Brothers and sisters eagerly await the festival of Raksha Bandhan, a day which celebrates the beauty of their bond. After the festivities, most brothers make efforts to preserve the sacred thread but end up disposing it off with a heavy heart.
While the sentiments shared between siblings are everlasting -the rakhi is short-lived. Now with a wide range of plantable rakhis in markets, people can have a sacred thread that too will grow as the love between the siblings.
Made from recycled paper, natural colours and seeds, plantable rakhis germinate into a plant in 4-6 days when placed in the soil.
Highlighting the reason behind the innovative concept, Saurabh H. Mehta, founder of eco-friendly goods manufacturer BioQ explained, "Every year, I end up with 5-6 rakhis on my wrist. The very next day I don't know what to do with them. I would keep them in a drawer, and after a few days even those end up in the garbage. So, we thought of making rakhis which could be planted after the festival."
As people are becoming more environmentally conscious and celebrating a cracker-free Diwali, Holi with orgc colours, biodegradable Ganesha for Ganesh Chaturthi, Plantable rakhis are just another step towards a greener way of celebrating festivals.
"When you buy a plantable rakhi and say no to synthetic rakhi, you actually vote for a greener planet," said Smita Bhatter from By Smita, a gifting service.
Given the auspicious occasion, BioQ limits itself to tulsi seeds in its rakhis. "However, we give plantable pencils with tomato seeds as part of kits so that even sisters have something to plant," said Saurabh.
Mothers often find this a useful gift to teach young kids about being environmentally conscious and about growing plants too, he said.
Taking the concept of plantable rakhis a notch higher, GramArt Project weaves a story with each rakhi it makes. From touching the subject of pay disparity between men and women to menstruation, the orgsation tells a tale through its unique rakhis focused on various social issues.
Made from orgc cotton with handspun yarn, 100 women from 10 villages of Madhya Pradesh are the faces behind these handcrafted rakhis. This year GramArt project has designed 16 innovative rakhis.
Emphasizing that the festival should be about stronger relation and not protection, GramArt Project has designed a rakhi with 'Kamjor Nahi Mai' written on it.
( With inputs from ANI )