As a child, I remember waking up on every Raksha Bandhan, knowing perfectly well that it would be a day of dressing up in traditional Indian clothes, tying one of those flimsy red-and-yellow threads around my brother’s wrists, and gorging on that sinful box of Cadbury Celebrations that would eventually make its way to me as compensation for my parents’ forgetfulness as they’d often forget to buy me a present on behalf of my younger brother.

As I grew older, I demanded that my brother also tie a flimsy red-and-yellow thread around my petite wrist for I, as the elder sibling, often took care of him, instead of the other way round. My parents agreed and everybody was happy. At least, until I discovered how temporary and useless these threadbare rakhis were. With their frayed ends and fading colours, every Rakhi we ever bought (even those fancy expensive ones) would eventually end up in the dustbin with no use whatsoever. Although, with Nicobar’s new range of brass rakhis, I don’t think I have to worry about that anymore.

Talisman is Nicobar’s latest collection of rakhis meant to last for years. The rakhis in this collection double up as quaint little charms that can be worn around your neck as well. From alphabets in Devanagari script to Indian spices like cardamom and cowri shells found at the bottom of our oceans, this collection is the perfect blend of Indian traditions and 21st-century aesthetic and style. The charms are cast in brass and plated in gold; they come attached with the mauli, the sacred red thread. But once the thread wears off, you can replace the thread with a chain and voila, it’s something quirky yet meaningful to add to your personal style statement.

So if you’re like me—the kind that waits till the last minute to do their Rakhi shopping because nothing’s ever pretty enough in the market, then head over to a nearby Nicobar store for one of these long-term wardrobe additions.

You can also purchase it online on Nicobar’s website.