The festival of Raksha Bandhan honours the special bond between siblings. On this day, sisters tie a rakhi (thread) around their brothers’ wrists, binding them to each other with love. Raksha Bandhan literally means ‘the knot of protection’.

This is a simple gesture with much significance. In 1905, the great Rabindranath Tagore used it to unite the people of Bengal when the British sought to divide Hindus and Muslims for political ends.

In a show of solidarity, the people of Bengal took to the streets and tied rakhis on one another. The statement was clear: Do not divide us. We are all brothers and sisters here. We stand up for each other.

We believe that it is as important to come together today as it was back then. So, for the past few years at Raksha Bandhan, we have revived Rabindranath-ji’s tradition by inviting our guests and team to tie rakhis on someone of a different faith, nationality or culture, as a knot of protection.

This year Raksha Bandhan falls on 30th August, and, on this day, upon asking your server for a rakhi, we will once again gift you one in all our cafés.

We hope you will join us in this humble act of brother and sisterhood.

Do read our blog post reflecting on Raksha Bandhan. And we look forward to seeing you in our cafés.

Happy Raksha Bandhan!