Rav's Rakhsa Bandhan

Rav Sanghera celebrates Rakhsa Bandhan with his sister

Rakhsa Bandhan is a festival which originates from India and celebrates the relationship between brothers and sisters.

It takes place on the full moon of the month of Shraavana (23 July - 22 August) on the Hindu calendar and is marked by the sister tying a rakhi, a holy thread, on to the wrist of her brother.

The tradition is more than 5000 years old. Ravinder Sanghera from BBC Radio Sheffield's Rony Robinson Programme celebrates the festival.

Rav told us what Rakhsa Bandhan means to him and his sister Inderjeet:

"It's about protection - the bond and love between brother and sister. The sister ties a piece of string on to the brother's wrist as a symbol of protection and the brother promises to do likewise.

"There's a bit of a ritual to tying the string - the sister gives the brother something sweet like a bit of sugar and in return the brother gives some money or a present"

Threads are tied on to the brother's wrist

Rakhi

"The threads come in lots of varieties - you can buy them in shops, you can get outrageous designs or simple ones. You can go down the commercial route but that's not what it's about. My sister and I have adapted it for ourselves. Inderjeet makes me the piece of string - she knits something or wraps lots of different pieces together. I've started to do something similar because it seemed unfair that only one person gets the string."

Rakhsa Bandhan is a big thing in the Sanghera household; Rav has celebrated it every year that he can remember and says they have their own regional name for it.

The date for Rakhsa Bandhan in 2009 is August 5, but you may notice the rakhis long after that.

"The nice thing is that it doesn't go away after that day, because you've got that symbol on your wrist for however long it lasts. It's always sad when the thread splits or starts fraying. I've had one that has lasted a whole year before."

So would Rav still take part in Rakhsa Bandhan if he didn't get on with his sister?

"We've always got on. I can't imagine not doing it - I'd be upset if we didn't."