Saris and Elephants

Today was the festival of Raksha Bandan, where sisters tie a rakhi, or thread bracelet, around the wrists of their brothers as a symbol of their love and affection, in return the brother promises to protect his sisters and always be there for them. This does not necessarily have to be between blood brothers and sisters, a girl can tie a Rakhi on any one that she considers a close brother. However, this bond is taken seriously and the boy and girl will from then on be considered to share the bond of brother and sister, so no getting together later!I was invited by my students at Vatsalya Foundation, a centre for street children, to attend their Rakhi celebrations. Not really knowing what to expect, I arrived in the morning and was greeted by my students Tushar and Nuresh and seated at the back of the room while the ceremony got under way. The boys at Vatsalya were joined by some of the children from the Bandra centre and were all enjoying themselves singing along to the latest Bollywood tracks on the radio while waiting for the other guests to arrive.During a welcome from Ms Swati (Executive Director of the Vatsalya Foundation), all in Hindi, I was busy looking around, watching the children, when suddenly I heard my name and a room full of expectant faces turned to look at me! Before I really knew what was happening, two other volunteer teachers and I were standing at the front of the room, marking the boys’ foreheads with the traditional ‘tikka’ and rice, and tying the Rakhi to their wrists. My first ‘brother’ was a tiny boy, no higher than my knee with a big cheeky grin and huge dark eyes!Once all the Rakhis had been tied, the day continued with singing and dancing in true Indian style. Two young girls gave a great rendition of ‘I’m a little Teapot’ and other nursery rhymes, shouted in an almost military style, followed by Tushar singing a beautiful Hindi song, and a more questionable Akon number, which I hope nobody else in the room understood!At the end of the day I headed back to work, exhausted, but with a big smile on my face. These street boys had shown me so much love, and accepted me as their sister, or ‘didi’, a feeling that I really cannot express in words.