RAKHI – THE SACRED THREAD OF CARE

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Raki or Raksha Bandan is a famous festival observed mainly in North India. This festival celebrates the relationship between the brothers and sisters. The name ‘raksha’ means Protection and ‘Bandan’ means Bond. ‘Rakhi’ is a sacred thread tied on this special occasion by the sister on her brother’s wrist. Rakhi represents the love and prayers of the sister for her brother’s wellbeing and the brother’s life long responsibility to protect her. This festival is celebrated on the full moon day of the Sravana month of the Hindu lunisolar calendar. This year it is on 13^th august. This festival is observed mainly among Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims, however it has become a national festival irrespective of the religion.

On the festival day the sister ties a Rakhi on her brother’s wrist and the brother gives gifts to his sister in return. Brother takes an oath to protect his sister and they feed sweets one another. In India, cousins are considered similar to siblings according to the kinship practices. So girls tie Rakhi on their male cousins also. Unrelated boys and girls who consider themselves to have brother-sister relationship between them also ties Rakhi and take the oath. It is also believed that such boys and girls have to maintain brother-sister relationship for life long. The practice of Raksha bandan has also spread to south India and is practiced in schools and colleges of south Indian states.

Hindu mythology and Raksha Bandan:

It is believed that Santoshi mata, the Goddess of satisfaction was created on a Raksha Bandan day. In this story, a person named Ganesh had two sons and on a Raksha Bandan day, Ganesh’s sister came and tied a Rakhi on his wrist. The sons then started pressing Ganesh for a sister. At last Santoshi mata was created from the divine flames that emerged from the two wives of Ganesh.

Another story is from Mahabharat about Krishna and Draupadi. Draupadi was the wife of pandavas. During a battle, Lord Krishna was wounded on his wrist and suddenly, Draupadi came and torn a piece of silk from her sari and tied on Krishna’s wrist to stop the bleeding. This touched Lord Krishna and he declared draupadi as his sister and decided to protect her lifelong.

King Bali was a great king of demon and was a devotee of Lord Vishnu. Being impressed of the devotion of king Bali, Lord Vishnu left his own abode in Vaikunth and went to the kingdom of Bali to guard the king and the people. Goddess Lakshmi, wife of Vishnu wanted to be with Vishnu in his abode. So Goddess Lakshmi went to Bali pretending to be a women to seek protection until her husband comes back. On the next festival of Shravan Purnima, she tied a thread to Bali. Bali asked the reason and she revealed her intention. King Bali was impressed and decided to send Lord Vishnu back to Vaikunth with Goddess Lakshmi. Because of this incident, the festival of Shravana Purnima is also called as Baleva meaning ‘the devotion of Bali to the Lord’.

According to a story, Yama, the lord of death and his sister Yamuna, a river in Northern India performed the ritual of Raksha Bandan. Yamuna tied a sacred thread on Yama’s wrist and attained immortality. Yama then declared that whoever gets a Raksha Bandan tied from his sister and promised to protect her attains immortality.

Other stories related to Raksha Bandan:

In 326 BC, Alexander the great invaded India. He started a battle with King Puru. The wife of Alexander the great Roxana sent a sacred thread to King Puru asking him not to harm her husband. King Puru gave full respect for the rakhi and decided not to harm Alexander the great. During the battle, when King Puru was about to kill Alexander the great, saw the rakhi in his hand and restrained himself from killing him.

There is another story about the Mughal Emperor Humayun and Rani Karnavati, the queen of Chittor. When Chittor was about to be conquered by Bahadur Shah, the Sultan of Gujarat she sent a rakhi to the Emperor Humayun. Emperor Humayun suddenly set off with his troops to save Chittor from the hands of Bahadur Shah. By the time the emperor reached Chittor, Bahadur Shah had conquered the fort. Rani Karnavati killed herself to avoid being dishonoured. Emperor Humayun evicted Bahadur Shah from the fort and gave the Kingdom to Vikramjith Singh, son of Rani Karnavati.

Festivals on Raksha Bandan Day:

Balarama Janati: Prabhu Balarama is the elder brother of Lord Krishna. Raksha Bandan is celebrated with the Birth ceremony of Balarama.

Narali Purnima: In Maharashtra, Gujarat and Goa, Raksha Bandan day is celebrated with Narali purnima. On this day, they give coconut as an offering to Lord Varuna who is the Lord of Sea. This day is the starting of fishing season and the fishermen do this offering to the sea for prosperity in their lives.

Kajari Purnima: This ritual is famous in Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh and Bihar. This festival is related to Sita, wife of Lord Rama. On this day, farmers and women who are blessed with a son performs various rituals.

Pavitropana: This day is celebrated with Pavitropana in various places of Gujarat. Pavitropana is a celebration of worship of Lord Vishnu.

Raksha Bandan is the sacred ritual to celebrate the relationship between the brother and sister. It is the time to take the responsibility as a brother for men and as a caring and supporting sister for women. Enjoy the love and care of a sister or brother on this special occasion. Wish you all a happy Raksha Bandan Day.

WHEN INDIA AWAKED TO LIFE AND FREEDOM ON AUGUST 15TH

Independence day of any country is the day of glory, freedom and happiness. On august 15, 1947 India became a free nation and in memory of the freedom fighters, people pay rich tributes to them on this special occasion. India won freedom not only from the British but also from the local kings and became an independent democratic nation. It was a moment of realisation and fulfilment of human rights and dignity for the Indian citizen.

The British came to India for trade but took over the total administration of the country later on. The lack of proper administration in India and the animosity between the local kings helped in this intrusion by the British. The first struggle for the independence of India begun with the foundation of Indian National Congress in 1885. The return of Mohandas Karamchand Ghandi to India in 1915 after his 20 years of life in South Africa as a lawyer, empowered the Indian National Congress leading to the freedom of India.

In the road to the freedom of India, there were many tragic incidents. Many were imprisoned and hanged without any trial. One incident that people still keep in their mind is the Jallianwala Bagh incident where 379 people were killed and more than 1000 were injured by the troupes under general Dyer. Independence day came with the partition of India and Pakistan because of the difficulties of the population of Muslims and Hindus. Pakistan got freedom on 14^th August and India on 15^th August. The last Viceroy Lord Mountbatten transferred the power of freedom to the newly formed countries.

Even though the British rule in India was brutal, they also left us a few examples like the administrative skills and military discipline. Their rule also had a positive effect on the literacy and health care facilities of India. The rail transportation is another contribution of the British rule to India. Today India has the largest railway network in the world. Of course, the universal language English is another important contribution by them.

For every country, there is a set of rules and rituals on their independence day. In some countries, independence day is full of celebrations and in some other countries, it is full of prayers. In India, Independence day is celebrated with flag hoisting ceremony and our great leaders and freedom fighters are remembered and honoured. The main attraction of independence day is the flag hoisting and salute at the Red Fort where the prime minister unfurls the flag and is saluted with guns. The speech by the prime minister and cultural program by the school children are the major highlights of this day in Red Fort. The sky of the nation will be painted with tricoloured kites and it is the most beautiful of all.

What the voice of independent India stands for?

Freedom is a gift from God to mankind. India has one of the most efficient democratic framework offering freedom and an aesthetic life for the citizens of India. We can experience the freedom only by upholding the four basic concepts of free India. They are:

Justice: Most contemporary theories gives more importance to justice. The concept of justice is different in different culture. In general, justice is a harmonious relationship between individuals with the right proportion in exchange between individuals and with the environment. Indian judiciary is to make sure that the government helps to create a social and economic environment under which the individual can lead a good life. Indian judiciary also helps to maintain a social condition in which all members of the society can lead a good life without fear of others.

Liberty: Liberty is a modern concept in which individual can lead a free life, enabling them to decide their actions with the responsibility in its consequences. In India, an individual can govern himself but at the same time he has the responsibility on his own actions. This concept enables the individuals in the society to enjoy the freedom while maintaining the social order and harmony of life.

Equality: Equality is a state of being equal in status, opportunities and rights. Equality ensures the individual to have equal rights under the law including the right to speech, security, property rights and voting. Social equality requires the lack of unjustified discrimination motivated by age, sex, religion or caste of the individual. Perfect equality is just a concept in any society and practically does not exist. This makes it necessary to have special reservation for backward classes and minority groups.

Fraternity: Fraternity in political view refers to the brotherhood of all citizens of India. As we see in the National Pledge of India, ‘All Indians are my brothers and sisters’ is the concept of fraternity. This concept ensures the aesthesis of social life with mutual sharing and support between the individuals.

Knowing what the voice of independent India stands for will help us to uphold the basic principles of the Indian democracy and act accordingly to make the best possible social situation where the beauty of life is preserved and social security ensured.

Independence day is an occasion for remembering the great Indian Patriots with whose courage, endurance and perseverance India became an independent country. Let us salute them on this special occasion and promise them to uphold the values of our country. Father of our nation, Mahatma Ghandi, Mangal Pandey, Sarojini Naidu, Gopal Krishna Gokhele and Jhansi of Rani are some of the great persons who worked hard for the freedom of India.

On August 15, 1947 our country became a free nation after 300 years of colonial rule. On 15^th morning our nation woke up breathing the air of freedom and the citizen of India enjoyed freedom of their life for the first time. From that moment, August 15 became a day of special significance and is celebrated with tricolour, patriotic songs and speeches and parade. On this colourful occasion let us not forget our responsibilities as the citizen of India. Let us salute our great nation and be proud of being an Indian.