Today is a pretty special day for us Indian sisters, blessed with brothers, and vice versa.
Today is a day brothers and sisters celebrate their special bond.
Initially, a Hindu festival called Raksha Bandhan, it then became more widely celebrated around India, and in the North, the Punjab, where my family hail from, it’s known as Rakhri or Rakhriya.
Rakhri is a word which means to look after, and on this day, sisters tie a special thread on their brother’s wrist, and brothers pledge to always be there and look after their sisters. Something sweet is then the exchanged, and usually, the brother gives his sister a small token to show his love.
Way back when, before all this women’s lib and equal rights, it was a woman’s job to be at home, and basically all her life was dependant on the males, be it her father, or husband, and she didn’t have many rights, so it stood to reason, that she needed someone, her brother, to be there for her, through thick and thin.
Nowadays there are all sorts of different enjoyments, and jokes attached. You see, it’s not only your brother that you tie one on, but your cousin brothers too. And male friends who you consider to be like brothers. So, if you don’t want a certain guy to bother you, then you tie a Rakhi on him and declare him your brother! Also, the brothers of today get bankrupt! Gifts are elaborate, for the real sisters, and add on all those cousins, handing out £10 notes (or more sometimes!), a brothers pocket is soon empty! Kerching!!! For the sisters anyway!
The threads themselves can range from small, plain, tasteful, to great big tinselled lovelies!
I spent a couple of hours last week writing letters to my brother and cousins, and for my Lil Princess, to her cousins, sending rakhis (tasteful ones, obviously!) to the four corners of the world, and for some special people who I consider brother like, there will be messages sent tomorrow. It’s not about the gifts or money for me. It’s keeping the connection alive. Like those who say days like Valentine’s Day are contrived, and that you should love your partner every day, I guess this could be the sibling equivalent. But for me, it’s just a special day to make it known again, that I love my brother, and cousins, and as much as I love and appreciate their protection, I have their backs too, I will be there for them, come rain or shine.
This year, we may not be together, but our connection is just as strong. I know he will wear his rakhi with pride, and I also know that he is there for me always… Love you, my dear, dear brother!
And Lil Princess is so excited as her Rakhi has already winged its way over to her Finjabi cousin brothers, one who is celebrating his first rakhi too!
I will be tying a Rakhi on my brother-in-law, and Lil Princess will be able to enact the whole ceremony properly with Lil Man. Love days like today, they have to be nice to each other !!!! I know it’s only a few more years then they will really appreciate the sibling bond, but until then, one day of peace will be lovely!!!!!
So, to all those who celebrate, Happy Rakhri! Happy Raksha Bandhan!
And especially to my brother, my cousin brothers, and my special brotherly friends!!!
Have a wonderful day!!!
But I Smile Anyway... 
Aug 27, 2018 @ 14:12:21
Happy Rakhi, Ritu! Sorry, as ever a little bit late. May i ask you who are the two celebrities on the b/w foto? 😉 Michael
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Aug 27, 2018 @ 15:07:25
Ha ha! Thanks Michael! That’s my wonderful brother and I!!!
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Aug 27, 2018 @ 15:13:40
You both are looking very good. Fantastic! Where is the red carpet??? 😉 Michael
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Aug 27, 2018 @ 15:50:07
Bless you!!
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Aug 27, 2018 @ 17:31:17
May God bless you, Ritu! You are so kind and very talented too. Michael
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Aug 27, 2018 @ 19:11:00
I’m blushing 🤗
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Aug 26, 2018 @ 18:43:22
The love you and your brother share shines from that picture. Happy Rakhi, Ritu!
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Aug 26, 2018 @ 18:44:15
Thank you Jacquie! I do love him to bits 😍
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Aug 26, 2018 @ 16:38:03
Always special to learn and hear about cultures and customs. Thank you Sister for resharing 💜
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Aug 26, 2018 @ 17:03:03
🙏🏼 happy Rakhi Brother 💜
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Aug 26, 2018 @ 17:05:13
Thank you Sister 💜 means a lot to me 💜
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Aug 26, 2018 @ 17:39:20
💜🙏🏼😍
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Aug 26, 2018 @ 17:45:57
🙏🏽💜😍
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Aug 26, 2018 @ 14:39:30
What a wonderful tradition—even more so in modern days with such a celebration of support. Thanks for sharing Ritu! And that picture of you is wonderful too.
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Aug 26, 2018 @ 14:45:03
Thank you Angela. It’s a special day 🙏🏼
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Aug 09, 2017 @ 01:32:48
sounds fun, glad you enjoyed!
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Aug 09, 2017 @ 07:29:16
It’s always a lovely day 😊
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Aug 08, 2017 @ 22:09:32
That’s a nice one. Totally new to me. 🙂
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Aug 08, 2017 @ 22:11:08
It’s an age old custom… I love it 😍
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Aug 08, 2017 @ 02:49:09
This is quite a nice idea. Most Indian festivals are love filled it seems.. Indians seem love obsessed! No,but at least you show appreciation for loved ones.. Maybe England needs a Rahkri day.. This seems way more fun than Valentine’s!
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Aug 08, 2017 @ 07:42:11
Well I guess it’s because we are so family orientated. Being in the UK I celebrate it and have several English Brothers too! We like to share the love!
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Sep 08, 2017 @ 16:39:24
Haha! That’s the spirit!
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Aug 07, 2017 @ 19:35:25
What a wonderful celebration, I hope you enjoyed! The pictures are lovely and you can see the special bond you and your brother have! Sim x
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Aug 07, 2017 @ 20:56:18
Thank you Sim! It is a great celebration! X
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Aug 07, 2017 @ 16:22:52
Enjoy this lovely day😊
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Aug 07, 2017 @ 16:26:23
Thank you Orla! 😙
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Aug 07, 2017 @ 15:15:15
I think that this is such a lovely tradition, Sis. 🙂
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Aug 07, 2017 @ 15:17:22
It really is quite special sis xxx
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Aug 07, 2017 @ 15:19:30
Yes, it is a shame we don’t have anything like it.
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Aug 07, 2017 @ 15:05:24
A wonderful tradition Sister!! It definitely reinforces that bond and love and it is good to have days like these for spreading such wonderful vibes.
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Aug 07, 2017 @ 15:17:02
Happy Rakhri to my Brother from another Mother! 😙
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Aug 07, 2017 @ 16:13:51
Happy Rakhri Sister!!! 🤗❤️
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Aug 07, 2017 @ 14:47:59
Such a genuinely sweet sibling relationship. Cherish that, Ritu. Lovely pics.
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Aug 07, 2017 @ 15:16:35
Thank you 😍
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Aug 07, 2017 @ 14:03:32
Ya thats bcz wherever we live ‘dil to hindustani hi rhega’…… ryt ritu???
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Aug 07, 2017 @ 14:19:33
Definitely!
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Aug 07, 2017 @ 13:52:06
I love this custom. I have your back – WOW. Thank you for sharing it.
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Aug 07, 2017 @ 13:53:52
It’s a lovely day!
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Aug 07, 2017 @ 12:37:14
A beautiful festival to celebrate the lovely n crazy relationships of sibblings…….
Dis happen only in India…
I love my india….
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Aug 07, 2017 @ 12:56:51
And it happens wherever us Indians are! I’m in the UK and we celebrate every year!
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Aug 07, 2017 @ 12:21:13
Nice and plz blogger support bloggers
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Aug 07, 2017 @ 12:19:54
Sounds like a lovely holiday! Something truly worth celebrating! Enjoy the memories!
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Aug 07, 2017 @ 12:35:02
Thank you lovely 😚
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Aug 07, 2017 @ 11:36:10
So touching!! 🙂 I love this tradition 🙂 I spoke to my brother earlier, and told him about this and he loved it. 🙂
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Aug 07, 2017 @ 12:14:21
It’s a wonderful reminder that we should be there for one another 😍
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Aug 07, 2017 @ 12:30:08
Absolutely…:)
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Aug 07, 2017 @ 11:07:17
What an awesome holiday! We need something like that in our culture. Hell. Maybe I’ll just tell my kids it is a new holiday and make them celebrate it anyway. 🙂
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Aug 07, 2017 @ 11:08:33
It’s never a bad thing to appreciate your siblings!!!
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Aug 07, 2017 @ 09:09:47
Reblogged this on Die Erste Eslarner Zeitung – Aus und über Eslarn, sowie die bayerisch-tschechische Region!.
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Aug 07, 2017 @ 09:43:32
Thank you !
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Aug 07, 2017 @ 11:17:04
Always with a great pleasure! Wish you a great and blessed week ahead.
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Aug 07, 2017 @ 11:18:25
And you too!!!
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Aug 07, 2017 @ 11:20:52
Thx
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Aug 30, 2015 @ 04:19:20
I absolutely love this. Thank you for teaching me something new!
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Aug 30, 2015 @ 08:54:02
You’re welcome Nicky!
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Aug 30, 2015 @ 01:22:24
How cool! This is a beautiful custom 🙂
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Aug 30, 2015 @ 08:53:00
It is wonderful! I’m so glad I can make sure my own kids are aware of it too!
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Aug 29, 2015 @ 20:17:33
Traditions keep the connections alive. Not easy to do in our fast and far flung world. This is a beautiful one to continue. Thanks for sharing and enjoy your day. 🙂
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Aug 29, 2015 @ 21:31:57
Thank you! And hope you enjoyed yours too! 😊
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Aug 29, 2015 @ 19:23:22
Wonderful tradition love the pictures!
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Aug 29, 2015 @ 21:30:25
Thank you! 😊
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Aug 29, 2015 @ 21:31:02
just lovely!!
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Aug 29, 2015 @ 16:22:36
What a beautiful way to express love!! Thank you for sharing this beautiful tradition with us. Imagine how the world would be if we all celebrated each other this way!
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Aug 29, 2015 @ 16:40:17
It would be great if the love spread to every day, not just one too! 😊
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Aug 29, 2015 @ 16:43:11
Oh yes, absolutely!!!
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Aug 29, 2015 @ 16:43:25
😊😊
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Aug 29, 2015 @ 13:37:59
A lovely tradition.
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Aug 29, 2015 @ 16:31:47
It is indeed! 😊
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Aug 29, 2015 @ 13:35:16
What a wonderful tradition, to honour brothers and sisters. How lovely that you have your own two children to carry it on too 🙂
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Aug 29, 2015 @ 16:31:18
it’s great to have traditions! 😊
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Aug 29, 2015 @ 16:35:19
Oh yes, I agree. I am a very traditional person 🙂
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Aug 29, 2015 @ 16:40:40
😊😊
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Aug 29, 2015 @ 12:33:56
Oh my, Ritu! What a lovely and beautiful tradition this is. So much love and appreciation flowing through the family. What abotu brothers and brothers and sisters and sisters? Thank you for the beautiful pics you shared with us. So much love and happy faces. It touched me deeply, Ritu. Happy Rakhi💖💖💖
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Aug 29, 2015 @ 13:12:26
It tends to be brothers and sisters but there is families I know who exchange rakhis, sister yo sister, where there are no brothers!
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Aug 29, 2015 @ 13:45:17
That is what I thought could be a little sad then. But if you want to share love there is never a limitation.
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Aug 29, 2015 @ 16:32:34
You can always modify!
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Aug 29, 2015 @ 16:44:20
Right, who makes the “rules”?
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Aug 29, 2015 @ 16:46:05
They were made to be broken lol!!
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Aug 29, 2015 @ 16:48:39
Like most rules… lol!
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Aug 29, 2015 @ 16:49:27
Exactly!! 😉 just don’t tell my kids I said that!!!
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Aug 29, 2015 @ 12:14:34
That’s a really cool tradition. 🙂
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Aug 29, 2015 @ 12:31:09
It is lovely! 😊
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Aug 29, 2015 @ 10:26:05
And to you dear dear blog sister.
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Aug 29, 2015 @ 10:36:26
😊😘
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Aug 29, 2015 @ 10:17:54
Happy Rakhi, Ritu dear.😊❤️🌻
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Aug 29, 2015 @ 11:15:03
You too dear Rekha!!! 😊
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Aug 29, 2015 @ 09:57:40
So I learnt something new, thank you for sharing this interesting family and cutural tradition Ritu. And as always, I appreciate all your follows, Best, Chevvy.
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Aug 29, 2015 @ 11:14:44
You’re welcome, Chevvy, thanks for reading! I’m glad to introduce to you something new!
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Aug 29, 2015 @ 09:23:33
What a lovely thing to do, a wonderful custom. Just seen my brother when I was up in Edinburgh visiting, so this post struck a chord with me.
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Aug 29, 2015 @ 09:26:27
It is a wonderful custom! 😊
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Aug 29, 2015 @ 09:47:57
Yes, customs are fascinating, in my mum’s culture they have little red packets with a gift of money for Chinese New Year, and food to celebrate!
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Aug 29, 2015 @ 11:14:07
I love to learn about other cultures and customs!
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Aug 29, 2015 @ 11:34:10
Me too. 🙂
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