Raksha Bandhan is the occasion when even celebrities take time off from their hectic schedules and soak in the spirit of the festival.

It’s that auspicious time of the year when brothers and sisters strengthen their tender bond signified by tying of the sacred thread.

And gifts are an essential element of the festival to reflect the spirit of sharing and caring. Riddhima Kapoor this Rakhi wanted quite an interesting gift from her famous actor brother Ranbir. What was that?

As a media report stated she wanted her actor brother to come up with as many super hits this season as he can as her best Rakhi gift. The news report mentioned: “Riddhima, a busy fashion designer, wasn’t able to go to Mumbai for celebrating Raksha Bandhan. However, she sent her rakhi by courier.”

She was quoted as saying: “I would be in New Delhi and hence won’t be able to travel to Mumbai owing to my work commitments. I’ve couriered it (Rakhi) to him. Along with it, I’ve also sent to brother my good wishes and blessings. And all I want as my Rakhi gift from him is that he should give as many hit films as he can.”

On the other hand, Bebo’s (Shivshakti Sachdev) popular on-screen brothers Siddharth Bajaj (Omi) and Vineet Kumar (Daljeet) surprised the former. They visited the sets and celebrated Raksha Bandhan.

The overwhelmed actress prepared a pooja thali and tied Rakhi to them and prayed to God for their well-being and happiness. The ‘brothers’ acknowledged her emotions with a pledge to stand by her through all the good and even bad times.

A touched Bebo said, “I’m delighted that my brothers have come here to celebrate Rakhi with me. They’ve been a strong support; they’ve always offered a strong helping hand. I’m lucky to have brothers who protect and love me.”

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Raksha Bandhan or the festival of Rakhi symbolizes a protective bond that brings with it a feeling of trust and security.

Though Raksha Bandhan is celebration of ties between the brother and sister, there are legends that do not involve only biological siblings.

‘Raksha’ stands for protection. ‘Bandhan’ signifies the bond of love. The festival strengthens the bond between a brother and a sister who ties the sacred thread on his wrist as a symbol of her love and affection. She prays for the long life of her brother, who younger he maybe to her, blesses her and takes a pledge to guard her.

In a majority of Hindu homes, the Rakhi festival is celebrated with great fervor. The celebration takes place in traditional way, including an ‘aarti’ (a ritual of worshipping), tying the thread around the right wrist of one’s brother and putting a ‘tilak’ (vermilion powder) on his forehead.

The festival draws from a rich heritage of traditions and tales that can be traced back to the ages of the great mythological epics. According to Mahabharata, Yudhishthira, the eldest Pandava, asked Lord Krishna how best he could protect himself from impending evils and catastrophe. The lord suggested him to perform the Raksha ceremony.

There is an anecdote that shows how potent the force of Raksha is! Once, Indra, the king of the heavens was challenged by the demons. Humbled and crestfallen, Indra approached Brihaspati, the Guru of Gods, who indicated to him that the auspicious moment for conquering the demon was Shravan Purnima.

On that day, Indra’s wife Shachee Devi, accompanied by Brihaspati tied a Rakhi around his right wrist. Indra then vanquished the demons. This is how the festival originated, it is believed.

The tradition of giving presents and gifts is an important ritual of this unique festival. The brother usually gives his sister a nice gift. It acts as a token of his sentiments. It serves as a precious memory of a special day.

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In the previous post, we checked some interesting gift ideas that a brother can consider to make his sister happy. But don’t feel surprised if you get a gift from your sister as well!

Here are some gift ideas for a proud sister to reciprocate her feelings toward her beloved brother.

Victorinox Swiss Knives: A Swiss army knife is a tool to treasure for your brother if he is a camping enthusiast and frequently participates in outdoor and adventure events! The Swiss knife is much more than just a knife! It carries multiple implements incorporated into a single casing.

The high end models consist of screwdriver, awls, altimeters, can and crate openers, blades, saws, scrimpers, wire stripper, magnifying lens, rulers, key rings, scrapers, toothpick and more, all in a single unit, depending on the model you choose. It’s a truly multi-purpose and cost effective gift.

Cappuccino-Espresso/ coffee and tea-maker: This all-in-one machine ranks high on scale of practicality especially if your brother is studying or working away from home. It’s affordable, too! Every morning, he can enjoy a hot cuppa, and will think of you, sipping his hot tea or coffee every morning.

Features to look for when buying a coffee and tea-maker are ease of usage, capacity, less preparation time and simplified controls. Ensure it has a calibrated jar (for filter coffee and tea) and a swiveling jet frother to prepare mounds of frothed milk for cappuccino, hot chocolate, latte and other frothy milk drinks.

Cordless shaver: A cordless shaver is perfect for a busy working professional. It’s handy for shaving off stubbles in quick time. A single head cordless shaver includes ultra thin flexible foils with floating cutter that leave one’s skin smooth and glowing!

The electric shavers come with a rechargeable battery, the pop-out trimmer (for shaping sideburns and moustache), and cleaning bristles. Gift it to your brother so that he can enjoy a smooth shave at his discretion! Braun Flex Integral 5550 Rb or Philips HQ6605 electric shaver are recommended.

So don’t feel surprised if you receive a gift from your sister as well! She might have already picked one for you!

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Friendship Day, as we are all well aware, is a day of celebrating your ties of genuine friendship. It’s a significant occasion that fortifies the bond between friends. The day is not far away. And you may well be thinking of an appropriate gift idea for the occasion.

Instead of going for a rushed, last-minute purchase of flowers, here are some gift ideas to work on to make your friend happy.

1. An eclectic picture perfect photo frame with nice personal touch can be presented. Rummage through old photo albums! Reprocess an old birthday, anniversary or a picnic. An intelligently conceived, calligraphic text will make it look classy.

2. Mouse pad with a message is also worth considering. Many computer accessory stores readily customize the mouse pad with photos or illustrations of your choice. You could redo a ubiquitous penholder or mug in the same manner.

3. Burn a CD of your friend’s favorite duets or solos or classic poems. A music CD with personalized messages sneaked in between songs for you friend will make him or her special. Customize the CD cover with a childhood picture that you can source from your family album.

4. Get a personalized piece of art if you friend is an art lover. Gift him or her one of those beautiful, original prints.

5. Engraving your feelings or simply your initials on a gift will make it a memorable and treasured one. A generic gift may not stand out, but it is possible to give a complete twist to even the simplest and commonest of gifts, making them appear fantastic! For example, by engraving a bracelet or a pretty key chain with a special message for your friend, you can make him or her happy.

Gifting your friend something he or she has been thinking to buy for a while is a perfect way to capture the spirit of the day.

With a bit of thought and imagination, you can come up with an interesting Friendship Day gift ideas.

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In our previous blog, we carried details of a news report, stating that the Zoozoo creator Vodafone Essar intends to release official Zoozoo merchandise with the help of leading retail chain Shopper’s Stop.

Branded character merchandise is a territory not many retailers want to tread upon because of the peculiar market conditions. One of them is intellectual property issues. Customer care associate & chief executive for Shoppers Stop, Govind Shrikhande, elaborated that character merchandising is rather easy to copy. There isn’t much control over violation of IP rights.

According to him, film merchandise has a shelf life of roughly two to three months whereas character merchandising is more challenging, particularly if the official merchandise is costly, thereby prompting the demand for their cheaper knock-offs. He estimates that the branded merchandise market is in the region of around Rs 1,050 crore.

Character merchandise has worked successfully in case of the Disney and other you can make your brother, both a cricket and Zoozoo fan, happy with a ravishing Zoozoo rakhi like SpongeBob, SquarePants, Ben 10, and Hanuman etc. The official Zoozoo fan club page on Facebook has over 3 lakh fans. Such branded merchandise works well for brand promotion. It reinforces the image of the brand.

E-commerce site Indiangiftsportal.com stocks products that feature the Zoozoos. Its MD Manan Sharma claims that his efforts to get an official license for Zoozoo merchandise failed. But he is not worried about infringement of IP rights? According to him, they are simply making the Zoozoos popular so there shouldn’t be a problem?

On the other hand, online merchandiser Myntra Designs Ltd has been a tad more cautious. Their creative designers contribute their own ideas and the site has rejected several Zoozoos based T-shirt designs owing to copyright issues.

Irrespective of pros and cons of the debate, the good part is that you can make your brother, both a cricket and Zoozoo fan, happy with a ravishing Zoozoo rakhi.  

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