Rakhi: A Thread of Love & Protection~

Eversince I was a little girl, Raksha Bandhan was one of my favorite Indian festivals. Set on a full moon evening, usually in the month of August, all of us girl cousins would go through the process of tying a sacred, intricate, thread around the wrists of our "cousin-brothers", say a blessing/prayer of long life for them while holding up a lamp or candle and moving it in counter-clockwise motion and then putting some rice and powdered red ink on their foreheads. Afterwards, we feed each other sweets and our brothers give us gifts as a token of their commitment to protect us and to love us forever.

The token gifts were usually in the form of cash, which we call karchi. But I would also receive gifts of clothes or jewelry. It's a tradition that has been carried on in our family for years and since then I've introduced some of my closest guy friends to it and they've taken to it quite naturally and seriously.

Today was one of the few times I missed our yearly Rakhi get-together at my aunt's house. My cousin called me up to remind me to go and I was touched by his invitation...He was my childhood buddy and despite our family's ups and downs over the years, we've kept in touch. It reminds me of this quote that says, " A brother shares childhood memories & grown up dreams."

I am grateful for my brothers, all of them, from all walks of life, and various cultures and religions, who have shown me their love, respect and support all these years. I salute you and I pray God's abundance, anointing and wisdom be yours now and always. :)