An Observance of Raksha Bandhan

31 August 2010
Elderly Person tie ribbon to BC.JPG

The Krishnanagar Aikyo Sammilani Cooperation Circle of West Bengal observed "Raksha Bandhan," a festival known by the tying of a sacred thread of protection.

Embellished with the love and affection, the thread tied around the wrist binds the participants in a beautiful relationship, an inseparable bond of love and trust.

Attended by 200 or more people from various communities, the event made a great impact in the local area.  With the marvelous and gracious hospitality of Fr. Sukumar Sarkar, the 3-hour program moved many people and motivated the crowd to promote the PPP of URI.  Comments were made by teachers and social workers with strong messages calling for interfaith action for social justice and communal harmony. Throughout the event people were happy to participate in creating the threads and knotting the Rakhi to each other. Hindus, Christiana, and Muslims came together for a peaceful community even. The short URI video, "We Unite," was screened. Children participated in dancing and singing, which moved everyone.

Biswadeb Chakraborty delivered the keynote and conducted a short question and answer session.  After the event, there was a small group discussion on the growth of regional interfaith action, where CC members spoke about the need for capacity building and training. 

After the event Biswadeb was interviewed on television, where he spoke about the growth of URI in the region and its plans.  He welcomed like-minded people and organizations to be part of URI to promote peace in the region.