• Ties of the Raksha Bandhan kind

    Submitted by ITV Production on Aug 28

    By Papri Das

    For years Raksha Bandhan has been a symbol of how India upholds the bond between brothers and sisters. This ancient tradition allows sisters to tie decorated threads around their brothers wrists in return for a promise to protect them. It was later relaunched by scholar and Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore with a renewed gusto to propagate brotherhood amongst men and women from different religions, and then later the festival got a whole new makeover as we got more and more consumeristic.

    But in essence, Raksha Bandhan remains the same as anticipatory fervours of the festival are felt weeks in advance as shops pop up decking the Indian streets with colourful Rakhis and sweet shops rev up their preparation for the day. It is the perfect time for immediate and extended families to get together and have fun with cousins.

    But luck doesn?t favour all in this regard, especially our busy media executives who are so caught up in their schedules that their chance of a full fledged Raksha Bandhan holiday looks bleak. Take the popular brother sister pair Sajid Khan and Farah Khan from the film industry for example. Farah Khan, who has been religiously tying a Rakhi to her brother as well as Sajid Nadiadwala for years, had to leave the country to shoot a song sequence for Dilwale in Iceland for her upcoming movie this year. And so she celebrated the festival a week in advance before leaving for the shoot. ?It?s unfortunate that Farah won?t be with me this Rakhi but she has already tied Rakhi on my hand a few days back before going for the shoot,? Sajid Khan tells Exec Lifestyle.

    When asked about how he typically celebrates the day, Khan shares, ?Apart from my immediate sisters, I have many Rakhi sisters. While it's true I might not be able to meet them regularly, I do keep in touch with them on a daily basis. I make sure I catch up with them on Rakhi and go out for lunch or something. ?When it comes to Rakhi gifts, Sajid prefers to keep it simple and go with the classics. This year Sajid has gifted Farah a couple of perfumes from her favourite brands.

    Buying a gift remains a complicated process for adman and co-founder of Sideways, Abhijit Avasthi, who has twenty two sisters from either sides of his family, including his Ashima Avasthi - senior creative director at BBC Worldwide. But that doesn?t stop Abhijit from going out of his way to handpick gifts for each of them in accordance with their taste, style and preference.

    ?Raksha Bandhan has always been a special festival for me, since I am the oldest amongst all my sisters. The day usually plays out like a family feature film with all brothers and sisters gathering under one roof and enjoying to our hearts content!? shared Abhijit, jokingly thanking Exec Life for the reminder as he now has to start buying gifts.

    As a child, television producer from Playtime Creations Hemal Thakkar too spent hours deciding on what to gift his sister, Vaishali, who is a popular actress in television industry. Now that she is all grown up, Hemal does it the smart way and instead gifts her in cash. ?Finding a gift that suits their taste is a hard nut to crack and it gets more and more difficult each year. My sisters have all grown up and become independent. I know they appreciate it more when I leave it to them to choose what they want. "When asked what he likes as a return gift, Thakkar shares, ?I have a sweet tooth so my sisters bring me all sorts of sweet dishes and that totally makes my day.?

    Other brother - sister duos in the industry who are known to share a close bond include advertising honcho Piyush Pandey and actress - singer Ila Arun, BAG Films managing director Anurradha Prasad and Minister of Communications and Information Technology Ravi Shankar Prasad, actor Tushar and Balaji Telefilms? Ekta Kapoor and Rose Audio Visuals? Shrishti Arya and filmmaker Goldie Behl amongst others. We wish them all a very happy Raksha Bandhan from the team of Indiantelevision.com.

    indiantelevision.com Team
    exec_life_image
  • Five brands riding the Raksha Bandhan wave

    Submitted by ITV Production on Aug 28

    Come any festival and brands are quick to jump the ?special promotion? bandwagon of how to colour themselves in light of the occasion. And the unique Indian festival Raksha Bandhan that celebrates the bond between a brother and sister gives brands that perfect opportunity. 

    From special product launches on online shopping portals, to coupons, limited edition offers, free gifts and hampers to marketing on special concepts for the season, brands have gone all out this year to make Raksha Bandhan a special affair.

    While this is a common practice, there are many brands who stepped above the noise and used a sensible and thoughtful approach to their promotions. Here are a few of them:

    1. Cadbury: When it comes to special family occasions there is no product better placed than Cadbury in bringing out the festival?s flavour, especially for Raksha Bandhan. Time and again, Cadbury Celebrations, has been the saviour for those forgetful brothers, who remember to buy a gift for their sister in the very last minute. This year, the brand has focused on the ?khatta meetha? or love hate relationship between brothers and sisters.

    The new Cadbury Celebrations TVC from Contract Advertising sheds light upon the fact that the aim of the festival has shifted from just being about protecting sisters, to deepening the bond between brother and sister through playful banter.

    2. Blue Dart: For those brothers and sisters who are separated by distance and cannot reach each other physically, Blue Dart has come up with a unique service called the ?Rakhi Express.? With a wide network of 34,285 locations across India and 220 countries and territories worldwide, every sister can now send Rakhis anywhere in India or internationally and be assured of timely and secured delivery. What?s more, apart from their return gift from their brothers, they can now expect exciting gifts from the delivery service provider as well. Lucky girls can win an iPhone 6 and 50 Titan Wrist Watches on domestic shipments and Rs 1000 worth talktime for two winners daily on international shipments. All they have to do is fill a slogan form that makes them eligible for a lucky draw.

    3. Best Deal TV: The home shopping channel, which is known for getting popular actors on board as brand ambassadors, has stressed on the time factor this Raksha Bandhan. Understanding how busy lives get post childhood, and how little we get to spend with our sibling, this Rakhi, the channel encourages its viewers to treasure the time they get on the day with their sibling. To reinforce the idea, Best Deal TV launched their special offer on the theme ?Rishton Ki Ghari, Ghari Ke Saath.? The channel is giving away wristwatches from the house of Tim Berto with every purchase of over Rs 1999 from their channel or site.

    4. Foodpanda: Food is an intricate part of any festival and Raksha Bandhan is no exception. In fact, Rakhi would be incomplete without the delectable dishes and sweets that are associated with the festival. In order to make your gastronomical experience better this Rakhi, online food delivery portal Foodpanda has come up with several offers, wherein customers can avail of discount up to 30 per cent from eating outlets across cities if they order via Foodpanda.

    5. When everyone is cashing in on this festive occasion, why should social networking giant, Facebook be left behind? This Raksha Bandhan, Facebook has come up with a shopping festival with a ?Tied Together? initiative that works perfectly for the occasion. According to a media report, Facebook has set up a website in association with GroupM, wherein Facebook would use its subscriber base and platform to drive traffic to the shopping site. While not entirely thoughtful, it is a clever way to launch the shopping festival at an appropriate time.

    indiantelevision.com Team
    exec_life_image
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