , go through the entire thing of getting the rakhi tied, gorging on sweets and then carrying on with the daily routine. Now, that we are all grown up and live in different towns, we hardly get to meet each other except at rare occasions and get togethers, so the festival has begun to make me rather sentimental these days. I always remember to buy my rakhis and to dispatch them on time. The lovely rakhi stalls that dot the roads and streets weeks in advance, always make me smile as I see the colourful threads hanging from every hook and women selecting the best of them for their brothers with precision and dedication :) I too, take special care while going through the lot and imagine how a particular one is going to look when worn around the wrist and choose only the best ones for my brothers hoping that they will like it just as much as I did while picking them up :)


Now, I am a mother blessed with a boy and a girl too and the festival of Raksha Bandhan has attained a different dimension with them around. They are always so excited, thanks to the advertisements and other media information they keep getting.They make their own rakhi, which is often messy and badly put together ( :D) , though this year my daughter made a pretty one . The school has a rakhi making activity day every year before the main day, so they go all berserk trying to decorate their own creation to the best of their ability but on the main day, it's usually the store bought one that comes handy . My daughter, for once forgets her favourite one liner that she uses for her brother on several occasions, especially after a fight " He is not a brother, he is a bother " and admits that he is a wonderful brother and she is lucky to have him in her life and the brother himself, tries  his best to be in her good books and everybody else's too. They go through the entire process of arranging the rakhis on a thali ( all the cousin sisters also send their's ). My daughter makes sure there are flowers, teeka and sweets all arranged neatly along with a diya ( earthen lamp) to complete the look.They dress up in Indian outfits ( the daughter in salwaar kameez or a lehenga and the son in a kurta pajama). Finally the gifts are exchanged and I just know they are five minutes away from a fight because that box of Cadbury's Celebrations is supposed to be shared and they both are madly possessive about their
boxes. Sigh ! So much for Raksha Bandhan. But truth be told, the love between siblings is something that nothing in this world can replicate. They are not just friends but constant companions. Their friends may keep changing over the years but what never changes is the love a brother has for his sister and vice versa and I say this because I know how much my brothers mean to me though the geographical distance may say something else, the heart is just a beat away  :)

Happy Raksha Bandhan !!