Rashmi Rekha Das
Raksha Bandhan, or Rakhi Purnima, is celebrated to strengthen the bond not only between brothers and sisters but also between the different communities and faiths in society – it is a celebration of fraternity and the unbreakable bond of love. All of us nurse sweet and sentimental memories of tying the sacred thread on each other’s wrists, especially childhood memories of fun and fervour with cousins. Celluloid biggies open up about their sweet Rakhi moments as Sunday POST listens with rapt attention.
Jhilik Bhattacharjee, who is ruling the roost in Oriya filmdom, says, “Raksha Bandhan is a big, fat occasion in our family and we celebrate it in a major way. All my cousins got together on that day. We used to have loads of fun on the day. My younger brother Shiva had both his arms covered with rakhis. I really felt very jealous. What I used to do was to go to my parents and ask them to get me the same number of rakhis as bhai.”
Jhilik, who will be seen romancing Jyoti in her next movie, regrets: “I have not tied rakhi on my brother wrist for last four years due my busy shooting schedule. In Orissa, I celebrate the day with my manager Tikin bhai and assistant Lipu Bhai. Also, Bablu bhai is a loving brother.”
Debjani, one of the most sought-after actresses in the film industry, says: “I belong to a Bengali family. Bengalis generally celebrate ‘bhai phota’ a day after Diwali. This festival is celebrated to protect brothers from evil and sisters pray to God for the well-being and long life of their brothers. Raksha Bandhan is not celebrated in our family. I tie rakhi on ‘bhai phota’. My brother is never happy with one rakhi; he wants four big ones from me. Because he is younger to me he never gives me gifts. On the other hand, I give him gifts as a token of love. Once when he gave me a Rs 10 note I was overjoyed.”
Bengali beauty Patrali Chattopadhya, who is just three-movie-old in the Oriya film industry, says: “When I was in school, we girls used to play pranks on the boys as they would disappear on this particular day. I was part of a girls’ gang and we used to scare all the boys saying we would gift them rakhis. Generally I spend the day with my younger brother and cousin brothers. I insist that they buy me gifts. My first rakhi gift from my sweet younger brother was a pencil and eraser set.”
Sambhabana Mohanty, newbie of Oriya filmdom, says: “I don’t have siblings. So I always celebrate Rakhi with my cousins who are more than cousins to me. Being the eldest child in my family, I always have the upper hand. The festival is all about fun and games. It is a day of family reunion, an excuse and opportunity for the entire family to spend time together, eat and gossip our hearts out.”
Anu Choudhury, one of the leading actresses in the Oriya film industry, says: “Rakhi is a festival close to my heart. I and my brother are two sides of a coin. Though we fight, we love and respect each other very much. As I am his elder sister I cannot demand any gift from him on the occasion of Rakhi Purnima. He is my only brother.”
“I would like to recall a special moment related to Rakhi. There were a few days left to go for the festival when we had a fight and we stopped to talking to each other. Finally, the D-day arrived. He was expecting me to tie him a rakhi and I was expecting him to come to me first. However, we could not control our emotions. We just laughed and cried for nothing. My happiness knew no bounds when I tied the rakhi on his arm,” adds Anu.
“For me the most memorable Raksha Bandhan moment was when Bibek visited me and gifted me a sari and an earring as he had just received his first salary. It was something I had craved for since childhood,” she signs off.
