Raksha Bandhan - The bond of LOVE

Raksha Bandhan

Raksha Bandhan Festival – Rakhi or Raksha bandhan festival is one of the most important festivals of India and celebrated with lots of jubilance by Hindus. Raksha bandhan festival is associated with the very special relationship between brothers and sisters, on this day sisters tie a rakhi or decorative thread on the wrist of their brothers and in return brothers pledges to protect their sisters when the need arises. Marked by rakhi tying and traditional pooja ceremony, the festival of Raksha bandhan in India reinforces the protective bond and firms the loving fraternal relationship between brother & sister. Sisters wait throughout the year for this special day that lets them to express their unconditional feelings of affection and care to their brothers.

When is Raksha Bandhan?

The festival of Rakhi in India is celebrated every year on the full Moon Day of Shraavana (July-August) Month. As Rakhi festival is celebrated according to the Indian calendar, hence the month of the English calendar changes every year. Check out the following dates of Rakshabandhan in coming few years:

Raksha Bandhan in 2008 is on Saturday, the 16th of August.
Raksha Bandhan in 2009 is on Wednesday, the 5th of August.
Raksha Bandhan in 2010 is on Tuesday, the 24th of August.

What is Rakhi Ceremony?

Rakhi festival in India that symbolizes the sweet bonding between brothers and sisters is a very significant occasion and is awaited with great zeal. To celebrate the Raksha bandhan festival, the preparations start well in advance. The families and the markets as well starts making their best efforts to make the joyous festivities of Rakshabandhan so special. On the festive day everyone gets ready very early to celebrate the occasion. After praying to God, the sisters perform the aarti of their brothers and put 'tika' and 'chawal' on their forehead, praying for their well being. Sisters tie a Rakhi thread on the wrist of brother and brothers pledges to take care of her, in any condition. On this festive occasion gifts are exchanged and special Rakhi Recipes like Ghevar, Vermicelli Kheer, Malpua, Kesar Burfi, Pista Sandesh & Rava Laddoo are prepared.

What is Raksha Bandhan?

Raksha Bandhan is all about ‘bond of love and protection’. ‘Raksha’ means protection, ‘bandhan’ means obliged or bind. Thus the Rakhi Festival flourishes the love, care, affection and the sacred feeling of brotherhood.

Rakhi Celebrations in India

Rakhi is celebrated in different parts of India in different ways but the significance remains the same.

» Rakhi in India (West): In the Western Region, the festival is known as Nariyal Purnima and as a ritual coconuts are thrown into the sea on this day. The festival marks the beginning of the fishing season.
» Rakhi in India (South):In South India, this festival is called Avani Avittam. It is an important day for the Brahmins where they first take a holy bath and then change their holy thread (Janeyu) chanting the mantras. They take a vow to perform their duties as prescribed in the holy books and adopt a good conduct and dignity.
» Rakhi in India (North):In North India, Rakhi Purnima is also called Kajri Purnima or Kajri Navami, when wheat or barley is sown. Goddess Bhagwati is worshiped and farmers seek her blessings for a good crop.
» Rakhi in India (East): The great Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore initiated the 'Rakhi Utsava' (Rakhi tying ceremony) in Shanti Niketan to maintain universal brotherhood long back in 1905 at the time of Bengal Partition. But the custom is continued till date by the students of the Shanti-Niketan.

Importance of Raksha Bandhan Festival

India is the land of fairs and festivals, and togetherness of relationships is the main essence of festive celebrations. Rakhi festival is also a celebration of such relationship between sisters and brothers. The rakhi tying ceremony has become an integral part of the Indian families and brothers and sisters, in any condition, try to reach out to each other on this day that binds the entire family in an emotional bond. Although, Rakhi is a bond of care and affection between brother & sister but it goes way beyond it. Rakhi also signifies the peaceful co-existence of every individual, promotes the feeling of unity and encourage the harmonious social life.

Different Types of Rakhi Threads

Keeping up with time, the Rakhi Thread has become more fashionable and trendy. It flaunts the amalgamation of tradition and modern lifestyle of people. Modern rakhi is available in different shapes, sizes and materials. It can even be made of gold attached with diamonds. In the Indian market, few interesting varieties of rakhi are as the following:

» Beads Rakhi
» Cartoon Rakhi, Toy Rakhi
» Currency Note/Coin Rakhi
» Floral Rakhi
» Gold-Silver coated Rakhi
» Musical Rakhi
» Divine Rakhi - Ram Rakhi, Shree-Om Rakhi
» Resham Rakhi
» Sandalwood Rakhi
» Bhaiya-Bhabhi Rakhi

Different Rakhi Thalis

The beautifully decorated Rakhi Thali gives an impression of your love and care for your brother. The thali contains one diya, tika or roli, rice, beatle leaves, rakhi thread, flowers and incense sticks. The thali is either of silver, brass or simply of steel. Sweets sometimes add to the decor of the thali. Few types of Rakhi Thali are cited below:

» Floral Thali
» Sweets Rakhi Thali
» Painted Thali
» Choco-toffee Thali
» Roli-turmeric Thali

The History of Raksha Bandhan Festival

The Tale of Lord Bali and Goddess Laxmi
The king of devils Bali was a great devotee of Lord Vishnu. One day Bali approached to Lord Vishnu for safeguarding his kingdom. Lord Vishnu took this task and decided to leave his heavenly home, but Goddess Laxmi wanted his husband not to leave his home. She reached to the house of Bali as a camouflaged Brahmin woman and asked for shelter.

On Shravan Purnima day Laxmi Ji tied a sacred thread on the wrist of King Bali and revealed her purpose for being there. Touched by the concern of Laxmi Ji towards her family, King Bali requested Lord Vishnu to live with her.

Therefore the Rakhi festival is also called 'Baleva' that means the devotion of King Bali to Lord Vishnu.

A Mahabharata Tale
Before the battle of Mahabharata, Lord Krishna told Yudhisthir, elder Pandava brother, to perform rakhi ceremony which would act as a shield for him and his army. Draupadi, wife of the Pandavas, tied a thread on Lord Krishna’s wrist, seeking his blessings for her husbands.

King Porus and Alexandar's wife
Another rakhi tale comes from the battle between Alexander the Greek king, and Porus, the Hindu king. Wife of Alexander sent a sacred thread to Porus, asking him not to harm her husband in battle. In accordance with Hindu traditions, Porus gave full respect to rakhi. In the battlefield, when Porus was about to deliver a final blow on Alexander, he saw the rakhi on his hand and restrained himself from attacking Alexander personally.

Ways of Sending Rakhis?

Rakshabandhan festival is all about love, care and righteousness. Tying of a frail Rakhi thread- that is considered more stronger than iron chains-has been the tradition of this festival since the time immemorial. Even today the customs and traditions are the same but the way of celebrating the Rakhi festival has been changed. Different ways are used to express the emotions attached with the relationship.

POST has been the most traditional method to get in touch with the relatives. Sisters unable to meet their brothers send their Rakhis by post. Every year the postal department makes special arrangement to send Rakhis all over. INTERNET & E-COMMERCE has changed the way of sending Rakhis. Being very fast and reliable sending Rakhis via net is so much in use. With the time changing sending E-mails & ONLINE RAKHI GREEITING CARDS are considered fast and inexpensive way of celebrating the festival. The modern celebrations of Rakhi festival has also included the way of sending the gifts ONLINE. Sisters and brothers use this facility to select & send gifts online to far off places, from the comfort of home or net cafe.

Happy Independence Day

Long years ago we made a tryst with destiny, and now the time comes when we will redeem our pledge, not wholly or in full measure, but very substantially. At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom. A moment comes, which comes but rarely in history, when we step out from the old to the new, when an age ends and when the soul of a nation, long suppressed, finds utterance .... We end today a period of ill fortune, and India discovers herself again."

- Jawaharlal Nehru (Speech on Indian Independence Day, 1947).

The day when India woke up to freedom back in 1947 was a day of great celebration. A country got rid of her foreign yoke and became a sovereign nation, she celebrated her sovereignty on this day - the triumph of numerous martyred souls. It was a day of fulfillment, it was the day of a new beginning, a birth of a nation.On the stroke of midnight, a country came into life again as the british handed over the governance of India to the Indian leaders.The long and difficult struggle had borne fruit at last, though the happiness was marred by the fact that the country was divided into India and Pakistan and the violent communal riots had left the countries permanently scarred.

That was the price that India paid for her dearly bought freedom. The british government declared the country independent and left for their own shores. On the 15th of August, 1947, India became completely independent. It was on this historic date that Jawaharlal Nehru, the first prime Minister of India, unfurled the Indian tricolor on the ramparts the magnificent Red Fort, symbolically marking the end of the british colonial rule.

India Before and After the Independence.

With the decision by Britain to withdraw from the Indian subcontinent, the Congress Party and Muslim League agreed in June 1947 to a partition of India along religious lines. Under the provisions of the Indian Independence Act, India and Pakistan were established as independent dominions with predominantly Hindu areas allocated to India and predominantly Muslim areas to Pakistan.

After India's independence on August 15, 1947, India received most of the subcontinent's 562 widely scattered polities, or princely states, as well as the majority of the British provinces, and parts of three of the remaining provinces. Muslim Pakistan received the remainder. Pakistan consisted of a western wing, with the approximate boundaries of modern Pakistan, and an eastern wing, with the boundaries of present-day Bangladesh.

The division of the subcontinent caused tremendous dislocation of populations; inter-communal violence cost more than 1,000,000 lives. Some 3.5 million Hindus and Sikhs moved from Pakistan into India, andabout 5 million Muslims migrated from India to Pakistan. In Punjab, where the Sikh community was cut in half, a period of terrible bloodshed followed. Overall, the demographic shift caused an initial bitterness between the two countries that was further intensified by each country's accession of a portion of the princely states.

Adding to the tensions, the issue of the polities Kashmir, Hyderabad, and the small and fragmented state of Junagadh (in present-day Gujarat), remained unsettled at independence. Later, the Muslim ruler of Hindu-majority Junagadh agreed to join to Pakistan, but a movement by his people, followed by Indian military action and a plebiscite (people's vote of self-determination), brought the state into India.

The nizam of Hyderabad, also a Muslim ruler of a Hindu-majority populace, tried to maneuver to gain independence for his very large and populous state, which was, however, surrounded by India.

After more than a year of fruitless negotiations, India sent its army in a police action in September 1948, and Hyderabad became part of India.

The Hindu ruler of Kashmir, whose subjects were 85 percent Muslim, decided to join India. Pakistan, however, questioned his right to do so, and a war broke out between India and Pakistan. A cease-fire was arranged in 1949, with the cease-fire line creating a de facto partition of the region.

The central and eastern areas of the state came under Indian administration as Jammu and Kashmir state, while the northwestern quarter came under Pakistani control as Azad Kashmir and the Northern Areas. Although a UN peacekeeping force was sent in to enforce the cease-fire, the dispute was not resolved.This deadlock has intensified suspicion and antagonism between the two countries.

In 1971, Pakistan was itself subdivided when its eastern section broke away and formed Bangladesh. Border disputes continue to embitter Pakistani-Indian relations, as Pakistan has produced a series of autocratic military rulers, while India maintained a parliamentary democracy.

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