Tripura CM Manik Saha celebrated the festival of Bhai Dooj with women party workers in Agartala on Sunday.
Speaking to ANI, CM Saha expressed his delight in celebrating the festival with party members, which he hadn’t experienced before joining the party.
“We all celebrate the festival of Bhai Dooj in our house. But I experienced celebrating the festival with the party when I joined the BJP. Last year also, the sisters from the party came to celebrate Bhai Dooj. Today also, they have come here to celebrate the festival,” he said.
Bhai Dooj is known by several names in other parts of India. In North India, it is known as Bhai Dooj, Bhau Bij, and Bhai Beej, and in Maharashtra, this day is celebrated as Bhai Tika. This day is celebrated as Bhai Phonta in Bengal.
In the southern regions of India, particularly in Karnataka and Telangana, Bhai Dooj is celebrated as Yama Dwitiya. The mythology behind this celebration is that Goddess Yamuna fed her brother Yamraj at her own home on the day of Kartik Dwitiya. Since then, this day has been recognised and celebrated as Yama Dwitiya.
Sisters apply tilak to their brother’s foreheads and follow other rituals such as fasting and puja on this day to wish them a long and prosperous life. In return, brothers give their sisters a gift and promise to always protect them. Raksha Bandhan and Bhai Dooj are quite similar up to an extent, however, on Bhai Dooj, sisters do not tie a thread or Rakhi on the wrists of their brothers like they do on Raksha Bandhan.
Numerous ancient Hindu scriptures have mentioned Bhai Dooj as a celebration of bonding and eternal love between brothers and sisters. There are several tales associated with the origin of the occasion and the most well-known are those of Lord Krishna and Yamraj.