Raksha Bandhan 2017: 103-year-old Sharbati Devi tied rakhi to PM Narendra Modi today.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had a busy Raksha Bandhan at his official residence on Lok Kalyan Marg where he celebrated the festival with an eclectic mix of guests -- a 103-year-old wheelchair-bound woman, widows from Vrindavan and schoolgirls. He also received wishes from his rakhi sister, who lives in Gujarat but is originally from Pakistan.
Sharbati Devi, the centenarian who lost her brother 50 years ago and misses him, wrote to PM Modi, who invited her to celebrate the festival with him. She looked happy as she tied him a rakhi.
Besides Sharbati Devi, PM Modi had also invited little girls, some of whom came dressed in pretty clothes and others in their school uniforms, to tie rakhis.
Little girls dressed in their school uniforms tied rakhi on PM Narendra Modi's wrist. (PTI Photo)
He was also visited by schoolgirls some of whom turned up in their best dresses while others stuck to their school uniforms.
Widows from Vrindavan brought around 1,500 beautiful handcrafted rakhis which had a smiling picture of the Prime Minister of the country as the centrepiece.
By evening, PM Modi's forearm was wrapped in colourful threads and he was surrounded by love and warmth.
Group of widows traveled from Vrindavan to tie rakhis to Prime Minister Modi. (PTI Photo)
PM Modi, who does not have a biological sister, has been inviting little girls for Raksha Bandhan for several years now. Last year, Olympic bronze medallist wrestler Sakshi Malik tied rakhi to him.
His rakhi sister from Pakistan, Qamar Mohsin Shaikh, told news agency ANI that she has been tying rakhi to the Prime Minister for the "last 22-23 years".
She said that her first Rakshan Bandhan with Prime Minister Modi was when he was a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) worker.
"When I first tied rakhi to Narendra
bhai, he was a
karyakarta but with his sheer hardwork and vision he has become the PM," she told ANI.