Will you protect me?

So tomorrow is Rakhee... one of the Indian 'days', not borrowed from the West like "Mother's day'/Father's day/Friendship day/Bosses' day" etc etc... its our tradition, still followed by most of us, even those who claim to be ultra-modern/unconventional, shirking traditions etc etc...

So what does celebrating the festival of Rakhee signify in today's world? For you and me? I am not talking about the stories of how it originated, what the rakhee band means etc etc.. but what does tying a rakhee to a brother, or someone you think of as a brother mean to each one of us today?

I have a brother who is 6 yrs younger than me.. when we were kids, it used to be more like I was protecting him than he was protecting me! After a few years, he needed protection from me!! But in more recent years, now that throwing objects and strangling each other is no longer an option, we are closer to playing the traditional roles of 'sister protects brother from evil, and in turn brother protects sister from worse (called humans, I believe?!)'..

But what does 'protection' mean in today's world? It doesn't mean, as some people will have you believe, that the girl is weaker and helpless and needs the strong sinewy shoulders of her brother.. It’s not the stereotypical brother in Hindi films giving up his life to protect his sister from the gangsters (he couldn't succeed because 'saving the girl' is the hero's job)...

In today's world, the brother guides the sister in her life's choices.. in the nuclear families of today, a brother is 'your own generation' and hence, can fill the void that sometimes develops due to the quintessential 'generation gap' with parents.. Whether he is older or younger, the approval of a brother can still mean a lot.. I remember the first time I cooked a proper meal, it was my brother whose comments I was looking forward to the most.. not just because he has a discerning taste, but also because he is difficult to please! Brothers are usually critical of their sisters, esp when it comes to what we are wearing and how fat we have become! And when they mention that we are looking nice, which is rare, it means u really are looking good and it's not praise given to gather brownie-points! And yes, it also happens that we like our brothers to approve of the 'man in my life', because ur brother's a guy after all, and guys can dissect guys! He can really end up protecting u, provided you listen! You can confide in each other about your respective relationships, your aims/goals in life (if any!!), and if you’re stuck up somewhere godforsaken with a punctured tyre in your car, you can count on him to come to your rescue!

We sisters, in turn, also have a lot of things to contribute to our brother’s lives.. We’re ever-ready to go shopping with them, for one thing! We’re also always willing to lend a helping hand if there’s a gift to be chosen for his girlfriend (for e.g.).. We act as anchors sometimes, grounding them firmly (I don’t mean it literally!) and hopefully, they’re listening! Esp if we are older, we try to protect them by not letting them make the same mistakes we did, or at least warning them of the dangers! We’re there to help them through exams (often sitting up late re-learning eco/finance/stats with them!), and oooh, don’t we just loooove dolling out advice! Hehehhee.. Younger sisters, on the other hand, many a times bring out the softer side of brothers when they get pampered! Ummm.. what else do younger sisters do?! Hehehehehe..

But seriously, I like this festival. Though my bro and me have hardly ever been together for Rakhee, its probably something about the whole idea which makes you feel (sudden) affection for your brother.. in school we used to spend days MAKING rakhees, out of colourful skeins, in class, during lunch break, during games time! It was the whole effort behind it which made it all such fun and meaningful.. nowadays I make less of an effort, but it still holds the same meaning.. It’s not often that we voice our love for our siblings, but on these occasions, however embarrassing, we must!

So what does Rakhee mean to you?