Mumbai:
Raksha Bandhan, marking the start of the festive season, was
celebrated Tuesday with fervour in Maharashtra as sisters tied
rakhis (decorative threads) on the wrists of their brothers and
fishermen marked the beginning of the fishing season.
Several sex workers at the red light area of Kamathipura in south
Mumbai tied rakhis on the wrists of social workers and volunteers of
various NGOs.
Kolis, the fishermen community of the coastal state, celebrated the
festival as “Nariyali Poornima”. These original inhabitants of
Mumbai worshipped the sea and prayed for a prosperous fishing
season.
Kolis offered prayers to Lord Varuna for invoking his blessings. As
part of the Rakhi rituals, coconuts were thrown into the sea as
offerings to Lord Varuna.
Fisherwomen applied vermillion on each other’s foreheads as a symbol
of prosperity.
Women were seen dressed in colourful outfits, while most men sported
rakhis on their wrists.
Raksha Bandhan celebrates the bond of love between brothers and
sisters. On the occasion, a sister ties a rakhi on her brother's
wrist and in turn he gives her gifts and vows to protect her.
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