Lucknow: Five widowed women from Vrindavan and Varanasi met Prime Minister Narendra Modi at his residence in New Delhi on Friday and tied Rakhi to him on the occasion of Raksha Bandhan.
Hundreds of widowed women living in ashrams in Vrindavan and Varanasi consider Modi their brother and prepare Rakhis for him every year. This year, more than 1,100 special Rakhis were handcrafted by the women and presented to the Prime Minister.
Women prepare special rakhis
With the support of Sulabh International, the women prepared the Rakhis and a group of them was brought to Delhi for the meeting with Modi.
The five women who had the opportunity to tie Rakhi to the Prime Minister were Maa Shobha Adhikari and Maa Sota Devi from Varanasi, and Maa Geeta Dasi, Maa Pushpa Adhikari and Maa Menka Mandal from Vrindavan.
Meeting with the prime minister
The women said Modi enquired about their well-being during the meeting and expressed his gratitude for the Rakhis they had prepared for him.
The widowed women of Vrindavan and Varanasi have been sending Rakhis to Modi for several years. For them, Raksha Bandhan is an occasion to express their affection for the Prime Minister, whom they regard as their brother.
The women said they felt privileged to have met Modi personally and tied Rakhi to him on the festival.
