Since time immemorial, we as a society have been celebrating Rakshabandan as the festival when brothers promise to protect their sisters.
But we wonder why?
In today’s world when women are shattering every stereotype, then why a major part of our society still expects only brothers to protect sisters. And not the other way around?
Breaking exactly this myth is one brave sister, Anushka, who believes that when it comes to sibling’s love genders shouldn’t matter.
And, we couldn’t agree more.
While sharing her inspiring story of how she fought hard to save her brother from dying, Anushka shared with Lifebeyondnumbers:
“Like everyone else, we used to have a small celebration in our home with family members and relatives during rakhi. I have one elder sister and one younger brother and on this day, my favorite part is to bully my brother and ask for as many gifts as possible.”
But things changed last year. When Anushka’s brother met with a fatal accident.
Last year in February, Anushka’s brother Saurabh fell off from a crowded train and suffered fatal brain injuries.
What Happened?
On February 23 2018, Anushka’s brother, Saurabh left home to board a train towards his office.
But in a split second, Saurabh’s life changed forever.
The train was crowded as usual and Saurabh stood near the door as there was no place to move inside. A sudden jolt from a fellow passenger behind him made Saurabh fall off the train, and he became unconscious on the railway tracks.
It was only a few minutes later that he was rushed to a nearby hospital by a fellow passenger.
When the doctors informed Saurabh’s family that his condition was critical and that the treatment would come up to Rs. 25 lakh, the middle-class family felt heartbroken and hopeless.
But Anushka refused to give up.
She gathered all her courage to fight against the financial circumstances to make sure she saves her brother:
“My brother was in a very bad condition and there were very few chances of him surviving. My whole group of friends and office helped me mentally, physically and financially and gave my family the strength to overcome the situation.
I also opted for charities and financial help, to make my brother stand back on his own feet and get him back to a normal life,”
She successfully managed to raise Rs. 11 lakh with the help of 407 donors, most of them were complete strangers.
“Television personalities such as Hina Khan, Divyanka Tripathi, Gautam Rode, Hiten Tejwani, among others retweeted the campaign and helped it reach as many people as possible,”
“It was truly an overwhelming experience to see such support from not only our loved ones, but complete strangers who could have turned a blind eye to us, but in turn, decided to help,”
For people who believe girls are weak, Anushka shared how she and her sister turned into the powerhouse of strength and support for her family:
“Even though I and my sister came across several difficult situations, but it affected both of us when my brother had this fatal accident. In such circumstances, when your mind defies all logic and you can hardly figure out the right things to be done or taken care of, both of us stood by our parents as a pillar of support.”
As we celebrate the courage and determination of Anushka, we are extremely happy that Saurabh has not only survived a fatal accident but is also back to good health.
We think it is a high time that we stop preaching our kids that only brothers can do ‘Raksha’ of their sisters.
Because, when it comes to sibling love, girls like Anushka are showing the society that genders don’t matter.
A humble request to all readers of I For Her:
