Two Odisha women to tie Rakhi to PM Modi on Raksha Bandhan

Pratima Behera and Sabita Das are now on cloud nine. The reason is also quite valid to feel on top of the world as they are among the lucky ones who have been chosen to tie Rakhi to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Raksha Bandhan.

Both Pratima and Sabita hail from Athagarh in Cuttack district. They are among the 50 others who have received the invitation to be present at the PM’s residence to tie Rakhi this Raksha Bandhan. The duo is artisans and they make different products including Khadi.

“We feel lucky. We have never seen the Prime Minister in person and it is a dream come true for us to meet and tie Rakhi on his hand. It is certainly a wonderful feeling that we have got the opportunity,” said Pratima.

"PM Modi promotes local artisans with his ‘Vocal for Local’ mission. We the members of Mahila Bikash Parishad prepare Rakhi. It was only five days back that we got information from the KVIC office and accordingly we have prepared the Rakhi," she added.

Interestingly the Rakhi has been made using ‘patta and tussar’. “We have added Tulsi and Rudraksha beads in it,” said Sabita.

According to Sabita, there is also a craze for this Rakhi and it costs over Rs 50 a piece. “One can eke out a living by preparing Rakhis even though the markets are filled up with a lot of fancy items. Everybody saw our Rakhi and encouraged us to prepare more. Hand-woven Rakhi using our own products will certainly benefit the artisans and they can earn a decent livelihood,” Sabita added.