Bhai Phota 2024: Bhai Phota, a Bengali festival celebrating the bond between brothers and sisters, typically falls on the second day of Shukla Paksha — the bright fortnight of the Hindu month of Kartika, the seventh month in the Bengali calendar — right after the Diwali celebrations. The Bengali calendar's festive season, which begins with Durga Puja, culminates with Bhai Phota celebrated across Bengal and by Bengalis elsewhere. Also called Bhatri Dwitiya, the festival is a Bengali variant of Bhai Dooj, which is celebrated in other parts of India, and holds similar significance.
Like in Bhai Dooj, during Bhai Phota sisters pray for the well-being and long life of their brothers, marking the occasion with a ritual that involves applying a ceremonial mark (phota/tilak) on their brother's forehead. The tilak is usually a mix of sandalwood paste, homemade kohl (kajal), curd, ghee, and also cow dung and dew drops. It's a ritual in the Bengali households to get up early and set out to collect the morning dew from grass or paddy leaves in fields for the purpose. Afterward, the younger sibling seeks blessings, and the elder one returns the gesture by placing dhaan (paddy seeds) and durba (doob grass) on the head.
The sisters recite a specific rhyme while applying the phota, wishing for their brother’s prosperity and long life. Brothers, in return, vow to protect their sisters and often give them gifts as a token of love.
The ceremony is followed by a vegetarian feast comprising typical Bengali food items such as luchi, sweets, and other delicacies.
This year, Bhai Phota will be celebrated on Sunday, November 3.
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'Bhaier Kopale Dilam Phota...'
Bhai Phota has a lot of fascinating stories attatched to it, with the tale of Yama and Yamuna being one of the most cherished. According to legend, Yamuna invited her brother, Yama, the God of Death, to her home many times, but he never visited. It is believed that the day he finally accepted her invitation and visited her was the second day of Shukla Paksha in the month of Kartik.
An overjoyed Yamuna welcomed him warmly, placed a tilak on his forehead, and served him sweets and other delicacies. Before leaving, as per legend, Yama offered her a boon, and she wished for this day to forever celebrate the bond between siblings. Thus began the Bhai Phota celebrations on this day.
On this day, while applying the phota or tilak on the brother's forehead, Bengali women recite a traditional verse, wishing for his long life.
"Bhaier kopale dilam phota,
Jomer duare porlo kanta,
Yamuna dey Jom ke phota,
Ami di amar bhai ke phota."
Loosely translated, the words mean: “As I place this tilak on my brother’s forehead, I pray for his immortality. Just as Yamuna marked Yama's forehead with this tilak, I do the same for my brother.”
This rhyme has been passed down for generations, though the verses and rituals may vary slightly from region to region and family to family.