A girl selects rakhis from a shop at Chudi Market in Kadamkuan. Picture by Deepak Kumar

Brothers and sisters in Patna are eager to celebrate the age-old Raksha Bandhan festival but with new trendy rakhis, available in fancy shapes, sizes and designs.

Girls looking for that perfect band to tie around the wrists of their brothers can visit the famous Chudi Market in Kadamkuan, where the novel designer rakhis are available.

Sources said the traditional round-shaped rakhis, decorated with glitters are out. Some of the new ones are shaped like popular cartoon characters such as Spiderman, Mickey Mouse, Bal Ganesh or Bal Hanuman. Others have pictures of Barbie dolls, Ra.One and Auro (the character played by Amitabh Bachchan in the 2009-film Paa).

After purchasing a rakhi with Auro’s picture, Bazaar Samiti resident Priyanka Kumari said: “This is so beautiful. I have never seen one like this. My younger brother will be very happy when I give it to him. It will be a big surprise for him.”

She added: “I thought rakhis were available only in the simple, round shape. But this is amazing.”

Most of the rakhis are not very expensive — you can get them between Rs 20 and Rs 45. Some special ones, priced as high as Rs 500, can burn a hole in your pocket.

Prices notwithstanding, people are loosening their purse strings for the day devoted to filial love.

Punam Kumari, a resident of Rajendra Nagar, bought two rakhis — one shaped as Spiderman and the other as Mickey Mouse.

“My brother is fond of these two characters. I am sure he will like the rakhis. I think more of such rakhis should be available in the market so that we can have more option to choose from,” she said.

Kumari said she wanted to surprise her brother with the rakhis.

“I am not going to show these to him today. I want to give him a big surprise. He will be so happy to get the rakhis with the pictures of his favourite characters on the day of the festival,” said Kumari.

This year, the festival is on August 2.

The rush in the sale of rakhis, which is expected to go north in the last week of July, has made the shopkeepers happy.

Subhas Kumar, a shop owner in Chudi Market, said designer rakhis were the flavour of the season.

“I feel people do not want the traditional rakhis any more. The designer ones are selling like hot cakes. These add more colour to the festival,” said Subhas.

Asked which was most in demand at his shop, he said Ra.One rakhis with the picture of Shah Rukh Khan were the most popular. “People are in love with SRK. These are not priced too high either — you can buy one only for Rs 30. So people are buying a lot of them,” said the shop owner.

For some sisters, filial love is a postal affair.

“My brother lives in Mumbai. I have send his rakhi early so that it reaches on time,” said East Boring Road resident Monica Chaudhary.

She added that she had bought a designer rakhi with tinkling beads to please her fashion-conscious brother.