The country will be celebrating the anniversary of independence on 15 August. Sisters across the country would be tying a rakhi on their brother wrist,while the brother gives a promise of life-long protection to the sister. But now the trend has changed a bit. Nowadays, sisters also give gifts to brother and of course it is expected to expect a return gift from brother.

Rakshabandhan is here. The charms of sweets, gifts and money can sometimes make us forget the real reason why we celebrate this festival.

Traditionally, a sister ties a rakhi to her brother and in turn asks for his word to always protect her. But over the years the meaning of the festival has changed and people have their own interpretations of it now, which is one of the beauties of this festival.

It is no longer just about the relationship between a brother and a sister.

Some of the Rakshabandhan stories:

• Santoshi Maa:
• To fulfill the demands of Ganesh’s son, Shubh and Labh to have a sister, Lord Ganesha creates goddess Santoshi from the divine flames. They wanted a sister so she could tie rakhi to both of them.

• Krishna and Draupadi:
• Another famous story in Indian mythology is that of Lord Krishna and ‘The wife of the five Pandavas’, Draupadi. On Makar Sankranti when Krishna cut his little finger then his wife Rukmini right away sent an official to get bandages. Meanwhile, Draupadi was seeing all and she cut off her little bit to saree and finger of Krishna as a bandage. So, Krishna promised her that he will help her whenever needed. Then, when during the abrupt disrobing of Draupadi, Krishna came and made saree of Draupadi never-ending, and gives her protection when she required the most.

• Goddess Laxmi and King Bali:
• When the devil king, Bali won the three worlds and tells Lord Vishnu to stay behind him in the palace. Then Lord Vishnu’s wife Goddess Lakshmi wanted to return to Vaikuntha which was their native place. Then she ties a rakhi around Bali’s wrist and made him brother. So, as a return gift, she asked Bali to free his husband from swears. Moreover, Bali agrees and fulfill the wish of her sister.