Forgoing the hometown visit due to COVID, Gurgaon's working professionals to celebrate Raksha Bandhan virtually

For Kanika Awasthi, this year marks the first Raksha Bandhan when she is not going to be tying the Rakhi on her brother's wrist. The 28-year-old IT professional is in Gurgaon while her brother is in Mumbai and unlike previous years, she is not too keen on travelling back home. "Initially I wanted to go home for Rakhi like every year, but my family discouraged me," she tells us.Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a number of working professionals in the Millennium City are forgoing a chance to travel home to be with their siblings this Raksha Bandhan. For all of them, the festival will be a virtual celebration this year.
Gurgaon is the adopted home for thousands of young working professionals, who move to the city from other places across India for work. For them, festivals like Raksha Bandhan are an occasion to take leave from office and visit their families. This year, however, many are choosing to not travel back due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Rishi Kumar, who hails from a small town two hours from Lucknow, says, "It's not as if travelling is impossible. It's just risky. For instance, there is no direct flight to my hometown, so I'd have to take a train or bus after a flight to Lucknow. It's just not worth the risk."
Given that Raksha Bandhan was falling after a weekend, many had planned a visit back home for Raksha Bandhan at the beginning of the year itself. However, COVID stalled those plans. Ratika Sirohi, a software engineer from Muzaffarnagar, tells us, "It was supposed to be a long weekend and I had plans to go to my hometown. But with COVID, that is quite risky. Initially, my brother thought he would come down to Gurgaon but now we have decided to celebrate it over a video call instead."
However, not meeting doesn't mean there won’t be any long distance celebrations. "Every year, my sister ties me a Rakhi and then we go for a movie. This year, since we both will be working from home, we have set aside time to watch a movie on our laptops together. Distance shouldn't mean you let go of your rituals," says 24-year-old Abhijeet Awasthi, whose sister lives in Jodhpur.