On the second day (duj) of the bright, or waxing, half of the lunar month of Kartik (October–November), an annual celebration is held.
This event honors the connection between a brother (bhaiya) and a sister.
- Married ladies bring their brothers into their houses for Bhaiya Duj, when they place tika markings on their brothers' foreheads as a symbol of respect and give them sweets and a substantial dinner.
- Sisters also tie a thread around their brothers' right wrists to represent their emotional connection and the brother's responsibility to safeguard his sister for the rest of her life.
- In their natal households, unmarried ladies entertain their brothers in the same manner.
In any event, on this day, ladies should pray for their brothers' long lives and for their own happy marriages.
- The sisters, in turn, get gifts from their brothers.
- This celebration not only reaffirms the usual familial affection between brother and sister, but it also highlights the protective role that brothers play in the lives of their sisters, especially when they marry.
- Married women in northern India have traditionally lived with their husbands' families.
Because women outlast their dads, a woman's main guardians will be her brothers throughout the most of her life.
- A lady who does not have brothers is in a vulnerable situation.
- These annual visits offer brothers the opportunity to evaluate their sister's happiness and the condition of things in her married household, if nothing else.
- These visits also serve as a reminder to the husband's family that they are still concerned about her well-being.
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