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Preparations for Rakhi in full swing
by Chandrika Jain
New Delhi: Preparations are in full swing for Raksha Bandhan, the sibling festival, which falls on Wednesday. Markets are packed with a variety of colourful Rakhis along with tempting sweets and chocolates. This season, Rakhis featuring Superman, Krrish (Hrithik Roshan starrer movie) and little Hanuman are proving to be a major attraction for children. A number of parents were seen being pestered by their kids for cartoon imprinted rakhis. "Markets have new range of rakhis, mostly attracting children. Rakhi like Jai Hanuman, Krrish and Spiderman are among those appealing to kids. Basically, these are the characters which they see on television and get influenced by theses characters," Raj Kumar, a shopkeeper said. "I have come here to buy a Rakhi for my loving and caring brother. I really like Hanuman Rakhi and Krrish Rakhi. Even I bought one of this Rakhi for my brother," Shweta, a 12-year-old buyer, said. Battery-operated glowing Rakhi, Rakhis featuring teady-bear, car, mobile and mouse rakhis are a hit among children aged between two and 14 years.
Some of the rakhis have been made of resham and zari threads and are decorated with different items like beads, semi-precious stones or imitation jewellery. "We prefer to buy traditional rakhis for my brother like Chandan Rakhi, Dora Rakhi, Kalwa Rakhi, Resham-ki-dori, Gold-plated Rakhi with images of Gods," Simmi Mahajan, another buyer, said. Satish from Bhoj Sweets said, "We are introducing three different varieties of sweets this season, including sandwich, cheese and cheese flower sweets. Theses have generally low calorie content and are picked up by health-conscious customers." When asked about competition with the new trend of buying chocolates on the occasions, Satish said, "theses days most of the people prefers chocolates instead of sweets. But still by sweets we feel the presence of festival". Sunita, who came here to buy sweets said, "Rakhi is festival that celebrates the eternal bond of love and affection between brothers and sisters and it comes only once in a year. So to celebrate it, I have come here to buy sweets for my brother. I have seen variety of sweets and wanted to buy single piece of sweet for my loving brother."
Ladies have always been fond of putting Mehendi on their palms. But during
the festival of Rakhi, Mehendi too has special importance. "On the occasion
of Rakhi, we decorate each others' palms with different styles of Mehendi
such as Marwadi, Shekhawati or Mumbaiya style. Thus, Mehendi has become
a part of Rakhi festival," Shobha said while decorating her friend's palm.
Rakhi is a festival of brother and sister which symbolizes the love and
the emotional bond between them. On Rakhi day, it is a custom that the
brothers make a promise to their sisters to protect and safeguard them
against all the evil forces. Though, Rakhi festival has special importance
for the brothers and sisters yet entire family celebrates this festival
with great zeal and enthusiasm.
-Aug 8, 2006
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