For those with siblings in the city, turning to either doorstep delivery or driving down to their homes is on the agenda today. “My brother lives with his wife, so I am either going to send over the Rakhi via Dunzo or go to his house. I would prefer the latter because I can see him in person, but the issue will then be that I cannot go inside the house as he is staying with his in-laws. We will probably meet on the street, and spend maybe 10 minutes together,” said Raksha, a resident of West Mambalam.

Through online shopping applications like Amazon, some locals have bought and delivered rakhis to their siblings who live in other states, such as Veena, a resident of Velachery. “My brother lives in Bengaluru, and usually I go to see him for Rakhi. This year, things won’t be the same. He also purchases me a ticket to visit him during Rakhi, and we spend the weekend together, but all that is cancelled for the foreseeable future now,” she said.

From planning to deliver food parcels to their siblings’ houses to organising presents to be dropped off at their doorsteps, locals are adapting their celebrations to the needs of the pandemic. However, there are some things that cannot be replaced, and certain celebrations established over the years have now been broken.

“It’s not the same as seeing your sibling and spending time with them, obviously. Safety always does come first, and there are ways to meet up online. However, the feeling that a tradition has been broken is saddening. By now, we are also getting tired of pushing meet-up plans to whenever this ends,” said Veena.