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The Art of Gifting: How Bhai Phonta Strengthens Bonds Beyond Blessings - GetBengal Story

22 October, 2025 17:12:13
The Art of Gifting: How Bhai Phonta Strengthens Bonds Beyond Blessings - GetBengal Story

Bhai Phonta, also referred to as Bhai Dooj in other areas of India, is one of the most sentimental festivals of Bengal. It honors the genuine connection that exists between brothers and sisters, a connection based on love, laughter, concern, and, of course, a plethora of experiences. The festival takes place not long after the celebrations of Kali Puja and Diwali - when the light from earthen lamps flames the houses and the fragrance of incense and sweets generally fills the air.

Bhai Phonta is a devote and loving day for sisters that is totally different than for brothers. Women fast until the ritual and get up early to take a holy bath and to make a decorative phonta thali containing sandalwood paste, sweets, fruits, flowers, and a flame in a diya. When the auspicious time arrives, the sisters perform the ritual and apply the sacred dot (called a phonta) made with sandalwood paste, ghee, and other sacred substances on their brothers’ foreheads, while the brothers exchange blessings for health, happiness, and prosperity. 

As with any Bengali festival, Bhai Phonta is meaningless without gifts to give and food to share. The dining table becomes an elaborate thousands-of-years-old collage of foods: luchi, aloor dum, cholar dal, payesh, rosogolla, chomchom, etc. Sisters enjoy preparing their brothers' favorite foods, and sharing lovingly prepared Bengali foods adds warmth and happiness to the gaiety of the occasion.

Gifting is one of the most delightful aspects of Bhai Phonta. Sisters play a very excellent role in delighting their brothers with very special gifts that show their love and care. Some choose to gift their brothers books, or items that can be displayed, and in some cases, even clothes like a nice shirt or stole. Others prefer more practical yet nice gifts like a bag or a handmade product. Getting gifts for both boys and girls is usually a category I must consider. In many Bengali homes, sisters also gift food hampers or boxes with healthy, traditional Bengali foods. Included might be organic ghee, honey, kasundi, aam gur and homemade achar (pickle). Each one has its meaning: ghee as nourishment, honey as sweet, kasundi as spicy, aam gur as something from the past, or the pickle as remembrance; together, they also reflect flavors from love.

Brothers also respond in kind with meaningful gifts. They typically gift their sisters beautiful sarees in various fabrics and colors, which is classic yet timeless. They may also gift their sisters books, jewelry, showpieces, or wellness hampers that reflect their sisters' personalities. Giving and receiving gifts, encapsulated in love, becomes a process of thanking each other for being in each other's lives.

As the sun sets, laughter still reverberates through homes. The phonta on the brother's forehead begins to wear off, but the joy it symbolizes remains bright and evident — a reminder that distance or any differences will never bend or break the bond of people like a brother and sister.

In a rapidly moving world, Bhai Phonta invites us to stop, to remember, to appreciate a bond that is forever warm. For we know that every phonta, every gift, and every meal shared tells the same ageless tale — this of love and care, and the unbreakable vow that ties families together. 

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