Mumbai, Aug 24 (IANS) Raksha Bandhan, marking the start of the festive season, was celebrated Tuesday with fervour in Maharashtra as sisters tied rakhis (decorative threads) on the wrists of their brothers and fishermen marked the beginning of the fishing season.

Several sex workers at the red light area of Kamathipura in south Mumbai tied rakhis on the wrists of social workers and volunteers of various NGOs.

Kolis, the fishermen community of the coastal state, celebrated the festival as "Nariyali Poornima". These original inhabitants of Mumbai worshipped the sea and prayed for a prosperous fishing season.

Kolis offered prayers to Lord Varuna for invoking his blessings. As part of the Rakhi rituals, coconuts were thrown into the sea as offerings to Lord Varuna.

Fisherwomen applied vermillion on each other's foreheads as a symbol of prosperity.

Women were seen dressed in colourful outfits, while most men sported rakhis on their wrists.

Raksha Bandhan celebrates the bond of love between brothers and sisters. On the occasion, a sister ties a rakhi on her brother’s wrist and in turn he gives her gifts and vows to protect her.