August 5 , 2009 Wednesday.
update: In 2010, Rakhi is celebrated on August 24.
Rakhsha Bandhan (also known as Rakhi) is an unique festival celebrating the love and affection shared between brothers and sisters. It is celebrated on the full moon day of the Hindu month of Shravana. On this day, sisters pray for their brothers and ask God to bless them with His blessings. Brothers, in turn, give them rakhi gifts and promise to care life long. One does not have to be necessarily a blood relation to be a brother and sister , a girl can tie a rakhi thread to any person and make him her rakhi brother !
Again the same time of the year when I miss my brother toooooo much 
but then fate has its own way. I am in Bangalore and he is in Ghaziabad studying for exams. Due to the reason beyond control we will not be together on Raksha Bandhan shortened to Rakhi!! But then I have already sent the rakhi & tika to him so that any of the cousins will tie it on my behalf.
Rakhi threads for sale in a shop
Traditions apart, Rakhi is one festival where it is all fun and being the elder sister I can throw my weight around. Adi is 7 years younger to me, yeah it’s quite a difference but then we are very close.
Rakhi band / decorated thread for my brothers
The earliest memories of the festival are of the time when he was I guess 3 years old and I would have been 10 years, as a kid the excitement was that papa will keep a 50 Rs. currency in his pocket and after tilak and tying Rakhi he will give me that note, slowly the amount increased to 100/- It used to be a huge gathering at my mother’s place after all they are 6 sisters and one brother! My Bua would come a day before so it will be all fun at both the places. The day would start by doing pooja of Sona Bhaiya (a special chart we make for this occasion representing the brotherhood).
Sona Bhaiya Chart
The tradition goes that who do not have brothers would make a drawing with geru (it is an orange color mud, not sure exactly what else it is called). These drawings will be put on the entrance of the doors and we would perform puja with haldi (turmeric), rice, and kheer (a sweet dish)! There is a separate thread for doing puja.We will do tilak and stick the thread with the help of kheer.The kheer is specifically made from vermicelli. We call it jave ke kheer. It is made from maida. The kheer is offered as Bhog (prasad / offerings) This is one dish which will always form the part of Rakhsha Bandhan. The festival is not complete without it.
We will then make Chowkpurana (kind of rangoli design made especially on such auspicious days) with wheat flour on which a wooden plank would be kept and brothers will sit on that. At our home, it was papa’s turn first followed with Adi. Then I will go to my aunt’s place and tie rakhi to two of my cousins, since childhood I have tied rakhi to them as they don’t have sister. Finally we will all gather at my nani’s place. We used to hang out till late evening there, a huge gathering of kids, uncles and aunts. Meals would be gala with pooris, and some great side dishes, rice and raita followed with kheer. After all said & done, we kids with lots of excitement will count the earnings of the day in terms of cash & kind, some of the aunts would be kind enough to buy us a suit piece 
Rakhi Card for my brother
A typical day used to be like this, now that I am married and settled in Bangalore, it is little difficult to travel often with hectic job but then the traditions continue and we still relish those moments. I still do the same puja the way it was done back at home, only the positions are changed, there my father would perform and here I do each year I have started sending my brother a gift on rakhi and he can’t stop pulling my leg saying that he should be the one who should gift and not vice versa. Whatsoever, time goes by but the spirit goes on……
Wishing you all a very Happy Raksha Bandhan
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I am inclined to believe that we are all brothers and sisters. Happy Raksha Bandhan!
with all friendshhi & valentine days the rela heart of these indian festivals is being lost….lets chk out how many sms we shall get on rakhi day as compared to enormous one we got on v day or friendship day jst gone by….
Hmmm.. the article seems to have been written from heart.
Some of the acitivies you have explained on how you celebrate is unique to your native place. Like Chowkpurana.
My major concern is that though I like all the festivals that we celebrate but I hardly know how to celebrate them. Till now my family elders take the lead and do everything and I just have to follow it.
But when I am away from home I just manage to do basic things of major festivals. I am sure my kids wont even remember that until I have a very traditional wife
Ghar ki yaad aa gai
even i don’t have a sis but a couple of my cousin sisters would always come home…….every year…..
now, me too in bangalore, cause of work….and haven’t been home since last two rakhi’s …..it feels really sad on rakhi …..glad we don’t have holiday on rakhi’s here…..or else it would have been more depressing…..
well, my cousins still mail me the rakhi’s which is some relief cause it can’t be the same……
nicely described …… i double wat sweta said… “Ghar ki yaad aa gayi” Smile