No idea, yaar says clueless Mumbai

Radhika Jain, 19 and Niharika Juneja, 19, students
Will tie rakhi to brothers Siddhant Jain and Karman Juneja

I don't know why it's celebrated. I think Rakhi has become a generic day like Friendship Day; anyone ties a rakhi to anyone they like.
Kumar Aditya, 30, entrepreneur
His sister Charu Smita will tie him a rakhi

Origin? I've never given it a thought. But it's a special day for us siblings. I have been shopping for my sisters all morning.
Vishal Gupta, 20, Engineering Student
Sisters Khushboo and Sunita Gupta will tie him au00a0rakhi

The Rani of Jhansi sent a rakhi to Humayun asking him to protect her kingdom.
Ojas Parikh, 35, Entrepreneur
Says will get rakhi tied by "hoardes of cousin sisters"

During some war a long time ago, a Hindu queen wanted to protect her kingdom. So, she tied a rakhi to the attacker, a Muslim king. I think it was Jhansi ki rani.
Anvita Koppikar, 27, freelance editor
Will tie rakhi to Anshuman Gargesh

Draupadi tore a piece of cloth and tied it on Lord Krishna's wrist, asking for protection.
Arti Bhatia, 20, Management Student
Will tie rakhi to Nikhil

I have no clue why it's celebrated, but it is a very special occasion. I will go home and surf the net for details on it right away.
Rajvi Agarwal, 33, homemaker
Will tie rakhi to brother Mayur Kejriwal

No idea about its origin. A sister ties a rakhi asking a brother for protection. That's all I know.
Pooja Israni, 48, Interior Designer
Will tie rakhi to brother Brijesh Mehtani



Your save face manual
For the next time you get asked a pop quiz on the origin of Rakhi

The Indra theory: The incident of Indra's fight with Vritra-Indra, resulted in Indra's loss. This led to his wife tieing a thread around his wrist empowering it with divine powers to make sure Indra emerged
victorious in the fight that followed.

The Draupadi theory: Wife of the five Pandavas, Draupadi, tore a strip of silk from her sari and tied it around Krishna's wrist to stop his bleeding when he was hurt once. Krishna came to her help during the Vastra Haran, after Yudhisthir lost her in gamble. Krishna added reams of fabric to her saree to save her from humiliation.

The Humayun theory: One of the earliest references to Raksha Bandhan dates back to medieval history when the Rajputs were struggling against Muslim invaders. Queen Karmawati was the widow of the King of Chittor. When she realised she couldn't fight Gujarat's Bahadur Shah, she sent a rakhi to Mughal emperor Humayun. Humayun accepted her as his sister, launching an attack on Bahadur Shah to protect her.

The Yama theory: Raksha Bandhan was also supposed to be a ritual followed by Lord Yama (Lord of Death) and his sister Yamuna. Yamuna tied a rakhi to Yama bestowing him with immortality. Yama was so moved by the serenity of the occasion that he declared, whoever gets a rakhi tied from his sister and promised her protection, will become immortal.

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