Dear Editor,
‘Raksha’ means protection and ‘Bandhan’ means bound. Thus ‘Raksha Bandhan’ means the ‘Bond of Protection’. Raksha Bandhan is one of the very significant festivals in India. This festival is celebrated by the brothers and sisters only. The brother-sister relationship is extremely special. The way they care for each other is beyond compare. One can never love or care for their friends as much as they love their siblings. The connection and bond one shares with brothers and sisters is simply matchless. No matter how much they fight with each other over trivial things, when the time comes, they stand by one another and extend their support. The bond grows stronger as they age and go through various stages of life. They are there for each other in thick and thin. The elder brothers are highly protective of their sisters and the younger ones look up to their elder sisters for guidance. Likewise, the elder sisters are extremely caring for their younger brothers and the younger ones seek their elder brother’s help and advice on various matters. In Indian tradition, the frangible thread of rakhi is considered even stronger than an iron chain as it strongly binds the brothers and sisters together in the circumference of mutual love and trust. The festival was actually started by our Nobel laureate, Rabindranath Tagore by tying a rakhi on a fellow countryman’s wrist. He did this to promote brotherhood and equality among the citizens of India. Since then, this festival is celebrated with great spirit and emotion by the people of India. Every year, all the brothers and sisters look forward to this festival with great zeal and excitement. Raksha Bandhan is known by different names in different parts of the country. But however the essence of the festival remains the same and that is to celebrate the sacred brother-sister bond. This year, the festival is being celebrated on August 30. Jubel
