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There’s no denying the fact that India is a land of rich cultural diversity. Spread over 3.287 Mn sq. km., India is home to a variety of people from diverse cultures and backgrounds. And that is quite evident if you travel in India, you can see the language and food change at every 100 kms (at the least). Just as the food and language change, the festivals we celebrate also change. Be it the Baisakhi, Diwali, Eid or Christmas, all the festivals are celebrated with great pomp and glory.
One such festival is Rakshabandhan that emphases on the relationship between a brother and sister. On this day, sisters tie a rakhi, around the wrists of their brothers, symbolically protecting them, receiving a gift in return, and traditionally investing the brothers with a share of the responsibility of their potential care.
A rakhi can be as simple as a thread or as luxe as a gold bracelet. What matters is the belief and faith behind it. However, over the years people have realized the value of sustainable living and are turning to greener products to protect the environment. And the festival of Rakshabandhan has turn towards this cause too with the introduction of plantable Rakhi. In this post, I’ll be talking about what is plantable rakhi, how it works and what you can expect from a plantable rakhi. Thanks to my sister for sending in a plantable rakhi this time 🙂
What is a Plantable Rakhi ?
As mentioned earlier, a rakhi can be of many forms – from a simple thread to a gold bracelet. Rakhis generally have a thread with a bigger pendant like pattern stuck to it. However, a plantable rakhi is different. It is made of bio degradable material which means it will decompose completely. Unlike other rakhis that have a lot of other items in the pendant like plastic, fiber and what not. Further, the pendant of a plantable rakhi is embedded with seeds of some plant. Usually these plants are the ones that can be grown easily in a kitchen garden.
How does a plantable rakhi work ?
AS the name says, a plantable rakhi can be planted in a pot. Many people in India wear a rakhi for a long time even after the festival is over. Some take them off their wrists and tie to a tree while others leave them in a river. With plantable rakhi, you just need to put your rakhi into a pot with some soil. Pour some water regularly, ensure adequate sunlight reaches it and voila you shall see a plant growing soon !
My experience with Plantable Rakhi
This year one of my cousin sister decided to send me a plantable rakhi. I got this package delivered via Amazon. It’s a cute little box with a small mug made from coconut husk which is completely biodegradable. It had the rakhi embedded with seeds. It also had a small portion of teeka and rice. And lastly it had a small manure cake that will help the plant grow. The manure cake fills the entire mug once water is added to it. Also, it had a broken pencil with few mustard seeds at one end. Had no idea what was to be done with it :/
After the day was over, I took the mug and added the manure cake to it. Poured in a about 25-50 ml of water and saw the manure cake expanding and eventually filling the entire mug. After that, I removed the rakhi and placed in under a soil as per the instructions. Also, I had to idea what to do with the pencil, so removed the mustard seeds and planted the pencil in soil too. There are some other plants in my house, so also added a little bit of soil too. Kept it on the balcony for the plant to grow.
Watered it every alternate day and in about 5 days I saw a couple of tiny twigs just peeping from the soil. My happiness had no bounds. Never have I ever planted anything that grew 😛 Another week passed and another and finally I have a good sized twig with just two leaves. This is when I realized that plants grow at such a slow pace. Now you know, why this blog post came in so late.
Everyday I used have a look at the mug to see if there was any change in it. Also, the weather gods in Hyderabad have taken over from the Sun God. Last few weeks has been completely wet and rainy all day which meant very less sunlight. I hope this plant actually grows to something ! I also wonder, what happened to all the other seeds ?
Try the Plantable Rakhi, it’s fun
For anyone who’s completely new to gardening, the plantable rakhi is a perfect rakhi. It gives all the required items and seeds of plants that grow quickly. It requires absolutely zero knowledge about plants, soil etc. Simply follow the instructions and you’re good to go. Once the plant attains a certain size, you can very well transfer it to a bigger pot. I’m still trying to figure out as to what happened with the other seeds since I see only one plant coming out ? Do you have any idea ? Please mention in the comments below or tweet to me at @Atulmaharaj or DM me on Instagram.
Oh wow. I have heard about plantable invitation cards and papers and even pencil. This is so awesome.
Thanks Feliciaji, I was surprised too after receiving this.
What a beautiful concept! Not only does it strengthen the bond between siblings but once sown, gives life to a plant. It is like sealing a relationship for eternity.
Sealing a relationship for eternity – such beautiful lines. Now it makes me want to meet you even more Dipaliji, thanks for dropping by:)
This is something new for me, I never heard about it before and I absolutely loved the concept. By adapting such practices, we can do out bit toward Mother Nature also.
True, sustainable celebration as I’d call it. Thanks for dropping by Vartikaji:)
Seeing a seed grow from scratch is a beautiful feeling. Also adding creativity in festivals makes it a little more interesting thing to do
Oh yes, I’ve never been so excited about gardening and plants. A pure joy to see a seed grow!
This is awesome I’ve heard about plantable rakhis and pencils. Though I’ve such pencils wch were gifted to my kids, I would love to and remember for next time to get a plantable rakhi for my bros..
I was surprised when I received it, I’m sure your brother would find it amusing too.