This festival may be an age-old one but there’s no dearth of new ideas to make the occasion more interesting each year

Ritu Agarwal has begun her preparations for rakhi this year. With less than a fortnight to go, she has already selected her set of rakhis. The silver tray to hold the rakhis has been decorated in shades of purple. Now that the basics are over, it’s time to prepare for the sweets and gifts, not just for the brothers, but the entire family as well. The gift packaging has also been done in shades of purple.

Ritu is just one among the many who have gone in for the “colour theme” for rakhi this year.

Looks like the festival of tying threads on the wrists of brothers will not be the same anymore. Shakun Bajaj, who specialises in gift-wrapping and making bouquets of artificial flowers, has come up with unique ideas for rakhi this year.

Bajaj runs a gift-boutique at her residence in the Circuit House area. “We want to make the ritual of tying rakhi a special and cherished occasion. We have introduced colour themes in rakhi this year,” said Bajaj .

Her designer rakhi package comprises not just the threads, but also presentation trays and gift-wrapping.

Bajaj’s idea has really caught on with her clientele. “Using colour themes for presenting rakhis has been a successful experiment. Individuals usually prefer a particular colour. For example, if someone has a penchant for blue, we will arrange blue rakhis on a blue tray with flowers and pearls of the same colour. Even chocolates are packed according to the colour theme,” said Bajaj.

The price of these customised sets begins at Rs 200. However, colour themes are not all. There is a lot more to follow.

“Apart from colour themes, cartoons, jewellery and orchids are also part of rakhi this year. For children, rakhis often become something they can play with and for toddlers it barely lasts beyond the first few minutes of tying it. We have tried to make rakhis which can attract the attention of kids,” she said.

Hence we find the edible and Pokemon rakhis on display.

“Children love sweets. We have candy and jelly rakhis with stickers of famous cartoon characters on them. So, the children can eat the rakhis after they get tired of keeping them on their wrists. The craze for Pokemon and Spiderman cartoon strips gave us the idea. Rakhis with clay and plastic figurines of ‘Winnie the Pooh’ and rubber tools of ‘Bob the builder’ are also huge hits this year,” said Cherry Bajaj, Shakun’s daughter and business partner.

Rakhi, said Bajaj, is also tied on the wrists of sisters in marwari families. “Our delicate pink coloured collection is for them,” she said.

“We have tried to customise rakhis for everyone,” said Bajaj. While a set of silver accessories make up the package for newly-wed brides, those interested in feng shui can take there their pick of feng shui rakhis, she said. “The good luck, orchid and antique rakhis have also caught on to the imagination of the people,” she added.