The culture of gifting has been
as old as civilization. It is the one rare tradition that is common to the
entire human race. So whether it is birthdays, anniversaries, festivals, new
beginnings, happy endings or honouring every possible relationship, gifts are
an important part of the celebrations.
My childhood saw me using my very
limited drawing skills, making cards for birthdays and anniversaries. This
ritual was a part of my family culture. The cards would have all the usual
hearts, flowers and cute proverbs, but always ensured a smile on the face of
the recipient. In case of weddings or other important celebrations, the family
would huddle together and have a very deep discussion about the most
appropriate idea for the gift.
One of the fundamentals I grew up
with was that a gift was something everyone loved receiving.
And so, even today, I love the
idea of gifting. I have gifted books, clothes and other things that people need
or I think they need. The latest has been writing poems for some significant
people and testimonials for some others. The whole phase of planning, buying,
conjuring and finally gifting is always an extremely blissful one. There is
some unadulterated joy when the singular motive is make some else joyful!
What brings me to this article,
however, is my observation and complete disagreement with the social
compulsions that mar the motive behind this tradition and make it more of a
crass circus. If we could do away with these, the world would certainly be a
better and sensible place to live in.
So there are some who jump at
every opportunity to have a vulgar display of their wealth. I’d appreciate a
single flower to a hideous bouquet that seems as tall as me.
I don’t want to have my name
advertised in a list of people who ‘contributed’ to a gift. As long as
something sensible is purchased from the money and the recipients appreciate
it, I am happy.
Unless, the requirement for it is
definitely known, cash is the most heartless gift ever. Bring on some
creativity to express your love!
Do not pass on gifts others have
gifted you. Not only does it insult that person and me, it shows you in very
poor light.
Do not gift, ‘because’ someone
gifted something to you. It only starts an unending and unwanted cycle of ‘give
and take’.
Instead, if we could just put
some heart into the system and….
- Take
some precious time out and have a much needed conversation with each other
- Introduce
people to other people they would love to get to know
- Introduce
people to varied sources of wisdom
- Throw
surprise parties
- Have
impulsive travel trips
- Provide
genuine appreciation
- Help
people with the change you know they need
- Write
letters that they will treasure forever
…..wouldn’t these too qualify as
gifts?
This list could go on and I’d
love everyone to contribute to it.
But, the essence of gifting should lie
in sharing a part of you which shall forever stay with other people, a gesture full of
love and a reminder of all the goodness in the world!
