Kochi bonds over Rakshabandhan

KOCHI: Reaffirming the bond between brothers and sisters, Raksha Bandhan was celebrated with much fervour in the city.
The festival retained its traditional glory even though it was confined to non-Malayali communities, especially the Gujaratis and Punjabis.
In Kochi, many brothers received rakhi through couriers from their sisters residing in Mumbai, Delhi and other parts of north India.Bunty Singh, a businessman in the city, was excited when he got a rakhi from his sister in Ludhiana, two days ago on Monday.
"I receive rakhi through courier every year and I feel special when the box is delivered to me. We have been following this system as all our relatives are in my home town," he said.
Some families like that of Ashok Agarwal celebrated Raksha Bandhan by organizing a private function to exchange rakhi and gifts. And four-year-old Muskhan could not stop smiling after she received a gift box and money from her brother. Meanwhile, the day-long hartal called by the CPM spoilt the celebrations for Nihal Agarwal who was planning to take his sister for shopping. "I wanted to surprise her by taking her out to Gold Souk mall. Now I have to postpone it to Sunday," he said.
Kochi: Renewing and reaffirming the bond between brothers and sisters, Raksha Bandhan was celebrated with much fervour in the city. The festival retained its traditional glory even though it was confined to non-Malayali communities, especially the Gujratis and the Sikhs.
In Kochi, away from their home cities, many received Rakhi or the decorated thread through couriers from their sisters residing in Mumbai, Delhi and other places. Bunty Singh, a businessman in the city, was excited to get the Rakhi from his sister in Ludhiana, Punjab, two days ahead, on Monday.
"I receive Rakhi through courier every year and I feel special when the box is delivered to me. We have been following this system as all our relatives are in my home town," he said.
Some families like that of Ashok Agarwal celebrated Rakhi by organising a private function to exchange Rakhi, gifts and reaffirm the brother-sister bond. And four-year-old Muskhana could not stop smiling after she received a gift box and money from her brother.
Meanwhile, the day-long harthl called by the CPM spoilt the celebrations for Nihal Agarwal who was planning to take his sister for shopping in the city. "I wanted to surprise my sister by taking her to Gold Souke for a day-out. Now I have to postpone it to Sunday," he said.