Two perennial favourites: the Sanskrit Raksha-Sukta ('Yena baddho Bali raja...') for traditional households, and the contemporary 'You annoy me 364 days. On the 365th, I tie this thread' for modern siblings. The Sanskrit verse works for any audience; the contemporary line works best for brothers under 35 who'd find the shloka too formal.

Yes — and it's increasingly common, even in non-religious households, because the Sanskrit verses lend weight and timelessness that English lines can't easily match. The Raksha-Sukta is the most appropriate; the Mahabharata 'Dharme cha arthe cha kame cha mokshe' is a popular addition for elder brothers. Always include a Roman transliteration alongside Devanagari if the brother doesn't read Devanagari.

Lean traditional and weighted — shlokas, sentimental one-liners that acknowledge a lifetime of protection, or formal Hindi shayari. Avoid the witty/irreverent tone (reads as disrespectful for an older brother). Examples: 'You taught me what protection looks like before I knew the word' or the Mahabharata 'Dharme cha arthe' shloka.

Lean playful and warm — witty one-liners that acknowledge the role-flip (you protected him growing up, now the thread is mutual), or affectionate teasing. Examples: 'You annoy me 364 days...' or 'Older. Bossier. Still my favourite.' Avoid solemn shlokas (reads as overwrought for a 12-year-old).

Yes — Hinglish (Roman-script Hindi+English) is the natural register for siblings who grew up speaking it. The constraint is that the quote should be original, not borrowed from social media. A line like 'Bhai — meri sabse purani memory ka hissedar' lands harder than a Pinterest-template translation. Write it the way you actually speak to your brother.

For Urdu shayari, the older Hindustani-poetry collections (Ghalib, Faiz, Sahir Ludhianvi) have brother-sister themes in their broader work — adapt a couplet rather than searching for 'rakhi shayari Urdu' which mostly returns templated content. For Punjabi, the Sufi tradition (Bulleh Shah, Shah Hussain) has 'bhaa' references; Gurbani has 'bhraat' verses. A two-line couplet from any of these reads infinitely better than a generic Pinterest shayari.

Yes — and well-chosen film/book quotes can land harder than generic templates because they carry shared cultural memory. 'Bade Bhaiya' lines from Mughal-e-Azam, the rakhi scene from Mere Bhaiya Mere Rakhi Ke Bandhan, even Don 'Don ko pakadna' for a witty brother — all work if the brother gets the reference. Cite the source briefly so it doesn't read like plagiarism.