First time Ever....!!!

This is my first attempt ever towards writing. Although I always wanted to write a book, cudn't get suitable subject.....Or maybe I was tooooo lazy to do so..!!!

This long awaited blog comes after encouragement from my super talented brother who always stood beside me through the thick nd thin of our lives. We share a special bond like all siblings do, "I believe".

It was never in 30 yrs of my life that we were so far off from each other on this special day of "RAKHI" . Hence the first subject of my blog is based on the ceremonies performed on this festival.

In a nutshell the sister ties a string on brother's wrist, who in turns wows to protect her from any mishaps in her life.According to hindi calender, Rakhi comes in the month of Saavan i.e. Monsoon in India. There are also a number of other rituals that specially marwadi Indian ladies follow. As I grew up, I always saw my grandma nd my mother making beautiful strings for their brothers and also papercrafts called "Shravan" or "sun" as my inlaws call it.

They are traditionally made on plain white paper with natural colours called "geru"(red lime) and "Khadi"(White lime). The designs are taken from nature, they could be flowers, pots, camels, cows, footprints, human figures, sun, moon, stars or any other abstract designs. Variety of embellishments like stones, sequences, gota, glitter atc. can also be used to enhance their appeal.

Since this was my first Rakhi in London, I didn't have any access to traditional materials. I used watercolors to make them,  but still I was happy with the result as it was a solo attempt for the first time.... Hope you would also like them....!!!

They are always made in pairs and stuck around the frame of each door in the house.
The footprints depicted in this one are also called as "Pagliya",means welcoming...