Be creative & make your own rakhi
Thakur Paramjit

RAKHI is not just a piece of thread. It represents deep-rooted bond of affection between brother and sister.

A few decades ago, sisters would enthusiastically start preparations for this auspicious occasion many days in advance. But now, in the name of advance planning, they visit the bazaar, buy rakhis and rush to a post office, so that these reach their brothers and cousins well in time. In a number of cases, tying rakhi on the wrist of their brother has become more of a formality. These days, the festival of Raksha Bandhan is celebrated sans the traditional spirit.

So, let us be different this year and observe Raksha Bandhan with a personal touch.

In the modern world, where everything has become commercialised; if a sister herself makes a rakhi for her brother, he would indeed feel elated. A little effort in this direction would go a long way in strengthening the bond between brother and sister. And it is not difficult to make a rakhi. It requires just a visit to a good button shop to buy thread, fancy buttons or other little trinkets and some silk ribbon.

Button shops stock a variety of stuff, which can be used creatively to make beautiful rakhi. It includes different kinds of beads, made from bone, wood, glass or plastic; various kinds of shells; oxidised silver trinkets; buttons in varying shapes and made from different materials; little rosettes made of gota and sequins, ribbon flowers, embroidered tapes, and a plethora of other little items. Let your imagination run wild while designing your ‘special rakhi’.

Now let us come down to nitty-gritty of rakhi-making. Silken thread forms the most important raw material. Extend your thumb and little finger and wind the thread around them to form a figure of 8 on the palm. Keep doing so till the figure becomes quite thick. Now hold its centre and tie it securely with thread. Lift the thread from your fingers; cut the loops and fluff them out. Hold the centre and flatten the thread, obtaining a flat circle made of shiny silken thread.

To decorate the rakhi you can tie one of those fancy buttons, beads, bits of gota or other little figures. For your little brother, you can even tie a toffee, chewing gum or a small chocolate on to it. Now sew the whole thing on to a small silken ribbon, which will serve as the tie. You may also make tiny silk pom-poms by winding the thread around a 1.5 cm wide piece of stiff paper, tie in the centre and then tear away the paper and fluff it out. String several of these on simple-coloured cord, perhaps alternating pom-poms with beads and finish off by a bead and a tassel at each end.

To make a fancy rakhi, thread small glass beads in bright colour combinations on a foot-long double strand of nylon thread. Double and redouble this, finishing off with a bit of gold cord on each end for the ties. A simple braid of silken thread with its ends tied to form tassels, embellished with a bit of interwoven gold or silken thread, also makes a sophisticated rakhi.

Last, but not the least, enhance your ‘personal touch’ by preparing besan burfi, halva and gulab jamuns at home on Raksha Bandhan.

Festival that embodies unity in diversity

RAKSHA Bandhan is an unspoken pledge exchanged between a brother and sister cementing their fraternal relationship. This also reinforces their protective bond against all ills and odds. Raksha Bandhan is celebrated on the day of Shravan Poornima that falls in the month of August every year. On this very day, the sisters tie a delicate, sometimes decorated, thread on the wrist of their brothers as a symbol of love and affection. This makes the brothers bound to protect their sisters from any trouble or wound. The chanting of a holy mantra by the sisters while tying the thread says,

It means, "I am tying a raksha to you, similar to the one tied to Bali, the powerful king of the demons. Oh raksha, be firm, do not waver." The mantra recalls how the Demon King Bali had become powerful with the rakhi he wore. The power of the mantra is supposed to protect the wearer from evil influences. This shows how dependent and secure a sister feels when she has a brother. Tying this rakhi or raksha signifies the re-strengthening of the bond between the siblings of opposite sexes.

How this simple, annually recurring act of tying the rakhi on one’s wrist can evoke such strong and intense emotions in a person is indeed surprising. It seems almost like an unspoken pledge, exchanged between a brother and a sister cementing their fraternal relationship and reinforcing their protective bond against all ills and odds.

Raksha Bandhan day starts with a festive mood in every Indian home. Rakhis are made or bought before the festival. Traditional goodies and dishes are prepared early in the morning. After an early bath, the offering puja takes place. The sister then offers aarti (a traditional way of worshipping) to her brother and ties the thread on his right wrist. Traditional tilak or vermilion powder on the forehead of the brother is put and the brother blesses the sister. The tradition of giving gifts and presents is also an important part of this festival. The brother gifts his sister a gift after she ties the rakhi on his wrist. This gift acts as a token of love and affection of the brother towards the sister. Sometimes sisters also demand for a gift of their own choice to keep it as a loving memory of that very day. However, the blessing bestowed by the brother itself is regarded as the biggest gift for the sister. Treating her brother along with her entire family, the goodies and eatables that have been prepared follows next. The normal rituals are followed with great devotion and dedication.

India shows its unity among diversity in its various ways of celebrating Raksha Bandhan too. Rakhi is mostly celebrated in the northern part of India. The celebration of Raksha Bandhan is more or less the same in this region. But the other parts of India celebrate this festival in various other ways. The rituals and customs followed differ with region to region.

The festival of Raksha Bandhan is also known as Narial Poornima or Coconut Full Moon in Mumbai’s famous beaches. Coconuts are thrown into the sea to propitiate the Sea God, Varuna, who is the chief object of worship on this occasion. The ‘three eyes’ of the coconut are believed to represent the three-eyed Shiva and hence the religious significance. In fact, Hindus consider it auspicious to break a coconut in front of a deity before embarking upon any important venture.

A similar practice is followed in some other places in order to offer puja to the God of Rain and Water, Lord Varuna.

Raksha Bandhan is called Avani Avittam in South India. This is the time of "upakarmam," and is celebrated in various ways. It falls on the full moon day of the month of Shravan (August-September). It is an important Hindu festival. On this day, Hindu brahmins wear a new holy thread and offer libations of water to the ancient rishis.

The day is also set apart for brahmins to change their sacred thread they wear.

Thus, though the rituals and customs followed are different from region to region, the festivities of the Indian festivals have always been present in all the festivals. The characteristics like jauntiness, zeal, customs and rituals, traditional cuisines are also very much present in all the festivals here.

The festival of Raksha Bandhan is very significant in a Hindu society. Hindu society values relationships to a great extent. Raksha Bandhan not only helps in strengthening the relationship between brothers and sisters, it also strengthens the relationship of the society in general. This simple ceremony affirms the people’s loyalty and faith not only amongst themselves, but also for the society.

The passing of time and the concept of globalisation have influenced the festivals and the ways of celebrating it. Today, tying of rakhi is not confined to the siblings alone. The concept has been widened and rakhi is tied to anybody whom a girl wants to be a sister of.

Nowadays, Raksha Bandhan day is also a day for some of the girls to visit the orphanages or prisons to tie rakhi to the inmates of the orphanage and jails. This is a total humanitarian approach. This kind act gives the fated Rakhi brothers a feeling of hope that there are people who love and care for them too.

To conclude, Raksha Bandhan stirs up one of the deepest and noblest emotions in the human breast-the abiding and chaste bond of love between the brother and the sister. The delicate cord tied by the sister to the brother on this day pulsates with this sublime sentiment. The sister-brother relationship highlighted by the rakhi goes far beyond the mere personal protection of a female from a male. It also implies the basic element of an amicable and harmonious social life where all members of the society look upon themselves as brothers and sisters and as children of one common motherland.