#TeamIndia, Raksha Bandhan: A Hindu festival of brother and sister in India.

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Caption: Sister ties Rakhi on brother's hand during the occasion of Raksha Bandha(a festival of Hindus related to brother and sister in India), Photo by Local Guide IshantHP_ig.
Caption: Sister ties Rakhi on brother's hand during the occasion of Raksha Bandha(a festival of Hindus related to brother and sister in India), Photo by Local Guide IshantHP_ig.4128×3096 905 KB

Good morning to all Google & Connect Moderators and all my fellow local guides around the world. Today i am going to share a post with you which is related to Raksha Bandhan, which is a Hindu festival of brother and sister and celebrated all over India and in some other countries too. So stay tuned with me i’ll tell you everything about this festival so let’s start:)

About Raksha Bandhan:

  • The bonding between a brother and sister is always unique. The bonding between siblings is extraordinary and is given importance in every part of the world. Similarly in India there is a festival called Raksha Bandhan, which is related to the good bonding between brother and sister and it’s celebrated in every state of India.
  • Raksha Bandhan is a special Hindu festival which is celebrated in India and some other countries like Nepal, this festival represents the love and affection between a bother and sister.
  • This festival is generally celebrated in the month of Shravan which falls in the August month of Georgian calendar. The date of Raksha Bandhan is not fixed in every year so this year we are going to celebrate on 15th August 2019 and on this day we also celebrate our Independence Day. So it’s combo of celebrations. ?

Meaning of Raksha Bandhan:

The festival is made of two words (as per Sanskrit terminology)

Raksha and Bandhan.

Raksha means Protection.

Bandhan means to tie/knot.

So we can say this festival is the representation: the knot of protection between brother and sister.

Sister ties Rakhi on the right wrist of brother.

The festival symbolizes the eternal love of brother-sister relationship. It’s celebrated among cousins, sister and sister in law(Bhabhi/brother’s wife), fraternal aunt (Bua/father’s sister) and nephew (Bhatija) and other such relations.

What is Rakhi ?

A Rakhi is a kind of band which is made up of some colourful threads and some crystals also used for decoration of rakhi.

Now a days some people make Rakhi at home by using colourful papers and ribbons.

Caption: A Rakhi made with three colour of papers (the colours of India's flag) Photo by Local Guide IshantHP_ig.
Caption: A Rakhi made with three colour of papers (the colours of India's flag) Photo by Local Guide IshantHP_ig.2048×2048 1.35 MB

Caption: A white plate in which various kind of ready made Rakhi kept in plate along with some chocolates (Photo by Local Guide IshantHP_ig).
Caption: A white plate in which various kind of ready made Rakhi kept in plate along with some chocolates (Photo by Local Guide IshantHP_ig).3096×4128 1.46 MB

How we celebrate Raksha Bandhan ?

Caption: A plate in which Rakhi, some sweets, money and a diya is kept in it (Photo by Local Guide IshantHP_ig).
Caption: A plate in which Rakhi, some sweets, money and a diya is kept in it (Photo by Local Guide IshantHP_ig).4128×2322 829 KB

On the occasion of this festival a sister ties a Rakhi around the wrist of her brother in order to pray for the prosperity, health, success, achievements and well being. In return the brother offer gifts such as: dress or any other useful accessories and promises to protect his sister from any harm under any condition. This festival is also celebrated between cousins.

Sweets on Raksha Bandhan festival:

Without sweets the festivals of India is not completed because by sweets the fun and excitement gets doubled, so i am sharing some Indian sweets.

Ghewar: Ghewar is a kind of traditional Rajasthani (a state of India) traditionally sweet, available in month of August in India. This sweet cuisine is also famous in some adjoining states of India such as: Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh and in some parts of West Uttar Pradesh.

It’s a disc shape sweet cake made with maida (a refined form of flour) and soaked in sugar syrup (to make sweet in taste) and some dry fruits also used on the topping, as you can see in below pictures.

The main ingredients of Ghewar are:

  • Flour
  • Ghee
  • Milk, butter
  • Sugar
  • Almonds, pistachio, Green cardamom

Caption: A kind of seasonal Indian sweet (Ghewar) which usually available in month of August in Indian market (Photo by Local Guide IshantHP_ig).
Caption: A kind of seasonal Indian sweet (Ghewar) which usually available in month of August in Indian market (Photo by Local Guide IshantHP_ig).1600×1600 376 KB

Caption: two plastic boxes in which two kind of sweets kept inside first sweet is a kind of Barfi (made with milk and cashews) and other sweet is Petha (kind of Indian sweet), Photo by LG IshantHP_ig.
Caption: two plastic boxes in which two kind of sweets kept inside first sweet is a kind of Barfi (made with milk and cashews) and other sweet is Petha (kind of Indian sweet), Photo by LG IshantHP_ig.4128×3096 2.78 MB

Origin of Raksha Bandhan festival:

The festival of Raksha Bandhan is being celebrated since very long time. There are many stories related to the celebration of the special festival but i am discussing one story with you which is related to Lord Krishna and Draupadi.

Lord Krishna and Draupadi: Based on an account of Mahabharata (Hindu epic), Draupadi (wife of Pandavas) tied a rakhi to Lord Krishna’s hand so that he can win fight from Kauravs (100 sons).

I hope you like to read the story behind Raksha Bandhan and i am tagging here:

@KatyaL @MortenSI

@NadyaPN

and my senior local guide: @helga19

Wish you a very Happy Raksha Bandha to you and your family.

Best Regards from:

#IndiaLocalGuides

#UttarakhandLocalGuides

#TeamIndia ??

This post is included in the series of posts about India by #TeamIndia

(Introducing the culture and tradition of India).

It’s a part of #TeamChallenge

which is initiated by @ermest

You can find similar posts by using hashtags #TeamChallenge #TeamIndia.

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Hello … very dear @IshantHP_ig …

Thanks & congrats for this contextual & beautiful POST!

I shall edit this response further, shortly…

With regards & love

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Thank you dear friend @IshantHP_ig for awesome detailed post as always!

It’s very interesting tradition to celebrate Raksha Bandhan - Hindu festival of brother and sister! Btw I have two brothers! It’ll be amazing to celebrate our love, friendship and attachment by such wonderful way!

Nice to see your pictures of Indian sweets! Sooo yummy!

Thank you for sharing and mentioning me!

Happy Raksha Bandhan!

Happy Independence Day!!!

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Hi @IshantHP_ig

Thanks for tagging me. Thank you for sharing of a Hindu festival of brother and sister in India with us. Do you have a brother and sister? Do you celebrate with them every year?

How is your celebration? oh, I love the sweet looks delicious.

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It’s interesting because the culture is different.Culture is different, but the love of family is the same. We are ONE as a human. We live on the same planet, Earth.:slight_smile:

:heart:It’s a great posting.:heart:

☞☞☞I respect your culture.☜☜☜

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Pranam Sir! @TravellerG

Thanks a lot for your helpful and supporting reply, it matters a lot for me.:pray:

Can you tell me about the celebration of Raksha Bandhan in South India.

Is there any difference with respect to this post ?

Please share your views :pray:

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Hello dear friend** @JaneBurunina **

Thanks a lot for reply and i really feel good and motivated that you like to read post about Raksha Bandhan:)

and as you write in your reply that you have 2 brothers so you can tie Rakhi on their wrist :slight_smile:

And literally the sweets are quite tasty and fresh, looking forward to see you in India😊

So that i can explore the culture of India verbally and by scenic :hugs:

Happy Raksha Bandhan!

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Hi @Aruni

Thanks for the reply!

It’s my pleasure to sharing a traditional post about such kind of India’s festival with community.

Yes i have 1 brother (younger) and 2 sisters (elder).

Yeah we celebrate Raksha Bandhan every year. Actually there is a tradition about this festival, if brother is in other city (inside India) then the sister go there to tie Rakhi on the wrist of brother and sometimes brother also go at sister’s house (if sister is married) but if the condition is not favourable or due to busy schedule then sister can courier Rakhi on brother’s address and in return brother can also courier her return gift in any form :slight_smile:

And yeah the Indian sweets are famous for the freshness and purity, i’ll give you all these sweets on your India trip:)

Looking forward to see you here!

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Hi dear friend** @KellyHyojeongKim **

Thanks a lot for the good words on the cultural post about India. Every festival is unique and has a great importance so we celebrate each festival in same spirit and devotion.

Good to see your love and affection about India :heart:

Looking forward to see you in India.:slight_smile:

(Kindly remember to use @ to mention a particular LG in your reply, hope you’ll remember this minor suggestion).

#HappyRakshaBandhan🌍

** @JustineE @uavalentine **i’m directing to you here.

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@IshantHP_ig , very interesting story and Happy Raksha Bandhan to all people who celebrate it!! Thanks for giving too much details about this holiday.

Vive brotherhood :india::+1::india::+1::india::+1:

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Hello @SunshineNY

Thanks for the kind words, hope you like to read about Raksha Bandhan.

I am tagging here @AlexandreCampbell @Albanys @Egomhan

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@IshantHP_ig , yes, and there is nothing better than family and their love.

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In India , we have a traditional festival called Raksha Bandhan , which actually means a vow of protection, general sisters tie a fancy thread to their brothers and brother gift them with what they can and take a vow to protect , and take care of them .

Me,my brother and uncle getting Rakhi from our sisters.
Me,my brother and uncle getting Rakhi from our sisters.4608×2592 389 KB

It is super fun and one of the best time of the year. I am having two sister and they are early waiting for their gift now.

What did you gift your sister this Raksha Bandhan?

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Hello @IshantHP_ig ,

Thanks for tagging me and it’s always good to know a bit more about your culture. A friend of mine just got married in States and he’s from India. He was sending me the videos from the wedding and you guys have very amazing traditions. I really feel privileged to know a bit more about them. =)

That’s a very nice tradition and I can relate a bit with a Bulgarian one although the bracelets (Martenitsa) are given to your friends and family. =)

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Hi @IshantHP_ig

It is very interesting, sound very warm and happy. Thank you for your information.

Have a nice day, I am waiting to see your new post telling us about your experience here.

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Nicely written @IshantHP_ig :ok_hand:t2:

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Happy Raksha Bandhan to you and everyone there @NarenChandra

Could a younger brother gift a rakhi to an elder brother for families where there are no sisters? As long as there is care and protection for family members.

What did you gift your sisters? :slight_smile:

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Raksha Bandhan is dedicated to brothers and sisters ,like you said it is a festival of care and bonding,so you can actually gift it to a brother as well .

I gave my sister’s Samsung fit e watches . They loved it.

@StephenAbraham

Happy Independence Day and Rakshabandhan.

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India is famous for vast varieties of cultures, religions and every religion have so many festivals. In our hindu culture ‘Raksha Bandhan’ is a festival to celebrate the bonding between brothers and sisters.

On this festival sisters tie ‘Rakhi’ on the right hand of her brother and then the brothers eat ‘Ghevar’ from his sisters hand then he give some gifts or money to her sisters and vows to protect their sisters in every situation.

A box of traditional ghevar, clicked by saraswatN
A box of traditional ghevar, clicked by saraswatN1080×1350 260 KB

Ghever is a special sweet dish, it is prepared by first making base from milk, refined flour and vegetable fats or desi ghee and then base is deep fried then the topping of milk solids(Khoya) mixed with sugar is spreaded all over the base. In the end dry fruits are sprinkled on the top. Most people buy it from sweet shops, i bought it from Pahalwan Lassi wale & Sweets

‘Rakhi’ is a special traditional bracelet of cotton or any type of string decorated with different type of materials.

Two traditional rakhis tied on the hand of saraswatN
Two traditional rakhis tied on the hand of saraswatN1080×784 1.06 MB

Happy Raksha Bandhan & Indian Independence Day to all sisters and brothers.

Greetings from India

Nishant Saraswat

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Thank you! @SunshineNY

For the kind words.

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