Ahmedabad decks up for Rakshabandhan

It’s that time of the year again when in Ahmedabad look forward to get the best for their . After all Rakshabandhan is one such festival when siblings want to crystallize their love for each other keeping their naughtiness and tantrums aside. Their adult co unterparts too, whether living across the city or oceans away due to education, professional or marital constraints try to meet each other at least on this full moon day of .
Related video: https://www.thetimesofindia.online/videos/entertainment/events/ahmedabad/gujarat-markets-deck-up-for-raksha-bandhan/videoshow/65427827.cms
And even if they can’t, they soak in the childhood memories of going to school together, shielding each other from parents’ scolding, having silly fights, sharing secrets, and being each other’s rescue and partner in crime aka playing pranks on family members.

While markets are all decked up with fancy , the online shopping portals are also offering a wide variety and packages to ensure that your token of love gets delivered to your brother in a unique manner. Be it flowers, chocolates, cards, , , dry fruits, customised mugs, photo frames, wallet, pen or perfume, you can make your brother feel special at a click of a mouse or key. Discounts are not only raining on these sites but keeping the festive mood in mind, travel operators and some airlines have also announced bumper two-way deals. While several state governments go ahead and announce travelling on the festival free for women and children in their state road transport corporation (SRTC) buses, the Indian Railways plies special trains to clear the extra rush of passengers.

Under a makeshift tent on a plot near Shivranjani flyover in Ahmedabad, sits Baldev Patel positioning his chair at such a place from where he can keep an eye on all rows of . The man, who has eight shops across the city, has been sourcing from Kolkata for two decades now. “We sell crackers on Diwali, kites on Uttarayan and gulaal on Holi. There is no trend for selecting rakhi.While most prefer traditional resham ni rakhi, gold-silver plated bracelets are a rage among youngsters. In the recent years, we have started buying these from Mumbai too,” he said.
While the metal bracelets start from `810, diamond and pearl (for ) which look like bangles and can be worn throughout the year start from `200. You can also choose from a wide range of with glass and applique work in the range of `35 to `200. There are even sets of to be worn by a couple starting from `80.

Rakhis with , crystal, or those having Ganesha, , or Krishna never go out of fashion, newer trends in kids’ emerge every year.
“It’s all about which cartoon or movie character has captured popular imagination. Chhota Bhim, Ganesha riding a scooter, Doraemon, Ben 10, Motu Patlu rakhis are popular this year,” says Baldev Patel pointing at a heap of . Some of these starting from `30, are even inspired by PM Narendra Modi. If you want to make your brother feel extra special, make your own . If you live away from your family in a hostel or are yet to set up your kitchen in your flat or PG, tiny token coconuts and mini pouches of yellow rice have been devised just for you.
While you will have to pay `35 for the tiny , the mini pouches can be bought for `20. Markets are also decked up with designer diamond and pearl embellished comprising essentials like , and . These traditional print, mirror work decorated cost `250 onwards and can be used for all festive occasions.

Though most of the netizen siblings living away from each other prefer to talk over phone, send cute WhatsApp GIFs, do Skype or Snapchat or videochat or hangout on Google on this special day, the love that a brother feels on touching a sent by her sister with her handwriting is unsurpassed. There are many who still prefer the good old way of sending across through a mail or courier.
“Messages and mails can get lost in the daily myriad of infor mation in the digital world but a letter preserved over the years is a love currency whose value only increases over time,” said Pallavi Oza, a professor at HK College, while standing in a queue to speed post rakhis to her two brothers living in Canada.
NJ Joshi, senior postmaster, Navrangpura head post office, says, “We witness a 5% rise in the number of mails to be delivered during rakshabandhan. Our special rakhi envelope, priced at Rs5 and Rs10, is hugely popular.”
Reasons are many. While some think sending the in an envelope designated for it by the India Post will help it reach faster as it could be sorted from the myriad of other mails, others prefer it for its festive look.
The assistant post master of the Navrangpura PO, who did not wish to be named, said, “To avoid last minute rush, we keep asking people through various platforms to send rakhi a month in advance. It is not only because of the rainy season, but particularly when you are mailing it abroad. Law in every country is different. People here don’t understand. They even send kanku and chawal to Europe, UK, US and other Asian countries. If it is not mentioned in the declaration form, it might get stuck at the customs.” Reminiscing about the earlier practice, the official who has over 20 years of experience, said, “Earlier, we used to have separate sacks right at the counters. It clearly labelled rakhis/official mail/chitthi patri. The sorting for north, east, west, south Gujarat and India was done accordingly. Now it is all changed.”
So, what are you waiting for. Mail that

rakhi

to your brother right away. If you are among the lucky ones who will be celebrating it with your brother and cousins in person, then start making a playlist for the get together on D-day on August 26. As you gorge on

ladoos

and chocolates, don’t forget to donate something to the underprivileged ones on the streets. Beatles fans know,

all they need is love.