Rakshabandhan

I called my brothers and wished them happy Rakhi. I have memories of us getting dressed in new clothes and doing tilak and tying Rakhi on their little wrists. I did not get to make memories of tying Rakhi on their grown up wrists since we NEVER got together to celebrate this festival in person in last 19 years. I moved to the hostel in 1992 and we were never together on Rakshabandhan after that. So the memories I have are of me and my younger sister in yellow frocks and skirts and my brothers in black shorts and striped shirts. Mornings started early as we told our brothers to shower and get ready soon (we could not eat before tying Rakhi, a rule which was not strictly followed). We would put a long and straight tilak on our brothers' forehead and tie Rakhi followed by feeding them something sweet and since I am the oldest in siblings , my brothers would touch my feet for blessings. I couldn't care less about customs and traditions at that time but now I know they were not just that, they were what I would call constituents of whole, whole which is me, my life so far. It affected my subliminal self , the reasons I have for my being today -Family ! And I know its not just with me, its with all of us. We all have memories, sweet and sour , relationships , sweet and sour and they all get credit for our concealed or obvious personality. They have made us what we are , they have formed our beliefs. They are the essence of us. And I don't know where I am going with this declamation. So I called my brothers and wished them well, bestowed my blessings on them, sent my love and missed them. We received Shilpy's Rakhi (my sister-in-law ) just in time for Anurag, Avi and Neev. And what lovely Rakhis - silver and sandalwood. I have to mention that Shilpy is one of the few people I know with an excellent taste in things. Avi enjoyed smelling them and Neev was cute beyond word trying to copy his big brother and taking big sniffs . Their tiny wrists look beautiful with them. I told Avi all about the festival . He is at the stage where I would love for him to have Bua, Masi and Mama around who could be other COOL grown-ups in his life who are part of his family.


It was a lovely day which we spent talking about Rakhi, playing with friends at basketball court and park in the morning, swimming and hot-tubbing in the afternoon and then going to Santana Row in the evening where Anurag and kids got ice-cream while I got a massage at Club One Spa, one of four visits my thoughtful husband gifted me for Mother's day this year.


Why don't we do this every day?