Readers share their special brother-sister moments on the occasion of Raksha Bandhan.
To celebrate the special bond between siblings on the occasion of Raksha Bandhan, we invited readers to share special moments they've spent with their brothers/sister. Here are some more responses we received.
It was a day I will always remember. I was heading towards from Bharuch to Surat city where my elder sister, my brother-in-law and my lovely niece stayed. I left Bharuch at 7 am on August 9, 2006 and had heard that floodwater had entered the city. I reached Surat station by 10.30 am, caught a rickshaw and headed towards home. After a few minutes military persons stopped our rickshaw and informed us that the road had been blocked due to floodwater. The entire route to my house had been blocked and mobiles were not working.
Everywhere there were people were running, crying for their loss as I wondered how to get home. I enquired about every possible way to reach, but I failed that day. I returned to Bharuch and saw the live telecast of Surat. I wanted to be there but had no way to reach. After 7 days, I got news that people were reaching their relatives by walking through floodwater with the help of a safety rope arranged for by the military. That very moment I packed my bag, bought some milk, water and food for my relatives and headed towards Surat.
When I saw the floodwaters and people walking through it, I could not believe my eyes. The flow was so fast and furious that I could not think of stepping in, specially since I can't swim. The same moment I thought about the footage I saw. I gathered my strength and stepped in. The waters gradually reached my nose, making it difficult to breathe and I had to walk on tip-toe. While walking over the road dividers I fell down and was swept away, but people nearby helped me regain my balance.
It took 4-5 hours to reach my house, near Adajangam from the station. As I reached home, I saw my sister and my brother-in-law looking towards me so furiously, asking how I got there when only military people were allowed. I gave them a smile and went to my sister and said sorry for not being there on Rakhi. My sister cried and tied the Rakhi for which I had come.
I thank God for being with me that day.
-- N Debata
The story began some 15 years ago. We were 11 brothers (cousins included) and not a single sister. I always felt bad on Rakhi day and dreamt about having a sweet, loving, naughty sister with me.
In class VIII, we formed a group of friends along with 4 girls and they would tie Rakhi to us. We used to visit their houses in a group and one of the girls had a little sister, who was studying in the same school. She was cute and used to play pranks on us and vice versa. On one Rakhi day the whole group was there and Aunty called me inside. I thought she might need some help. Then Aunty told me that Simi, the little one, wanted to tie me a Rakhi. I was just thrilled to hear that. From that day I never felt the emptiness of not having a sister and am proud to have done a lot of things to prove that am a worthy brother.
Relationships are not to be spoken in words only but lived throughout one's life. She is in Kolkata now and I cannot express in words how much I am missing her today. May god bless her and fulfil her tiniest dream.
People say that brother and sister should be related by blood but like we feel comfortable with our friends (who we choose from a lot), it is the same with Rakhi brothers (muh bola bhai) who are the chosen ones.
-- Surya Prakash Behera
During my school years, I always waited for the special occasion of Raksha Bandhan. There would be so many cakes prepared by my mother, my cousin sisters as well as my own sister, all gathered at home to tie Rakhis on my hand. That was a big day for us, when we would celebrate a grand get-together. I would bring small gifts for them like pens, toys and chocolates, for which I would taking money from my mother as pocket money.
When I was studying engineering, my sister got married and moved to a remote area on the border of Orissa. With that and my mounting study pressures, we were unable to go to my native place for Raksha Bandhan for years, though I tried once or twice.
Now I am settled and always thinking of how we could celebrate this occasion in a very special way, where I could gift my sisters as per their wishes. Decades have passed but so far we have been unable to meet especially for this occasion. Though I get Rakhis by post every year, thinking of the old days makes me emotional every time.
I have always wished my sisters all the luck for their future, but sometimes I think that money and a busy lifestyle has put a barrier between us and while we have adjusted to them, real happiness is still out of our reach.
-- Bibhuprasad Dash
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