Why do gifts have such appeal?

Giving a gift to a dear one is not a subjective matter.

Rather there is an infinitely sustaining feel to it, in which one can be as unconventional as a subtle lover.

Planning a gift for any occasion is like reaching out to each other. Often you may be out of your pocket but one has the freedom to reinvent oneself in taking a decision to purchase the ideal gift.

Life sometimes turns insane with the openness between friends and close acquaintances, as they unwrap their gifts not expecting anything in particular, and yet with the eager anticipation of seeing what the wrapper holds within its confines.

Once when I opened my gift and found an old copy of a novel, my heart almost skipped many beats and all my unwashed tears came welling out. Within the book there was a note that said, “I remember you mentioning to me that someone had borrowed this book from you and didn’t return. I looked for a new copy to gift you, but it looks like you and I are the only ones who treasure the writer’s prize-winning novel. I gift my book to you with deep ardour!”

This avant-garde appeal of a gift for no occasion as such but a genuine gesture in remembrance of the cold coffee, was much appreciated by his boss

- Navanita Varadpande

It was not my birthday but the memory of a conversation the two of us had a week before, that occasioned the gift.

Gifts are an expression of love, concern, tenderness, respect, and a warm understanding. Many people feel that a gift has to be costly and the whole process becomes a kind of one-upmanship among the invitees who are invited to a gathering. They feel that it is their status that will be judged.

Days before such an occasion people are tensed about what they need to purchase as a gift.

Let me share with you, what feels the worst — when they “forget” to take off the price tags! Then there are those who recycle gifts randomly — a lampshade that I had presented to a colleague came right back to me, one fine day. Well, recycling gifts skilfully is an art to be mastered.

The most mindless ones buy a huge bouquet and spend a fortune.

Joy forever

Our climate doesn’t help to preserve such a bouquet for even an entire week. It pains to see the flowers wilt and wither!

Instead of that if one could present an aloe vera sapling, a spider plant or even a nice fresh money plant seedling; it would thrive in the person’s house and not only be a thing of beauty, but a joy forever.

Others feel that a gift of a chocolate hamper lying on a satin-cushioned basket is the key to a lady’s happiness. But knowing people’s health consciousness it would be better to give a box of dates, walnuts or almonds.

Getting a gift for someone shows how well you know the person and what would the ideal one. It also makes a mighty difference in relationships.

If one’s relationship with the person is not personal, one may surely not gift anything personal — but there are a host of thoughtful things one can present.

Once a young man working at a multinational company was discussing a situation with his boss, and got caught up in the conversation only to realise that the boss’s coffee had gone cold. After a week, he gifted him with a tall coffee mug, where the coffee may be kept covered and warm. This avant-garde appeal of a gift for no occasion as such but a genuine gesture in remembrance of the cold coffee, was much appreciated by his boss.

A gift is a genuine expression of love. One of the gifts that I shall forever cherish is a booklet of short verses, that my grade four students compiled for me, as my farewell token of love.

My eyes welled up, I was touched, happy and proud to see that I had inspired my little ones to write and appreciate poetry. A gift is not necessarily a tangible object, the best gift one could give one’s family and friends is that of believing in them and being there for them whenever they might need me.

Life is not all about an envelope of currency notes or a diamond-rock sitting aloft my finger ring. It is about genuine sentiments, prefiguring loving emotions. There lies the formidable warmth of a gift!

— Navanita Varadpande is a writer based in Dubai. Twitter: @VpNavanita