Girls select rakhis at a shop in Bhubaneswar. Picture by Ashwinee Pati

Bhubaneswar, Aug. 19: Out-of-the-box rakhis are in this season.

From silver rakhis to those with cartoon motifs, there is a wide range of quirky stuff for sisters to choose from this time.

Rakhis on popular cartoon characters such as Spiderman, Bal Ganesh, Pokemon, Angry Birds and Despicable Me have flooded the markets in Cuttack and Bhubaneswar, much to the delight of kids. However, elders prefer more sophisticated ones. Packets that offer items such as sandalwood, vermilion and rice along with the pious thread, are also attracting customers.

“We have items ranging from Rs 2 to Rs 250. We are doing great business this week,” said Chandan Biswal, who has set up his rakhi kiosk near Kalpana Square.

Jewellery shops are selling silver rakhis on the occasion. These can cost between Rs 500 and Rs 2,000 depending on the craftsmanship. Shoppers at these places mostly consist of young girls seeking unconventional rakhis that look like stylish wristbands.

“The market is full of various types of rakhis, but I was looking for something stylish and out-of-the-box. I wasn’t bothered much about the price. I selected this silver bracelet rakhi that my brother can also wear after the festival,” said Smrutilipi, who bought it from a jewellery shop on Janpath. Many are also ordering rakhis online.

The Jagannath temple in Puri is also set to celebrate the festival. Goddess Subhadra will be seen tying rakhis on the wrist of her brothers — Lord Jagannath and Lord Balabhadra at the Puri Jagannath temple. The temple administration and servitors have made preparations for the rituals.

Huge rakhis for Lord Jagannath and Lord Balabhadra come from Jagannath Patra’s family ever year.

“We have been making the rakhis for this occasion for 25 years now. This is a service or seva our family provides during paita lagi or the chita lagi rituals of the temple. Four rakhis are made, one for each wrist of the brothers. Each has a diameter of 15 inches,” said 67-year-old Patra.

“We first dye the threads in colours such as green, yellow, blue and red. After drying them, we weave them and make tiers out of the threads. There are a lot of procedures involved and making the four rakhis takes about 20 days,” said his son Santosh Patra. The rakhi rituals of the temple will be held early on tomorrow morning.