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August 10, 2014

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When asked what is Raksha Bhandhan, most would say that it is about tying rakhis and receiving gifts, some would go into the significance of it and say that it is about protecting sisters and gaining their goodwill and blessings. And then there are those who might find this very premise unsettling.

A strand of feminists has found the idea of Raksha Bandhan problematic because of its original meaning. The word raksha means ‘protection, and Raksha Bandhan refers to the sacred thread that begets protection from brothers. Clearly, this idea of women needing protection has not gone down with many.

But, in today’s post-modern and capitalist world, is Raksha Bandhan still a sensitive festival in terms of gender equations. No doubts it has those roots, and always will. But I send my brother a rakhi every monsoon, and I definitely don’t demand any protection in exchange. However, I do make it a point to get him the nicest rakhi and the nicest card from an Archies or a Hallmark. (Sadly, I cannot afford the more embellished ‘designer’ ones.)

So, what does that tell you about Raksha Bandhan? As for me, it is that one time of the year when I think about sending something nice to my brother. And I do so only because I think that it is a nice gesture to make when you live miles apart.

Yes, I know that the premise of Raksha Bandhan is a patriarchal one, but I do not celebrate it for that. I celebrate it like it were a ‘Siblings Day’ of sorts. For the critics of Raksha Bandhan, I completely understand the validity of your argument and also the logic behind it, i.e., to uproot patriarchy one has to uproot all social practices associated with it. To those who celebrate the festival, make it about indulgent celebrations and gifts if you must, make it about remembering your sibling on that special day; but don’t make it about the brother protecting the sister.

Let it be about the relationship that siblings share, it can be about that one time when your brother told on you when you sneaked out of the house or that time when you took his phone and got mischievous to take revenge. As human beings, as especially those that share such strong connections, it is only natural that we will stand by each other and protect each other in times of adversity.

This Raksha Bandhan, make it about celebrating that mutual connection.

 Image credits: webneel.com

Mildly Offensive Content is a group trying to revive the dying form of verse, the Spoken Word; it is a group which is striving to amalgamate the thin line between rhyme and events of our day to day lives and where the students of DU have come together with one of the most blessed forms of human expression- Poetry.

It’s a Delhi based student’s run group which excels in performing the Spoken Word form of poetry. Starting with their first performance at the American Embassy School, Mildly Offensive Content has taken long strides forward since then. Till today, their shows have expanded to various cafes like Kunzum Cafe in Hauz Khaz Village, Potbelly in Shahpur Jat, NSIT College, Sardar Patel Vidyalaya and the Downstairs Space in Panchsheel.

Apart from the performance by their own team members, Mildly Offensive Content also invites several other guest poets. According to one of the members, ‘We also invite several guest poets to perform with us, to be able to spread not just the culture of hearing poetry, but also the inspiration to imagine, write and perform. The most beautiful imageries have been crafted at our shows through a kaleidoscope of words. Following the conventions of Spoken Word, the audience show appreciation through snaps as and when they feel touched, overwhelmed or even provoked by what they hear.’

Under the genre of Spoken Word Poetry, they cover themes such as love, heartbreak and memories, to larger issues of communalism, freedom, gender, class and homosexuality. Currently at a strong 8 member team, Mildly Offensive Content plans on to work in the field of spoken word poetry for the coming years and enthrall their audiences through various strands of it.

With cricket being synonymous with every Indian, we take a look at some other sports going for the big in this country.

Golf

The sport which is considered for the well elite is gaining immense popularity in India. Over the past few years, golf has been growing annually at around 25 percent. The country boasts of approximately 5,00,000 players, a number which continues to grow. Golf, which is usually associated with middle-aged and senior citizens, is gaining popularity among the youth of the country. With new golf courses popping up, the future for the game looks bright. Anirban Lehri, Gaganjeet Bhullar and Jeev Singh Milkha are some famous golfers of India. The Hero Indian Open, one of the flagship open of India which is held at the Delhi Golf Club every year has started to attract crowds in thousands.

Badminton

With emerging shuttlers such as Saina Nehwal and Jwala Gutta coming up, the Indian badminton paradigm has completely changed. In the recent years, we have had an Olympic bronze- medalist and a world number 2 from India. This growing potential of the sport has also caught the eye of corporate world which led to the inception of Indian Badminton League (IBL) in an inter-state competitive format similar to the Indian Premier league (IPL). The first edition was quite successful and the tournament gathered a cumulative viewership of about 21.7 million according to a Deloitte report. The tournament offered a winning prize of $1 million, the highest for a badminton tournament ever in the world.

Hockey

The sport, known to many as the “national sport of India”, has seen some dark days in the past few decades. Inadequate investment in the sport led to India’s inability to adapt to the modern game which ultimately has caused this sport’s decline since the 1970s. However in the recent years, big companies have started to invest in the sport and channels have started to take initiatives to bring the sport to the masses. Hockey India League was a small but a significant step taken in this direction. This year, Star Sports planned to spend Rs.100 crore on advertising and promoting the event, which was four times the budget allocated for the year 2012. “We want to create a multi-sport culture in India. Cricket is already big and we want to grow other sports like hockey as well,” said Nitin Kukreja, head of sports business for Star India to a leading Indian daily. “To do that production and how it looks on the screen is very important.” This year, the tournament calculated a viewership of 41.4 million.

Football

Of all the sports excluding cricket, the one which follows a huge fan-following in this nation is football. Since the broadcasting of the English Premier League (EPL) in India, the sport has grown exponentially over the years. The 90 minute play-time is perfect for our reducing attention span and the match times fit perfectly for the people.  All big clubs like Manchester united, Bayern Munich, Arsenal and Liverpool have set up academies in India and see India as a potential hotspot for talent. An EPL-like tournament, Indian Super League is also set to kickoff this year. It is an initiative of one of the biggest companies of India, Reliance together with IMG and has team owners like Ranbir Kapoor, Saurav Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar. The league has also roped in veteran players such as Andy Cole and Diego Forlan coming in as coaches. For the Indian football, these sure seem to be exciting times.

It’s Raksha Bandhan! A day sisters celebrate their brothers (usually from the same mother) and the special bond they share with them. Here are five types of brothers that we might have experienced in our lives:

The Cool Rockstar Brother– This brother is everything you want. He is normally elder to you and lets you have all the fun in the world, but takes care of you just the same. He earns and showers you with gifts all year round. Kinda hard to come by.

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The Annoying Little Brother– HE WANTS EVERYTHING. Whatever you own, whatever you want to own, everything. He’s a cry-baby and would pester your parents relentlessly till you give him what you want. Normally younger to you, so a smack on the back can set him just right.

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The Young Diva- This one is the absolute favourite of all sisters. He doesn’t give into the social norms of being masculine and tough. He will go out shopping with you and would probably try on your new heels before you do. He is more like a best friend who would keep your secrets perfectly safe, no matter how bad a fight was last night. This is the type you simply adore.

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The Over-protective Elder Brother– Probably the most common and recognised of the whole species. He absolutely adores and spoils you, but would not stand anybody who hurts his little sister. He won’t tell you that he loves you, but his actions will always make you feel loved.

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The Teacher– This one will miss no opportunity to tell you where you went wrong and what you could have done. It’s not because he hates you or anything, quite the opposite, he loves you and wants you to have all that you deserve and more.

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1) ROSS-MONICA(David Schimmer-Courteney Cox) in the American sitcom FRIENDS

One of the oldest brother-sister pairs that our generation has witnessed, Ross and Monica Geller, who otherwise live like, well, friends, do present sibling-like rivalry and affection every now and then. Their relationship is more brotherly than brother-sister-like in my opinion as is evident from the fact that they wrestled each other during their childhood and even played sports, particularly football (until one day Monica accidentally broke Ross’s nose). Ross was also traumatized by nightmares of his then overweight sister eating him up. Yet, these nightmares did not prevent their attachment from surfacing. They had come up with a dance in their primary school called “The Routine” and also had a childhood gesture-knocking their fists together with their thumbs pointing outwards. They, I feel, have the perfect recipe for the best bro-sis relationship imaginable.

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2)RON-GINNY( Rupert Grint-Bonnie Wright) in the Harrry Potter series

This pair is certainly the one we have grown up with (We were all surprised to see the little Ginny from the first movie turn out to be  a hottie by the 6th one). Coming to their relationship, this bro-sis duo are absolutely opposite in characters. Ron being submissive, insecure and funny, Ginny has been portrayed as strong-headed and sober. While Ron wears his heart on his sleeves before finally realising his love for Hermione years later, Ginny stays true to her crush on Harry Potter right from the time they first met. Despite of it, it is inevitable to notice the bond between the two.

Ron shines as a typical protective brother right from the second installment when he, along with Harry, rescues her from Tom Riddle. This protectiveness is further highlighted in the 6th installment when he sees his sister kissing her boyfriend Dean. The thing that they have in common though is their loyalty towards Potter for whom they fight alongside him against the fearsome Voldemort till the very end. Also to be mentioned, during their initial years in Hogwarts, Ron, like a typical elder brother, would shoo away his kid sister when with his friends to prevent embarrassment. However, with time and maturity he accepted her as a part of their “gang” and also his best friend’s girlfriend.

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3) MILEY-JACKSON( Miley Cyrus- Jason Earles) in the TV series Hannah Montana

Miley: Next time try something with sleeves and deodorant.

Jackson: If you got it flaunt it!

Arguably the funniest bro-sis in the history of TV series. Jackson, jealous of his sister’s stardom and yet loving enough to keep her secret, is a fun, indifferent and crazy guy who does not refrain from using Hannah’s fame to get dates but without compromising on Miley’s privacy. Not the ideal brother(specially for us “highly cultured” Indians) due to his over-the-top behavior and being a constant irritant to his sister, Jackson still manages to jump up to his sister’s rescue whenever needed despite of himself.

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4) ANNA-SANDY( Arjun Rampal-Deepika Padukone) in Housefull

Perhaps the most feared brother of Bollywood till date, this brother who is a parental figure to his sisters Pooja and Sandy is also a strict Indian Military Intelligence officer and hence treats everyone(except his sisters) as suspects for “no one knows which” crime. At the top of his hit-list is Arush, Sandy’s boyfriend, but that of course is natural of any brother to be protective of his beloved sister. That protection gets blown out of proportions when the brother is Major Krishna Rao. However, in the end, his officer instincts give way to his emotions when he discovers Arush to be a gem of a person for his sister despite his ” misfortune” taking the limelight.

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5) MILKHA SINGH-ISRI KAUR( Farhan Akhtar- Divya Dutta) in Bhaag Milkha Bhaag

Isri, Milkha’s elder sister is one of the central characters in the film and the driving force behind his success. This duo is unique in the sense that there are no scenes of sibling rivalry or “nok-jhok”  between them to provide comic relief; their relation was purely intense, emotional and moving. While Isri nursed Milkha like her child, he in turn dedicated his success to her by making her wear his much awaited jacket of the Indian national team. The perfect example of loyalty and emotions between siblings.

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6) RANVIJAY-VEERA( Shivin Narang-Digangana Suryavanshi) in Ek Veer Ki Ardaas….Veera

The name says it all, “A Brother’s Prayer….Veera”. The story revolves around the unbreakable bond between Ranvijay and his half sister Veera. Being neglected by her step-mother, Veera’s struggle begins right from a tender age, while, to her relief, Ranvijay acts like  a sensible, matured brother even when they both were too young to understand the value of the brother-sister relationship. Apart from being a mother-figure to Veera, he pushes her towards her goals amidst his own personal and professional challenges. He, indeed, is the ideal brother for every sister.

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7) HANSEL-GRETEL( Jeremy Renner-Gemma Arterton) in Hansel And Gretel: Witch Hunters

This is probably the coolest bro-sis duo, engaged in the profession we all would love to have – witch hunting! There is not much scope of brother-sister emotions in the movie as it is highly action packed and they are busy slaughtering dark witches throughout. However, their unity is unquestioned as they face all the perils together, saving each other from the clutches of the antagonists.

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Ishani Rajkhowa

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