Raksha Bandhan (IInd and Concluding Part)

Several toddlers have fallen into carelessly opened incomplete tube well holes in India. It is always the commandoes coming to the rescue. We offer our rakhis to even these soldiers, who are always ready to help.

Some people have tied rakhis to trees and we offer our rakhis to these people. We came to know that some siblings planted trees, post celebrating this festival and we appreciate their efforts as well. On the other hand, we have some people around us, who are hell-bent to remove the plants we are nurturing. They are going to extremes to complete this heinous task.

We also sent greetings to my brothers from my Dad’s side – Guru Rajan Anna, Suri Anna, Raghu Anna, Ravi Anna, Sampat Anna and Nagarajan Bhai. We share a unique bond with my brothers from my Mom’s side – Jayatheertha Anna and Sripad Anna. These 2 are my namesake cousins. But, they are more than real brothers to me as they are to my Mom like Lord Krishna to Yashoda. This is a big story, which I will share some other time.

Raghuram Nagarajan Anna is more like an adopted son to my Mom. She is the one, who began to call him Sriram and he became famous among family and friends by this name. He lost his Mom – my elder maternal aunt – at a very young age. Mom really wanted to adopt him with his elder sister Pushpa Akka and late father, who had been left alone by his mother. However, she had to give up the idea because my Dad had other commitments and my parents might not have been able to afford an adopted child. An adaptation comes with several responsibilities.

We have a younger cousin brother, the naughtiest sibling in our family. His name is Venkatesh. I am sharing some photos I have of some of my cousins. This photo not only features my cousins but also my rakhi brothers. Rajesh Kapoor Bhai’s marriage photo comes first. On its right are the pix of some of my other rakhi brothers. The mothers of these boys trusted my Mom and had told her to take care of them like she did her daughters. Among these boys, most of them are Gujaratis. But, they are not like our neighbors and their Gujarati friends.

Someone joked to my friend Yashaswini if Shruchet Jayatheerth became my Mom’s grandson only after becoming an engineer. We are also sharing some photos of the little Shruchet since the time he became special to us. Do look at the grandson-grandmother pix here.