Food writer and Modern Spice cookbook author Monica Bhide recently returned from a visiting her family in India, and we asked her to share some glimpses of contemporary life she noticed while there. Today she notes how a traditional festival in New Delhi has changed since her childhood visits.
Raksha Bandhan--the Bond of Protection--is a festival that has been celebrated in India for years. It's a recognition of the bond between brother and sister, in which the sister ties a special thread around her brother's wrist to show her love and affection. In turn, the brother gifts her a bit of cash and promises to "protect" and take care of her.
When I was a child growing up elsewhere and visiting India over many summers, this holiday would always make me sad since I had no brothers. But it always fascinated me. The custom, however, has grown to include women tying rakhis, or the special threads, on men not related to them. This gesture gives the men the status of brothers. The rakhis themselves used to be simple golden threads, decorated perhaps with a golden flower made of lace, some beads, pearls, or a customary rudraksha bead (a brown seed with religious significance) in the center.
Raksha Bandhan--the Bond of Protection--is a festival that has been celebrated in India for years. It's a recognition of the bond between brother and sister, in which the sister ties a special thread around her brother's wrist to show her love and affection. In turn, the brother gifts her a bit of cash and promises to "protect" and take care of her. When I was a child growing up elsewhere and visiting India over many summers, this holiday would always make me sad since I had no brothers. But it always fascinated me. The custom, however, has grown to include women tying rakhis, or the special threads, on men not related to them. This gesture gives the men the status of brothers. The rakhis themselves used to be simple golden threads, decorated perhaps with a golden flower made of lace, some beads, pearls, or a customary rudraksha bead (a brown seed with religious significance) in the center.
I was in India this summer and got the chance to rediscover this
festival. How things have changed! What caught my eyes were the new rakhis, especially the ones for little children. Gone were the plain ones, now it was commercialism at its best:
rakhis with Spider-Man (he even had an LED under him so he lit
up!), Batman, little Ganesha, Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Pokémon, tiny
cars and more lined the stalls near our house in Delhi. The gifts that
brothers gave to their sisters in the past tended to be cash, clothes,
or some simple typical Indian dessert. These days, there are bounties
of chocolates, spa certificates, and large baskets full of cookies.
Even the traditional desserts are fancier, with shops having special
stalls outside offering gift wrapping. Not to mention the commercials on television making you feel two feet tall if you have not bought happiness in the form of some expensive gift for your sister. It's a shame in a way, as the original tradition was simple and lovely, and much like all festivals the world over, it has become a victim of commercialization. Even so, it has not taken away the sadness I felt, still longing for a brother of my own. Photos: Above, traditional rakhis on sale at the market in New Delhi; Below, some of the newer, cartoon-themed rakhis that were also on sale. By Monica Bhide
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When those bonds can be easily bought in shops and people buy rather than making it themselfs, commercialization has won over. A bit sad but it is really hard to preserve tradition as it was in a modern world nowadays.Great to hear from someone local what this bonds were supposed to mean.
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Raksha Bandhan is very pure festival which celebrates the relationship between brothers and sisters..very nice article thanks for sharing it :)
Such a great article. This is sheer reality of what is happening in the name of festivals. I guess living in this fast paced world the true meaning and sanctity are missed out
in many such festivals. Temples and satsangs are all getting commercialized this is a sad fact.
What a beautiful tradition. I finally know the background of Raksha Bandhan. Made me long for a brother as well. I guess none of our sons will have the fortune to experience it either. Need more daughters...
Thanks for sharing and enlightening...
So interesting to read this! What came to my mind when I read this piece was the commercialization of the Jewish skullcap - yarmulke...now you see them branded with logos from baseball teams, candy bars, Disney characters...some things are more universal than we know.
Lovely story, Monica. I suppose if you tried to pull off the simple golden thread tradition now, you'd get some complaints. In some things, simplicity should remain. This sounds like one of them.