Happy Raksha Bandhan - Page 3

A Tie Of Well-Being

Of all the questions that intrigue the human mind, perhaps the one most oft-heard is "What are the expressions of love ?". Affection, trust, understanding, anger, conflict and differences—all these make up that one human emotion that we call love. It is all-embracing and therefore its representation is that much more complex, fascinating and colorful. Festivals that celebrate this multitudinous manifestation of love also revel in the spirit of it. Raksha Bandhan or Rakhi is that unique reflection of this celebration of love when friends and families get tied up by the thread of love and protection.

With its singular gesture of tying a bracelet or a band around the wrist of the loved one, Raksha Bandhan or Rakhi is that one Indian festival which acknowledges love and concern for one's dear ones in the most endearing of ways. In spirit, the Rakhi is much akin to the Friendship Day band, observing the rituals of a relationship with reverence and affection. Celebrated in the auspicious months of the monsoon ('Shravana'), Raksha Bandhan or Rakhi is considered to be a very pious occasion. With its mythical and religious origins, the event is as much a matter of fun as it is of sincere pledges. Vows are exchanged between the receiver and the giver of the thread to protect and love each other whole-heartedly through thick and thin. Although Raksha Bandhan or Rakhi is mainly celebrated by the brothers and sisters, almost anyone can tie this piece of band, wishing the world of good to his/ her dear ones. That is why Raksha Bandhan or Rakhi has so much of a universal significance in spreading peace, harmony and love.

Raksha Bandhan Customs And Traditions

Although Raksha Bandhan or Rakhi is celebrated chiefly amongst sisters and brothers, the true relevance of the festival is in its spirit of peace and fraternity. The event is observed with a degree of emotional verve that is usually common in most of the Indian events. However Raksha Bandhan or Rakhi is in many ways special, due to the close and personal interaction that it brings about in its rituals. It is precisely in the tradition of this togetherness that Raksha Bandhan extends itself even beyond the immediate blood ties. Cousin sisters and brothers also revel in Rakhi celebrations as the sacred thread of the Rakhi is tied with great enthusiasm. The celebrations are in no way lesser than those between biological siblings, for the feeling of familial bonding and intimacy is carried forward to one and all. The very act of tying the band around the wrist establishes closeness and warmth, which the Rakhi as a symbol itself represents, much like the western Friendship Band. The customs and traditions associated with Raksha Bandhan or Rakhi therefore resonate with this sense of intimacy, close binding (literally, at that) and a responsibility to carry on the relationship with all its flavors.

It's quite a pleasurable coincidence that the day falls so close to the Friendship Day, on the full moon or the Purnima in August. Just like its western counterpart, the feeling of companionship repletes the celebration. sisters and brothers come together to wish each other "A Happy Raksha Bandhan" ! The celebrations begin at least a fortnight before the festival. Shops begin to be flooded with Rakhis of the most beautiful kinds—threads with beads, semi-precious stones and other accessories wonderfully decorate the bands. Sisters often make their own art works. The market also displays new clothes, gift items and plenty of sweetmeats and delicacies to be offered on the Raksha Bandhan or Rakhi day.

The day begins with the sister arranging the "Rakhi Thali"—the traditional platter on which the various items needed for the Raksha Bandhan ceremony are kept. The thali usually has diyas (earthen lamps), chawal (rice) and a Rakhi. After the sister worships the gods and goddesses, she performs an "aarti" of her brother. The "aarti" is the ritual in which the lamp is moved around the countenance of the brother to give him the warmth of the sister's love and good wishes. Rice "tilaks" are put on his forehead to wish him victory and finally the Rakhi is tied to perpetuate this bond. The brother returns the affection by promising to protect her throughout his life and acknowledges the sister's wishes with a Raksha Bandhan or Rakhi gift too.

After the actual Raksha Bandhan or Rakhi ceremony is over, the gaieties continue with songs, dances and lots of traditional delicacies. Often these Raksha Bandhan delicacies are prepared by the sisters themselves, which the brothers are only too happy to lap up.

The Raksha Bandhan customs and traditions also have serious social overtones, especially in chauvinistic, conservative families in India. The Rakhi is a way of assuring the sister of the brother's protection and shelter especially when the female has not a supportive set of in-laws. In India, it is a stigma to take a wedded girl back into her maiden family, even when she faces serious harassment from the in-laws. It is under such circumstances that the brother assumes almost a paternal role, asserting the perpetuity and pledge of the biological ties. Raksha Bandhan or Rakhi, in this sense, is an important social as well as psychological preservation of the ties that the girl shares with her natal roots.

Apart from being celebrated between biological brothers and sisters, Raksha Bandhan also has a long standing history of being observed with sisters-in-law. "Bhabhi", as the brother's wife is lovingly called, is also a cynosure of the Raksha Bandhan or Rakhi celebrations, along with the siblings. It is a wonderful way of welcoming a new entrant to the family or respecting that person who has already been there for long—the Rakhi or the thread in this case, marks that bond between the brother-in-law/ sister-in-law and his/ her bhabhi or the sisters-in-law. It is a bond of friendship, of love and of accepting each other, enriching the tie further. Thus we often find, Rakhis being tied by the Bhabhi to her brother-in-law and by sister-in-law to their bhabhi. The Raksha Bandhan or Rakhi festival thus captures the quintessence of family togetherness in the Indian society.

The scale of celebrations and level of merrymaking have much enhanced in contemporary times, but the vivacious nature of the Raksha Bandhan customs and traditions has persisted through time. The togetherness of the siblings is the cynosure of the occasion—their frequent fights, their teasing each other, their tears and their smiles—every element goes into the making of this unique brother-sister bond.

Raksha Bandhan History

With all her colors and festivals, rituals and customs, India showcases traditions that beckon us to carry them forward again and again. Each festival is a splash of hues, observances of intricately detailed rituals and a coming together of friends and families. Raksha Bandhan or Rakhi is one such day in India's events calendar, when the spirit of celebration reaches to the warmest core of relatives and friends.

Raksha Bandhan or Rakhi, which literally means 'the tie of protection', is a tradition that brings together sisters and brothers in a bond of mutual well-wishing. As the sisters tie a bracelet around the wrists of their brothers, praying for their welfare, the brothers too vow to protect their sisters from all evils on the occasion of Raksha Bandhan. Although Raksha Bandhan or Rakhi is a festival observed chiefly between sisters and brothers, the band (called 'Rakhi') can be extended to anyone—friend or family, whose well-being is a heartfelt concern.

Raksha Bandhan or Rakhi has centuries of history in India, and there are many stories about its origin. As a tradition, Raksha Bandhan or Rakhi dates back to pre-Christian era and sometimes the lore has it that the festival is rooted in the practices of the gods and goddesses themselves. It might be very interesting to have a brief survey of some of the legends behind the Raksha Bandhan history.

Here are some of the most popular Raksha Bandhan legends:

Indra, the lord of the heavens, was advised by his master Brihaspati, to tie up a Rakhi (the holy thread), when the former faced repeated defeats against the demons. Indra's consort tied a Rakhi (another name for the Raksha-band) around his wrist, which brought him instant victory against his enemies. The lord of death, Yama, was tied a Rakhi by his sister Yamuna. Moved by the feeling, he proclaimed that whoever received a band from Yamuna, he/ she would be immortalized. Goddess Laksmi once sought refuge with the demon King Bali who was a great devotee of her. The goddess had tied him a Rakhi on the Shravana Purnima day. On revealing her identity, King Bali was overwhelmed by her gesture. He sacrificed everything for the goddess and her Lord Vishnu. From then on, Raksha Bandhan or Rakhi is also called Baleva, after King Bali's name. The great Indian epic Mahabharata also chronicles the beneficial effects of the Rakhi. Krishna had advised the eldest Pandava, Yudhishtira, on the need to tie up a Rakhi on the eve of the great war of Kurukshetra.
• When Alexander, the great Greek hero attacked India, he encountered a solid defense from the king in the north–west, Porus. Legend has it that Alexander's wife went up to Porus with a Rakhi in order to extract a promise from him, that he would not harm her husband in the battlefield. In the spirit of the band, Porus was supposed to have kept his word.

The Rakhi was a great means of forging an alliance between the warring Hindu Rajputs and the Mughal rulers. Rani Karnavati of Chittor sent a Rakhi to the Mughal king Humayun, requesting him to help her, against the attack of Bahadur Shah of Gujarat. Rakhi was also the band which women used to tie around the wrists of Rajput soldiers, before they went to the warfront. The tie was a token of the strength and spirit that these men received from their well-wishers. Rabindranath Tagore started the tradition of Rakhi Mahotsav at Shantiniketan, to make a community celebration of Raksha Bandhan or Rakhi. The idea was to perpetuate the bonding amongst people, to live together and feel for each other. Now, whatever be the origin of Raksha Bandhan or Rakhi, the festival is celebrated with a lot of pomp and emotional fervor in today's world. Although the day is largely marked for the brothers and sisters, the relevance of Raksha Bandhan extends itself to all and sundry, thoughtful about their dear ones far and near. The nature of most of the Raksha Bandhan legends may lead us to believe that Raksha Bandhan is a patriarchal festival, whereby the woman is very subtly placed under the subordination of the man. The inherent superiority of the brother is so well taken for granted that the sister almost considers it a sacrilege not to place herself under the brother's protection. Feminists may very well argue that the power equation between the brother and the sister is innocently concealed, which makes the female an unwitting compliant to the practice. The relationship between the siblings however is too fraught with affection to be diluted with any such theories. Most importantly, the history of Raksha Bandhan suggests that the bond between both the sexes is willingly founded on the desire to exchange love and cordiality. This, in India, especially stems from the social tradition of preserving the familial bond that is at the firm root of its society itself. Brothers and sisters form one of the main pillars of this social base—Raksha Bandhan or Rakhi celebrates this in a very unique manner.