My sister and I were trained as little girls to wake up early on the Raksha Bandhan day and have a hair-wash. We wore our best frock because it was our special day. My mother prepared a puja thali with kunku rice and mithai cooked at home for our brother and when it was the right time, she told us to face the sunlight and do the tilak on my brother’s forehead.
In the olden days, my brothers gave all of us a rupee coin that over the years got replaced with a 100 rupee note.
Today, my eldest brother resides in heaven and the second brother resides miles away, across the shore. Old traditions are still followed but with time, the perceptions have altered.