Bhai Dooj, or Bhai Beej as it is called in Gujarat, is Tuesday 10 November 2026, the last day of Diwali. The sister applies tilak, the brother eats what she has made, and a gift changes hands in both directions. It is the smallest of the five days and, in our experience, the one people leave until the morning of. Here is what we make for it, and the dates that stop it being a last-minute thing.

The tilak thali

The tilak thali is simple: roli or kumkum, chawal, a diya, a sweet, a coconut or a dry coconut piece, and a kalawa or a flower. Most families use whatever steel plate is nearest. The 6 inch Ganesha roli plate, ₹699, is a tilak plate that stays a tilak plate: two gold cups for the kumkum and chawal, pearl beading, a Ganesh at the centre, eight colours, and it arrives in a gift box with a gifting bag. A sister who buys one uses it every Bhai Dooj and every Raksha Bandhan after that.

If you would rather have the names on it, the 6 inch Ganesh thali at ₹599 can carry both siblings' names in gold. The Ganesh roli pouch, ₹749, is the portable version, a velvet pouch with twin kumkum holders and a bindi stick, for the sister who does the tilak at her brother's house rather than her own.

Gifts for the brother

  • Ganesh car and desk stand, ₹199. Goes on the dashboard the same evening.
  • Coaster set of three, ₹349, in black, navy or amber for a desk that has never had a coaster on it.
  • 5 by 6 inch photo block, ₹1,200, with a childhood photo of the two of you printed and sealed under 10 mm of resin. This is the one that ends up on his office desk.
  • Pen holder, ₹699, in a plain colour if the sunflower is too much for him.
  • 24 inch black and gold wall clock, ₹2,500, silent movement, for the brother who has just moved into his own place.
  • QR code counter stand, ₹2,499, if he runs a shop or a clinic. It is a strange Bhai Dooj gift until you see it on his counter.

Gifts for the sister

When the brother or sister lives abroad

A large number of the Bhai Dooj orders we take from Ahmedabad are shipped straight to a brother in New Jersey, Toronto, Melbourne or Auckland. The tilak is done over a video call, and the roli plate and the photo block arrive by courier. Air transit is 6 to 9 business days on top of the 10 to 14 days of production, so for 10 November the order needs to be placed by about 8 October. If that date has already passed by the time you read this, the same gift arrives comfortably for Christmas and New Year, when a lot of families abroad do their Diwali get-together anyway. Shipping, customs and payment in USD, CAD or AUD are covered on our USA, Canada and Australia pages.

Order-by dates for Bhai Dooj

  • Personalised pieces (photo blocks, named thalis, frames) for the rest of India: order by 20 October.
  • Within Gujarat: order by 25 October.
  • Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar: order by 28 October.
  • Stock-colour roli plates, car stands and coasters: a few days more room, but do not bet on it in Diwali week.
  • Overseas: order by 8 October, or plan for December.

Whichever direction the gift travels, keep the tilak thali. It is the one object on this list that will outlast the phone, the car and the desk.