Rakshabandhan – Festival of sibling love 

Rakshabandhan was a festival to look forward to as on the previous evening itself, my brother and I  would accompany my mother to her mother’s place ( my Nani’s house). It was a big household comprising my grandparents, my mother’s brothers and their families. My aunt ( mausi) would also join the gang along with her children to make it a real big gathering. 
The morning always started early because my maamis also had to visit their brothers to tie Rakhi to them. And a special breakfast would be followed by even more special lunch. Children would flaunt their big Rakhi’s on their small wrists and after the festival, these were preserved for days thereafter. 
All that’s gone with the family members moving to their own respective abodes, a few leaving the world and a few like me, having moved to a distant place, being cut off from others. But those special childhood memories linger on, coming back to haunt on the festival day. However, this nostalgia doesn’t depress me but on the contrary makes my heart happy with those sweet memories of the yore.