Raksha Bandhan 2021 in pictures

Raksha Bandhan – a festival that celebrates the brother sister bond is not a huge thing in our house. It usually involves Snubnose tying a rakhee symbolizing her love for him, and he gives her some chocolates. It’s pretty much a ten minute affair and then back to regular programming.

This time though, I wanted her to try on a few of my ethnic clothes that I no longer wear, and which she is now big enough to fit into.

She first tried on an old purple gharara that I got as a wedding present, followed by a salwar kurta that no longer fits me.

I don’t know, it’s such a weird feeling to see my daughter taller than me, fitting so much better in my clothes. And surprisingly actually liking them. She loved the purple gharara – purple used to be her favorite color when she was a baby.

Once the dress was chosen, Raksha Bandhan automatically became a notch more festive. We then had to dress Piglet in ethnic wear as well. He chose a sunny, yellow kurta.

It was then time for the rakhi ceremony. I did a small aarthi with the fire, put kumkum on their foreheads (and made a mess of it).

It was then time to tie the rakhi. This part of the ceremony was a bit of a letdown. The rakhi, which I had selected with a great deal of care turned out to be extremely flimsy and it broke before it was even tied on his wrist.

K had to use copper wire from a wire we had, and restring the whole rakhi up again 😔. Even after all the effort, it barely stayed on Piglet’s hand for an hour or so. I was so upset as he always loves his rakhi and every year, he has worn it for more than a month.

K’s copper wire fix worked pretty well, but it poked his wrist quite a bit and was very uncomfortable. So, within a hour, he was bare-wristed and was very sad to see his friends showing off their rakhis while he didn’t have anything.

K and I tried online looking for another rakhi, but everything was already sold out. Thankfully, once I explained the situation to Piglet, he took it sportingly and forgot about it – instead focusing on all the chocolates they both got to eat.

A great day in spite of all the troubles with the rakhi. I simply love this festival and love to see the companionship and love between these two kids 🖤.