CELEBRATING YOUR RELATIONSHIPS – RAAKHI

India, as everyone would like to call it, is a land of festivals, culture and tradition. Agreed, but so is every other nation. We may be a bit louder and prouder of our festivals, culture and tradition. But no where in the world are relationships celebrated as much as it is here in this country. Be it weddings, engagements; birthdays or in general festivals, Indians celebrate it with all their heart. Among these is such a festival that celebrates a relationship that would probably not be celebrated anywhere else in the world. We call it raakhi or more elaborately, Rakshaa Bandhan. Literally translated Rakshaa means protection and Bandhan means to bind. It is a festival celebrating the pure sibling relationship. As the name suggests it is the bond of love, trust and protection between a brother and a sister.

Getting down to the rituals, on this auspicious day the sister ties a silk thread that is more famously called raakhi by us Indians, on her brother's wrist. Also accompanying this act are the ceremonial pujas. With tying a raakhi around her brother's wrist, a sister is praying for his well being and wishes that her brother is protected from all evil. The brother on the other hand by getting a raakhi tied on his hand is being reminded of the life long responsibility of protecting and taking care of his sister. He pledges to be there for her during her difficult times and also be a part of the happy ones. Once the raakhi is tied, the sisters are showered with gifts as a gesture of a brother's love.

The origin of this one-of-a-kind festival goes back many hundred years. Its evolution goes something like this. Rakshaa Bandhan is celebrated on the Shravan Purnima or the full moon day of the Shravan month. This incidentally falls around mid-august. In the ancient times Rakshaa Bandhan was not celebrated only between siblings. It only signified the strengthening of any relationship. Wives tied raakhis on their husband's wrist with the hope and prayer of warding off any evil in their lives. Rishis (saints) would tie holy silken threads around their follower's wrists. All this was done with the sole intention of warding off all evil and protecting the person around whose wrist the raakhi is tied. Slowly this ritual turned into strengthening the bond of love between a brother and sister.

One may wonder if it is after all such a big deal that a whole festival is devoted to this relationship between siblings. I suggest, you drop into any of the Indian households on the day of raakhi and you will go back home with all your answers. A household is lit up with lights and decorated with flowers. As you walk in you smell the fragrance of camphor and incense sticks, thanks to the prayers and rituals performed on this day. The highlight of the day is of course the ceremony of tying the raakhi. Brothers fly in from anywhere in the world to be with their sisters on this particular day. So, it is also a way of keeping relationships alive, a means of spending happy and joyous times with your loved ones and renewing the memories of your childhood. Suddenly in between busy lives and hectic schedules the sister reminisces when her brother was the best guy in the world and she would trust him with her life, he would protect her from the school bully, even if the bully was twice as big as her brother. It is a time when the brother looks at his sister as the little girl he so adores, and has kept an eye out for, hoping to catch her every time she stumbled and wished the best for her all his life. It is this feeling that sparkles lovingly in their eyes during the rituals, when the sister ties the raakhi around her brother's wrist. It is happy giggles when the girls are given their gifts from their brothers and a joyous celebration filled with food, talk and laughter follows.

Today Rakshaa Bandhan has broken the constraints of being restricted between biological relations as some would like to call it. It has stretched to the ties of trust between any two people who are willing to look out for each other and wish for the best of this world for each other. Be it your next door neighbor or the friend you have come to trust over the years, try celebrating this amazing festival with them and see the bonds of your relationships grow stronger.