Raksha Bandhan is one of the thousands of festivals India observes. It celebrates the relationship between brothers, cousins and sisters. The festival is mainly celebrated by Hindus, Sikhs and some Muslins, but today Navsarjan staff was given the day off to partake in the festivities. So Sushma and I caught a rickshaw and then a bus into the city so we could celebrate with her cousin Ritesh and his two sons.
The traditional ceremony practiced involves the sister tying a rakhi (sacred thread) on to her brother's wrist. This symbolizes the sister's love and prayer's for her brother's well-being, and the brother's lifelong vow to protect her.
To learn more about look it check out wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raksha_Bandhan
It is really a wonderful festival, and normally after the sister blesses her brother and ties the braclet around his wrist the brother and sister will feed each other sweets. The brother will often give the sister gifts of money or clothes too.
After feasting at Ritesh's we went to the local carnival lake with the boys to walk around and enjoy the rest of our day off. It was wonderful to get out of the office, walk around, see more of the city, and completely stuff myself with delicious food. And luckily for me August is the auspicious month in Hinduism, which means there are tons of festivals and holidays scattered throughout the month to celebrate and enjoy delicious treats. The next big festival is Krishna's Birthday, which will happen the weekend of the 10th, can't wait to see what its festivities show me.
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