Raksha Bandhan

Today is Raksha Bandhan, a festival where sisters tie a decorative string, or "rahki", on their brother's wrist, and wish them a long and happy life. In return, the brother vows to protect his sisters from all harm. Pankaj and his brother grew up without any sisters, so they always celebrated this festival with their female cousins, commonly referred to in India as "cousin-sisters". Samedh, too, will be celebrating the Rakhi Festival with his cousin-sisters (my nieces) who are coming today for this special occasion. We plan to go to the Indian buffet and share a meal together, and then the cousins will exchange rakhis and gifts. The sisters also feed their brother a sweet on this special day, so Samedh will certainly be getting his share...most likely M&M's, which are his favorite. Only a few though. And I absolutely had to share the beautiful rakhi card posted above, which was sent from Samedh's cousin-sisters in India. How wonderful it was for them to remember him on this festive occasion from so far away. They asked that we feed Samedh some chocolates on their behalf, and he absolutely cannot wait!