confused rakshabandhan celebration

image source:google

till sunday we were certain about rakshabandhan falling on the 20th day of august this year. however, on monday evening a sudden confusion arose.

 it started with my mother's call, informing me that there is some problem and the muhurat (the appropriate time) to tie the rakhi will start at 8 in the evening on the 20th and will carry on till 8 the next morning. my mother was in an unceasing dilemma and asked me if i could tie the rakhi the next day. since, we did not have a scheduled holiday at work, going the next day was not even an option. we spoke to a few friends but we got mixed and confused answers. while some were celebrating it on the 20th morning the others chose to do it on the 21st. choosing a middle path  i suggested my mom that we'll have dinner with them and i will tie rakhi post 8 in the evening (solves both the problems: 1. tying rakhi at the appropriate time 2. we would not have to come the next day).

contrary to this, my new family not being finicky and very particular about the muhurat stuck to their original plan of meeting at my husband's eldest mama's place at 10am on the 20th.

@bade mamaji's place

so on 20th morning the festival of rakshabandhan started for us, with our family going to the eldest mamaji's place. since the family is huge, it is a get together of approximately 30-40 people with three generations celebrating rakhi together. it was my first experience of this sort since i have had a relatively smaller family before i got married. there was noise and laughter at the same time. humor was in the air, songs were being sung and food was being devoured. and then people started to disperse. the sis-in laws of the family (including me) had to go to their respective houses to celebrate the occasion with their brothers.

getting over with the first celebration of the day me and my husband proceeded to gurgaon around 1:30 pm. at the peak hour of the afternoon the sky looked grey and gloomy. it felt as if it was 7 in the evening. we could see the lightning like a frozen crack in the sky. and before we knew it started pouring. floundering through the heavy traffic we found on our way, we finally managed to reach gurgaon at 4.

my mom welcomed us with the biggest smile while a famished me rushed to the kitchen with hungering eyes to find out what was in store for us for the evening tea :p. my mom had prepared a dish of nutri nuggets with kulcha(it was yum!) and then there were sandwiches, muffins and cookies from ccd. while we were enjoying the tea, my brother comes and adds to the above mentioned confusion telling us that the muhurat to tie the rakhi is till 6 in the evening. recalling my mom's last night confusion and worry to do things right this was the last statement i had wanted to hear. he made me and mom read the newspaper providing evidence for his statement.

so after tea, going by the evidence and my mom's consent, i decided to tie the rakhi before 6 while my sister chose to tie it at 8 (lol). following the rakhi ritual like every year i showered my brother with blessings while he showered me with gifts :p.

my siblings and i :)

post 8 when the rakhi was over for everyone in the house :p, we had long candid conversations sitting in the balcony, enjoying the drinks and fresh air. engrossed in our discussions, we lost a track on time and got out to have dinner at 11. fortunately, we found food to eat :p. after finishing dinner, me and my husband bid goodbye to my family and finally called it a (confused) rakshabandhan!