#RakhiInLockdown | Shortlist
Hello everyone,
It was a memorable experience going through all your entries for the #RakhiInLockdown contest. You made us laugh, you made us emotional, and many of you even inspired us to look at the brighter side of things. All the entries were beautifully written.
Thank you so much for your wonderful participation.
Eager to read the shortlisted entries? Here they are...
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"A home away from home", that was Manu for me.
Growing up without siblings, sometimes made the heart yearn for some company, some affection. Especially on Rakshabandhan .
But Manu was always there for me. Presenting her wrist for me, with an excited look on that jubliant face, waiting for a more beautiful rakhi, than the previous year.
People often asked how she was related to me. Why did I spend days visiting every rakhi stall searching for the perfect rakhi? My answer always remained the same.
Love.
Love requires no relations. Love knows no bounds.
Love ties the daughter of the security guard to a young college student, Manu to me.
In this lockdown, stuck in a city, miles away from home, I don't have Manu with me.
But she is not forgotten. She lives in the thought of home.
This Rakshabandhan, I'll live vicariously, thrive in the thought of Manu.
Be someone's "home away from home".
---
Thanks to this Lockdown...
A beautiful smile is spreading on her lips today
Eyes are shining with love,
She is preparing to celebrate it
Diving into the memories that the heart has preserved.
Their love, their fight
their fun, their delight
She is remembering all of it
When they stick together after their fight
One should see to that pleasant sight.
He was away from her, busy in his work
Thanks to this LOCKDOWN...
now he is back.
Back to his home after like a decade..
With the happiness that he had took with him.
She is preparing it again with happiness bursting on her face..
She will able to do his aarti and put kumkum on his forehead..
Praying for his success.
She will tie the holy thread on his wrist with love again...
Thanks to this LOCKDOWN..
all the fun they had together...
Will be able to live again.
---
I was tested covid positive a week back, after which my family was shifted to a quarantine center.
The pretense 'will i ever recover?' was exhausting me both physically and mentally with the passing days till a nurse appeared in front of me with a parcel instead of medicines.
It was from my younger brother ,she said . I opened dubiously thinking what it could be.
A Rakhi, vermilion and my favorite sweets.
Tears welled up in my eyes as I remembered the day, a very special day for which I always looked forward to since the birth of my younger brother .
Guilty at first but happy soon after, that he remembered even when I forgot.
The nurse after sanitizing my hands asked me to perform the regular rituals on the rakhi itself so that she can tie it later on my brother's hand who was waiting outside the hospital and I did through blurred vision .
After handing the sacred thread to the nurse I got a note in return.
'Di, if you want your gift then get well soon, otherwise forget about it this year.'
A smile erupted, followed by tears I was holding back, thereafter.
---
"Appa," I call my seventy-year-old father, and he peeps into my mother's phone who I was presently video calling," Finally, you remember that I too stay in the same house as your mother." He teases.
"Appppaaaaa," I whine, and he laughs.
"Alright, alright. What is it?" He asks, and I gush, "Happy Rakshabandhan, Appa."
"Ahh, No wonder you wanted to talk to me today." He nods knowingly before asking, "So, what gift do you want this year?"
"Appa, I need you to stop going to the clinic," I demand.
"And why should I do that, my dear?" He questions.
"At your age, it's not safe for you to expose yourself like this," I reply.
"Sweetheart, I am a doctor."
"But Appa,"
"Tell me, who have you always tied Rakhi to?"
"You," I answer without hesitation. I am an only child.
"What is a Rakhi?"
"A Symbol that represents an oath to protect." I answer confidently, and Appa smiles," Being a doctor is an oath to protect too. Only, it applies to everyone who needs medical help. So my dear child, don't ask me to break my oath on this auspicious day." He finishes, leaving me speechless.
---
It's Rakshabandhan, a bond of protection, so I'm gonna tie it to someone who has been my pillar of strength all my life, my elder sister.
Both of us never felt the need for a brother because we were always there standing for each other, no matter what.
I woke her up, we both got ready and together prepared all the essentials for the rituals.
Then, we tied rakhi on each other's wrist followed by other traditions, and we both knew this wasn't just a creative thread, but a pure bond of love, protection and undying emotions.
This was the moment when I really felt lucky, able to celebrate Rakshabandhan with my loved one, in this pandemic, by god's grace.
We together wished well for everyone all around the world.
Every time, on Rakshabandhan, we went out and spent quality time together but this time it's a lockdown.
So, we decided to fly kites. We picked up two smiling face kites of yellow color, which we bought from Patang Bazar during Uttarayan but never got a chance to fly.
It was a beautiful sky.Our kites are flying high.Hers with mine, together they shine.And this person standing beside is truly my lifeline.
---
Since it's lockdown you're stuck with me,
So let me share a story about you and me
Being the second born was so easy I thought,
Because people want first born to be responsible a lot
All I did was messing up things for you,
But you still smiled and cleaned my shoe
Those extra chocolates I get when I'm sad,
Never realised that you were sacrificing yours for my glad
Never ending fights between me and you,
My hero who chased those bullies when I was threw
I steal your crayons and chocolates from your bag,
You knew, but still kept there cause you love this mad
Taught me everything from riding cycles to math,
Never taught me to live a life without you from birth
Never really opened up my love to you ,
But in this lockdown I would love to,
Lucky are those kids who have a brother I thought,
Never realised that you're the second mother I've ever got
Happy raksha bandhan and have a bliss
Lucky me ,cause you're the best sis!
---
As Anaya stood near her window watching the raindrops sliding down her window, she heard hurried footsteps.
"Ma'am,we have an emergency in ward 3!" Said a nurse.
Checking all her safety garments, Anaya rushed behind her.
At about 4 in the evening Anaya came back into her O.P.D. which had become her room for the past 3 months. As she sat on her chair with her face in her hands, her cell phone began to ring.
It was a video call from her brother.
"Hey." She said,as he frowned at her through the screen.
"Anaya! Where have you been whole day? I have been trying to reach you since morning!"
"I am so sorry Soham!" She said rubbing her eyes, "Patients kept showing up the whole day, I didn't get the time to check my mobile."
"Well?"
"Well what?" She asked with a slight frown.
"I knew you weren't going to remember." He said smiling.
"Wha―"
He held out a rakhi towards the screen.
"As this year you are the one doing all the raksha," he said smiling and tied it to her photo.
"Happy rakshabandhan warrior!"
Hugging the mobile, she let her tears run free for the first time in months.
---
Dear brother,
Although I'm a single child I never missed being teased because I have you. I want to attack you with a knife when you call me by my nickname in public. Though it doesn't change the fact that you can make me smile when I'm low.
This Rakhi you will not get the chance to tell me that I'm as tiny as a minion. Unfortunately, I won't be able to punch you for your sarcastic remarks.
I will send you a Pokémon rakhi as I know you hate it. We will Skype and I'll eat your favorite dishes, I'll request mamma to make, in front of you. And you won't be able to do anything except look with your mouth filled with water.
Since you are a devil I know you are going to do the same.
Other than that we'll talk about everything but not about Corona. Not on Rakhi. Oh, and if you are worried about my rakhi gift, you can always Paytm.
Your lovely sister
P.S. - You truly are more than a cousin to me. You're my brother.
P.P.S. – Don't you dare send me something of your choice, just Paytm. Happy #RakhiInLockdown. Stay safe.
---
It is the day of raksha bandhan.
Here I am, in the quarantine camp thinking about all the nice moments I had with my sister last year. I have been in the States for almost a year, and when I came back I was isolated and was not allowed to meet my family for 14 days.
"Bhaiya'', I heard a voice and saw a girl standing in front of me. I have seen her around in the quarantine camp but I have not talked to her. I was surprised.
She came to me and tied a rakhi around my wrist. It was then I realised even though we are separated from our family, this quarantine gave us something more.....an extended family.
Within these 14 days, we had become a family.
I took the wrist watch I bought for my sister and gave it to that girl. "But...", she started and I didn't allow her to finish her sentence. "You tied rakhi around my wrist and now you are like a sister to me. Is it wrong for a brother to give a gift to his sister?". She smiled and accepted my gift.
Quarantine can also be positive you know!!
---
This time last year. The pictures kept popping up and the more he saw the worse he felt. There was nothing on the group chat this year, no one wanted to admit they weren't going to meet. He would transfer money to his sisters, of course, that was just a formality though.
Some festival it would be without the excitement of gifts and planning to meet and drive to each other. He was wearing his pyjamas that he didn't plan on changing and making coffee as he sent off the money. Beep. It was gone. Done with Rakhi.
He decided to lie down again. And then the bell rang. The sound shocked him out of his bed. He peered out from the eyehole. No one in sight. He opened the door. She was too short to have been visible.
The kid from downstairs was at the door, she was decked from head to toe. Pink ghagra, tiny gold bangles and a lovely embroidered mask. She had a Rakhi in her baby hands. She was barely old enough to talk and she'd come like an angel to keep the festival alive.
He changed his clothes and it was Rakhi day again.
***
Final winners will be announced soon. Best of luck everyone!
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