Rakhi Purnima heralding the beginning of a series of festivals, a celebration of the bond of fraternity between siblings on Thursday, teenage girls and women were seen shopping for decorative rakhis in kiosks and other places selling them in the residential colonies all over the holy city.
While the young girls opted for the cartoon rakhis for their brothers, the middle-aged women were hunting for Ganesha, Om and Ek Omkar rakhis. The holy city has a touch of “religion” in all its festive artifacts and so is the rakhi fest.
Balaji rakhi, Ganesha rakhi, Krishna rakhi - choose your deity and the matching rakhi. Studded with shining stones, these embellished rakhis adorned the wrists of the men across all age groups.
Rakhis with deities on them are a new entrant this year. Many shopkeepers have procured Rakhis from far-away places like Mumbai and Kolkata. Amit Jain, manager of Karishma trade fair in Shubharambh banquet hall, had a range of Rakhis on display ranging from Rs 12 to Rs 500. “Generally south Indian customers prefer Balaji and Ganesha Rakhis whereas north Indians have their minds fixed on Om and Swastik symbol Rakhis,” said Amit.
Markets were also flooded with rakhi threads made of Rudrakhsa beads, Rudraksha being the favourite of lord Shiva. Rajasthan rakhis had peculiar ‘bandhej’ style cloth base whereas rakhis embellished with shiny crystals were also available. Some women were seen buying Rudraksha thread along with deity- decorated rakhi.
Even kids were infected with the spirit of religion as far as their choice of Rakhi is concerned. “I always shopped for Ben 10 and Brucelee rakhis since my big brother is a fan of cartoon characters. I have also purchased extra Hanumanji Rakhi for him because Hanuman is a symbol of strength,” quipped little Cheema while shopping for her brother. “I wish I could have brought Shiva rakhis as many customers are demanding the same,” tells a shopkeeper from Jwalapur.
The cartoon characters Doraemon, Pokemon, Chhota Bheem, Motu and Patlu were favorite amongst some teenage boys who had come to shop at Vishal Mega Mart along with their sisters.
“I came along my sister to select the rakhi of my choice. Chotta Bheem Rakhi reminds me of the character from Ramayana who used to kill everyone with his weapon,” said a shopper from the V-Mart.