It was time for the reaffirmation of the strong bonding between bothers and sisters again as the city celebrated Raksha Bandhan, popularly known as rakhi festival, with a pomp on Sunday.
Be it children, teenagers or elders, the sisters, in their best attires, tied rakhi to their brothers. The profound love for the siblings was hung heavy in the air as the brothers proudly flaunted the holy threads on their wrists and took the vow again to protect their sisters.
The shopping spree for the festival had picked up since Friday, with the girls and women busy buying colourful rakhis.
Almost every street corners in the city had a makeshift vends displaying different variety of rakhis ranging from ₹10 to more than ₹500, with the costly ones embossed with silver and gold linings.
As the tradition has it, rakhi festival is not complete without gifts. While the sisters were busy buying rakhis, the brothers left no stone unturned to choose the best gifts for their sisters.
“It’s a festival which every sister looks forward too. I have a bother of my own, but I also tie rakhis to two more. While I pray for their well being and good health, they vow to protect me,” said Anchal, a second-year engineering student.
For Rupesh, it was simply a ‘brother-sister dayout’. “It’s time to celebrate brotherhood and celebrate the day with my lovely sisters,” he said.
What mythology says
The root of rakhi festival is embedded both in history and mythology. A number of mythological stories associate with the tradition. A few popular ones being Goddess Lakshmi tying a rakhi on King Bali’s wrist and asking him to relieve Lord Vishnu, who had been then staying in Bali’s palace, as her gift.
The legend also has it that Draupadi tied a rakhi on Krishna’s wrist, before the Kurukshetra war, seeking protection for her husbands (Pandavas).
History also says that Alexander’s wife Roxana sent a Rakhi to King Porus, seeking protection of her husband.
In the modern history, Rabindranath Tagore preferred the occasion to celebrate and foster peace and harmony between the Hindus and the Muslims, during the partition of Bengal in 1905, when the situation was volatile between the two communities.
Unique gesture
Taking up the cause of environment protection, activists of Paryavaram Margadarsi Vysakhi tied rakhis to trees near the DRM Office, highlighting the concept that trees are our lifeline and they need to be protected like one of our family members. Prajapita Brahma Kumaris tied rakhis to political leaders, bureaucrats, government officials and orphan children and homeless people.