‘Kothali’ witnesses new trend during pandemic

Ravinder Saini

Tribune News Service

Rohtak, July 20

The Covid pandemic has changed the trend of centuries-old tradition of ‘kothali’ with brothers transferring money to sister’s’ bank account through mobile apps for buying sweets in place of personally visiting them as a precautionary measure to protect them from the deadly virus. The trend is being witnessed especially in Covid hotspot areas.

‘Kothali’ is a popular tradition in which brothers take sweets to their married sister’s house as a ‘shagun’ on the occasion of ‘Teej’ festival. The sisters also eagerly wait for their brothers. Teej will be celebrated on July 23.

“My elder brother used to come to my house every year to give ‘kothali’ on Teej, but this time, he transferred Rs 2,000 as shagun into my bank account in place of coming to Rohtak from Delhi. It was for the first time in the past 16 years when my brother will not come on Teej due to the pandemic,” said Sangeeta Rani, a housewife.

Parveen Tondwal, an architect, said his sister resided in Sonepat, which was among the four top Covid hotspot districts in the state. “I was planning to travel to my sister’s house on Sunday to give kothali, but she called me up asking not to come this time as the infection was wreaking havoc in her locality, hence I had to cancel the plan, but transferred the Teej shagun online into her bank account,” Tondwal added.

Lalit of Najafgarh (Delhi) also followed the same trend by giving ‘shagun’ to his elder sister residing in Gurugram through Paytm.

“Precaution is the only option to avoid Covid infection hence my brother did not come to Rohtak from Faridabad this time and sent the money for ‘kothali’ online. I will also send ‘rakhi’ to my brother by post on ‘Raksha Bandhan’ if the situation does not change. No one should take the risk of travelling in these conditions if it’s avoidable,” said Seema, a teacher.This new trend has also taken a toll on the sale of ‘ghevar’ and other sweets. “Ghevar has been a vital part of ‘kothali’ hence the brothers do not forget buying ghevar for their sisters on Teej but this time, the sale of ghevar has gone down drastically as people are hesitating in buying sweets due to the Covid fear,” said Dharampal Kataria, a sweetshop owner.

Brothers Transfer money to sisters online

Brothers transfer ‘shagun’ for sisters online, but stay away from visiting them as a precautionary measure, especially in Covid hotspots.

Know about ‘Kothali’

‘Kothali’ is a popular tradition in which brothers take sweets to their married sister’s house as a ‘shagun’ on the occasion of ‘Teej’ festival. The sisters also eagerly wait for their brothers. Teej will be celebrated on July 23.