{"id":3229,"date":"2016-03-13T10:45:35","date_gmt":"2016-03-13T05:15:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=3229"},"modified":"2016-03-13T10:45:35","modified_gmt":"2016-03-13T05:15:35","slug":"raksha-bandhan-sisters-protectors-brothers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/?p=3229","title":{"rendered":"Sisters are Protectors Too: Why Raksha Bandhan Needs to be Reimagined"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

T<\/span>here\u2019s absolutely nothing I wouldn\u2019t do for my younger brother, even though he happens to be the single most infuriating person I\u2019ve ever known. Considering that I\u2019ve seen him every single day of my life, it\u2019s only <\/p>human<\/span><\/a> to want to beat him up every now and then. <\/span>\n\nAlthough not much younger than me, my brother has always been a little child for me \u2014 one who has matured far too quickly. I still distinctly remember skipping school the day he was born 17 years <\/span>ago<\/span><\/a>, just to be the first one to visit him at the hospital. And then insisting on carrying him myself, without realising how heavy a newborn baby could be for a four-year-old. \u00a0<\/span>\n\nEven though the age difference between us is only four years, I\u2019ve always tended to him like a <\/span>parent<\/span><\/a>. I think it\u2019s an internal switch that gets turned on when you\u2019re an elder sibling. From ensuring that my mother puts enough effort into designing his fancy dress costume, covering for his stupidity, and completing his homework, I\u2019ve looked out for him more than he has himself. Over the years, he\u2019s graduated from calling me dida, didi, to just my name out of sheer embarrassment that he\u2019d admit to his friends that I\u2019m the older one. At this point, I\u2019m just glad that he acknowledges that we\u2019re related. <\/span>\n\nRaksha Bandhan has been a long-standing <\/span>tradition<\/span><\/a> in our family and one of my personal favourites, owing to all the gifts I receive. Like most Indian brothers every year, my little one promises to protect me as I tie a rakhi on his wrist. To his credit, he usually lives up to that promise. And one of my favourite Raksha Bandhan moments has been my brother pampering me by exclusively preparing a three-course <\/span>vegetarian<\/span><\/a> meal (despite his hatred for vegetarian food) last year. I don\u2019t know if it was the fact that it was especially prepared for me, or just that he\u2019s a great chef, but that was definitely the best meal he\u2019s <\/span>cooked<\/span><\/a>.<\/span>\n\nAs much as I love the festival, I sometimes can\u2019t wrap my head around it: I know it\u2019s tradition to celebrate the brother and have him take an oath to protect his sister. But what about elder sisters like me, who do the protecting? Growing up, it\u2019s actually been my brother who\u2019s always needed me to do <\/span>damage control<\/span><\/a> for his misdemeanours. I cannot even begin to count the number of times I\u2019ve bailed him out and went out of my way to ensure that he didn\u2019t get into trouble. Like most siblings, we have our own exclusive language. Almost always, he just needs to look at me and I\u2019ll immediately know the extent of the damage while simultaneously racking my brains to think of a way to fix it before our parents have the chance to find out and ground him. <\/span>\n\nTried to drive the car? No problem, I\u2019ll handle it. Sneaking in late after pulling an all-nighter <\/span>party<\/span><\/a>? I\u2019m on top of it. Failed an exam? Who else but elder sister to the rescue? <\/span>\n\nIn fact, I\u2019ve noticed that often, when my brother does something he shouldn\u2019t, the first instinct anyone has is complaining about his behaviour to me instead of my parents. Even my parents have now realised that if there\u2019s one person he\u2019s most likely to obey, it\u2019ll be me and not them. It\u2019s funny how he always manages to get <\/span>caught<\/span><\/a> by my parents when I\u2019m not around and then disgruntledly calls me first thing (before my parents can get to me) to recite the entire story. It helps that he\u2019s never seen me as an <\/span>authoritative<\/span><\/a> figure, but more as his friend. <\/span>\n

In fact, I\u2019ve noticed that often, when my brother does something he shouldn\u2019t, the first instinct anyone has is complaining about his behaviour to me instead of my parents.<\/blockquote>\nWhich makes me wonder \u2013 if I am his protector, shouldn\u2019t he be tying a rakhi on my wrist, instead of the other way around? All religions and religious traditions need an <\/span>update<\/span><\/a> and Raksha Bandhan is no different. So maybe, this time around, I\u2019ll ask my brother to tie a rakhi on my wrist. <\/span>\n\nWomen are viewed as <\/span>protectors<\/span><\/a> only in the context of motherhood \u2013 in every other situation, we seem to be in need of protection. I\u2019m going to do something different this Raksha Bandhan. How else will my brother thank me for ensuring that he\u2019s not grounded for his entire life?<\/span>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As an elder sister, I am constantly bailing my brother out of sticky situations. Which makes me wonder, if I am his protector, shouldn\u2019t he be tying a rakhi on my wrist, instead of the other way around? All traditions need an update and Raksha Bandhan is no different.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":274,"featured_media":3230,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[439],"tags":[6292,6293,18,1726,5256,6294,917,2596,3016,6295,5532,735],"class_list":["post-3229","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-modern-family","tag-brothers","tag-cooking","tag-family","tag-parents","tag-patriarchy","tag-rakhi","tag-raksha-bandhan","tag-sexism","tag-siblings","tag-sisters","tag-tradition","tag-women"],"yoast_head":"\nSisters are Protectors Too: Why Raksha Bandhan Needs to be Reimagined<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"As an elder sister, I am constantly bailing my brother out of sticky situations. Which makes me wonder, if I am his protector, shouldn\u2019t he be tying a rakhi on my wrist, instead of the other way around? 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