Rakhi, also called Raksha Bandhan, is a brother and sister festival where both give each other eternal love and care. In this festival, the sister ties a sacred thread on the wrist of her brother. The yarn is embellished with a sister’s love and care for her brother. The brother in return agrees to always protect her and be with her sister in her problems. The festival is celebrated on a full moon day of the Hindu month of Shravana in India.
Preparations begin many days before the festival. The sisters buy gifts, puja thalis, beautiful and eclectic packets of vermilion and rice, holy cards with the name of God written on them and the integral element of this festival – Rakhi, which is delicacy. The brothers also buy sweets and gifts for their sister.
On the eve of the Rakhi festival, the sisters stuck the holy cards on both sides of the front door of their house. A large holy card with a particular ritual design is pasted on the wall of the house temple. The number and position of the cards is individually diverse.
At night, cards are worshiped with a sweet noodle dish and red sacred thread. Basically, it is considered, the cards are feeding.
The day of the celebration begins with the rituals by the brother and sister who are well dressed for the occasion. They adore the holy letters that were pasted the day before. For this, the red sacred thread of the noodles is used. After this, the sister ties Rakhi on her brother’s wrist with a vermilion and rice tika on her forehead. She repeats the same procedure with her sister-in-law, her nephew and her niece. She serves sweets to everyone. In return, the brother not only gives her valuables as a souvenir of her, but also promises to always be by her side, especially in her troubles.
The emotion of love in the eyes of both is palpable to all those present. This is such a sublime festival that results in a memorable family gathering. The beauty of this sacred thread, Rakhi, is that it not only strengthens the bond between true brother and sister, but also fills any boy’s heart with sisterhood for any girl who ties Rakhi on her wrist. For the aforementioned excitement, I would like to succinct a well-known true fact.
In the famous epic Mahabharata, Lord Krishna saved the esteem of his so-called sister Draupadi from her brother-in-law, who was trying to rip her sari in front of her crowded clan. Draupadi once tied a piece of cloth on Lord Krishna’s wrist as Rakhi. To maintain the respect of that relationship, Lord Krishna saved Draupadi’s esteem miraculously. The incident casts a clear picture of the unbreakable bond between brother and sister for decades.