By IANS
Karachi : Hindu women in Pakistan are preparing for the festival of Raksha Bandhan, shopping for colourful rakhis, sweets and gifts.
On Rakhi, which falls on the full moon day in the Hindu month of Shravan, sisters tie decorative threads on their brother’s wrist as a mark of respect and love. The festival falls on Aug 28 this year.
Young girls in Karachi have already started buying rakhis and other items required for a traditional ‘Arti Thali’, the Daily Times said Monday.
The thali is a special plate on which the rakhi, a lamp, rice grains, sweets and vermilion are placed for the ceremony, the paper explained.
“Rakhi is more of a cultural festival than a religious one and is celebrated in Pakistan and different parts of the world with fervour and enthusiasm,” said D.M. Maharaj, a member of the Sindh Minority Alliance.
“Most Hindus of Karachi prefer to celebrate this colourful day privately in their homes. In some places it is also celebrated with a public gathering,” said Mangla Sharma, president of the Pakistan-Hindu Welfare Association.
She added that a large number of young Hindu girls and boys gather during rakhi in the Hanuman temple located at the Native Jetty Bridge.
“Girls who don’t have a brother search for a boy and give him a rakhi, making him a dharm-bhai (a brother with the same belief),” she said.