Bouquet

Rakhi in Pandemic

Today is a festival named Raksha Bandhan. Brothers and sisters pan-India will celebrate this event together.

But unlike every year, this year will be a little different. In this ugly spell of pandemic, celebrating Rakhi purnima is seemed to be hard. Maintaining a physical distance, staying at home for a longer time, frequently using sanitizer and of course wearing a mask have become the present vogue.

I live in a little , serene town of Madhya Pradesh. I serve a private firm there.  My brother lives in Rajasthan. Obviously, we are separated by distance of over a hundred miles. We cannot feel each other's presence. Never have I ever felt so chained in my life  that I cannot even meet my only sibling. Nevertheless, come whatever may, I shall not give up. What if this becomes the best day of our lives?

I switched on my laptop and made a video call to him. He received my call quiet sooner than expected. A window popped up. I could see his face. A radiant and confident countenance with a childish innocence. His eyes usually promulgated a unique tranquility. But today ,his eyes were passionate. I do not know why. Probably, he too wanted to celebrate the same with me.

He said that he was going to call me when I did so. He was overwhelmed when I called him. He could not visit me this year. So, all that he gifted were his best wishes. These were much much sufficient for me. I do not require anything material. I just want him! We shared our experiences in this lockdown, talked about our new hobbies and our relatives . I showed him the rakhi I made for him and promised to tie him soon. Our babbles went on over an hour. I felt contented.

A usual Raksha Bandhan celebration may have ended the following day. But it wouldn't have let our feelings vent out to our siblings. It wouldn't let us comprehend our love for each other.

Before going offline he said," All of our childhood, I thought you have ignored me. I had never known that you are sweet and caring for me".

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