Uttar Pradesh: Raksha Bandhan is the festival that celebrates the love between brothers and sisters and protection of the latter by former from any evil. But in a village of Gonda district of no one likes the festival or celebrates it.
No one in the Bhikhampur Jagat Purwa village of Dumariadih gets excited about Rakhi or even utter the name of the festival.
They believe, if Raksha Bandhan is celebrated, evil might befall them. Many untoward events have occurred in the past warning them to stay away from this festival. Everyone awaits the birth of a child on Raksha Bandhan, which they believe will end the deadly cycle.
There are 20 homes in Jagat Purwa, where nearly 200 children are scared of ‘rakhi’ (sacred protective thread). Even the older generation shares this emotion.
More than five decades have passed in this village in Wazirganj panchayat that sisters have tied a ‘rakhi’ on their brothers’ wrists.
Even in nearby villages, the mere mention of the word Raksha Bandhan scares people and the sisters there refuse to tie rakhis on the day. They do not want to break the traditions set by their ancestors.
“Whenever sisters tied a thread on their brothers’ wrists in our houses, untoward incidents occurred in this village.”
Suryanarayan Mishra said, “In 1955, after eight years of Independence, a young man was killed one fine morning of Raksha Bandhan in our family. Since then, sisters in the village do not tie a rakhi on their brothers’ wrists.
“A decade ago, on the day of Raksha Bandhan, it was decided to tie rakhi on the request of the sisters, but something untoward happened that day, too. After this, no one dared celebrate rakhi. Even today, this fear prevents the sisters from tying rakhi on their brothers’ wrist.”
Though the festival of Raksha Bandhan is not celebrated in Jagat Purwa village, the sisters of the surrounding villages tie the rakhi on the wrists of their brothers.
Villagers said that most people of the village do not move out on the day of Raksha Bandhan. Jagat Purwa village remains silent on the day even as every other sister ties a Rakhi on her brother’s hand throughout the country.
