Patna: This Raksha Bandhan, the city-based jewellers are extremely busy in view of the rise in demand for silver and gold rakhis. These rakhis are available at a range of Rs 750 to Rs 3.50 lakh and some people have even ordered special diamond-studded rakhis.
Shekhar Kesari, owner of a jewellery showroom in Patna, said he has silver, gold and platinum rakhis in his stock and some diamond-embedded rakhis that have been prepared on special orders. Prices of these rakhis are between Rs 750 to Rs 3.50 lakh and customers are ready to shell out additional money for such stylish rakhis.
The gold and silver rakhis are being sold in large numbers in the local jewellery shops. Unlike the usual beads and thread or silk rakhis, sisters are preferring to opt for gold and silver stylist rakhis.
"In the last few years, the demand for precious metals and stones, specially diamond, have risen a lot. This is because sisters now feel that when they tie rakhi on their brothers' wrists, it should also be an investment. The rakhi should stay on their brother's wrist for a long time and also be an asset for the latter," Kesari, director, Jewellery Showroom said.
Kesari said that due to the rising demand for jewellery rakhis, they have prepared rakhis in such a wide price range that even women from poor and middle class families can easily afford it. In some houses, there is an old tradition of tying silk thread as rakhi and for them, rakhis are available in silk thread with gold and silver designs in the middle while many rakhis are completely made of gold and silver, he added.
"This time Bhadra Nakshatra is residing in the Patal Lok. Therefore, it does not have much effect on the earth but still, the best time to celebrate the festival of Raksha Bandhan is after 1:30 pm," Ramshankar Dubey, acharya said.
The festival of Raksha Bandhan is being celebrated on 19 August, on the day of Shravan Purnima. This time, the shadow of Bhadra Nakshatra is on the day of Raksha Bandhan. Bhadra Nakshatra is till 1:25 pm in the day. In such a situation, the auspicious time to tie a rakhi is starting from 1:30 pm and the auspicious time to tie rakhi is till late night.
In Gujarat, women of migrant families from Pakistan celebrated Raksh Bandhan with their brothers still living in the neighbouring country by making video calls. They may not physically tie rakhis to the wrists of their brothers, but the bond of sister-brother affection is celebrated by taking advantage of the technology and social media. Many families migrated from Pakistan to Gujarat and some of them have been living in Tharad of Banaskantha since 1971. These siblings celebrate Rakshabandhan by seeing each other's faces by making video calls through mobile phones. Sisters bless their brothers by performing Kanku Chandlo Aarti through video call.
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