The context in which I am writing this is the Raksha Bandhan coming up on Friday, August 28, 2026.
If Simone de Beauvoir is to be believed, “One is not born, but rather becomes, a woman.”
So, I am sure this Raksha Bandhan thingy must be contributing its bit towards that.
My elder sister Jyothi and my cousin Madhavi (my father’s youngest brother’s eldest daughter) are the two people who tie Rakhi to me every year.
My youngest sister Kavitha, even if she was in India would not have bothered to tie the rakhi to me because she is a bit of a feminist.
My cousin Madhavi, though even more of a feminist than Kavitha, always makes it a point to tie me a rakhi without fail every year.
My sis Jyothi, though equally feminist in spirit is a bit more pragmatic in that see has always stuck to the path of least resistance by not trying to rake up any controversy by consulting her feminist self when it came to how she lived her life.
Now, come this Friday, instead of allowing my sis and cousin to tie the rakhi to me, instead I will tie the rakhi to them.
This will be my contribution to the feminist cause. Indeed, “The personal is political”.
Moreover, if I do not understand and support women’s causes in this life, who knows karma may dictate that I have to be born as a woman in next life. And why would I want that? Nah, just kiddding. This is an unnecessary digression but I wanted to provide you folks some relief from this heavy writing.
Seriously speaking though, why does a sister need to tie a rakhi to ensure a brother’s loyalty and protection? Isn’t that a bit of a lack of trust in brothers in general?
Maybe it is time my younger sister who sticks to her feminism in a manner of speaking started singing, “Nee padam meedana puttumachanai Annayya, thodabuttina runam theerchukuntaanay Annayya”.
Know Thyself 