“The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away.“
Pablo Picasso.
That Gift Of Glass Bead Necklace!
We were just to leave this mall in the city of Virat Nagar, Nepal, when my uncle coincidently met one of his acquaintance Mr. Upadhyay.
Mr. Upadhyay, a very humble and cordial person requested us to visit his residence in the city which was not too far from this mall. Mr. Upadhyay was not ready to hear anything less than our approval to his request. He knew that it was very occasional for us to visit Nepal from our home place in India.
we became very much delighted to meet his wife, his son, his daughter-in-law, and his grand child at home. We were touched by their generosity and hospitality. Mr. Upadhyay, who had retired from a government job in India, talked at length about his post retirement life, his daily routine and some philanthropic work and related activities he was engaged in. We were very much impressed to know about his hobby of playing guitar. Very engaging and reciprocating talks that followed, made us feel having good time together. Almond sprinkled sweet fragrant porridge and snacks further enlivened us. And this is how human interactions and feel of togetherness builds up and grows!
At the time of saying goodbye to each other’s family, Mrs. Upadhyay approached my wife and gifted her a beautiful necklace of green beads made in glass – a Nepali tradition to express their affection and honour for the receiver and her family. This gift of necklace in colourful glass beads has turned in to souvenir of this visit which was so simple and yet so valuable and memorable.
Meaning of a Genuine Gift.
Since time immemorial, human civilisation across the globe have the tradition of gift giving and receiving. Leaving aside the angles of sycophancy and flattery, a genuine gift symbolises the feelings of caring, sharing, thanksgiving, togetherness, concern for motivation, mark of loyalty, and sometimes disguised altruism. Gifts, though simple physical objects, become embodiment of multiple abstract things _ affection, gratitude, culture, tradition, sense of bonding and togetherness and of nostalgic moments.
Gifts Act As Time machine.
Gifts act as Time Machine that sends us back in time to revisit and live those moments again in which it was presented. Old memories, and the whole sequence of related events of past begin to unfold before you. This transportation of non-physical you, relieves you of your present. Certainly it is good for your mental health and also makes you feel happy, connected and cared.
Gifts Help You Decipher the Giver’s Perception About You.
Gifts symbolise both the Giver’s self and the Giver’s perception about the receiver. Gifts provide you ample clue about whether the Giver takes you lightly, casually or has true feeling for you. So isn’t it great about the gifts that they hint about your position in the Giver’s scheme of things? And in the same way they alert you, when you are the giver!
Through Gifts We Can See Spectrum Of Cultural Diversity.
The culture of a geographical region helps choose such physical objects and follow customary practices, that are considered a perfect way of gift presentation. Observation of gift giving customs and related taboos, is a nice way to usher into the colourful cultural traditions of human civilisation across the globe.
Americas, Europe, And Australia.
In USA gift packs are well decked and decorated. But in countries like Spain, and France a simple modest wrapping is OK. practice of ribbon decoration is also very much in vogue for packing. Use of red, golden, silver coloured papers are very popular. A little card is attached to say who it is from?
In Germany it is considered bad luck to give baby gifts before its birth. Similarly giving flowers in even numbers is taboo in many European countries.
In Greek culture it requires the receiver to reciprocate with something of similar value. However this tradition exists almost in every culture more or less.
In western world the gift items normally include chocolates, toys, cloths, flowers, wine and sometimes meat products. However fine quality chocolates are signature gifts of Belgium. French are known for gifting perfume and wine. Spaniards however love to gift their near and dear ones cheese, cured meat and wine. Swiss watches are coveted gift items around the world.
East Asia, South Asia, Middle East.
Gift giving practices in East Asia ( China, Japan, S. Korea ), and South Asia ( India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan) are very much tradition based. If you are invited to someone’s home or a banquet, you should go there but not empty handed. Even a modest gift in your hand is a symbol of expressing gratitude and thanking the host for their hospitality.
In South Asia gifts are given in the hands of the head of the family or to a person deputed for the purpose. This hints towards their culture of joint family and towards the importance they attach to their family elders. However if the occasion is related to child, then, gift is given in child’s hand. Gifts are often opened in private. Gift of Shawl, Saree, jewelry, and sweets find prominent place in the list of gift item options. Nepalese people put decorated cloth material across the shoulders of the receiver as expression of their honour towards the receiver.
In Arabia, a traditional perfume called ‘Oud’ ( a distillation of Aloes Wood ), is the much appreciated gift form. It is said that in Europe a man shows his status by his tailoring, but in Arabia a man does so by the scent he wears!
Some Superstitions About the Gift Giving.
- Red packaging is considered perfect on auspicious occasions.
- Black cloths, sharp objects, white flowers are generally avoided as gift.
- Number 8 is considered auspicious in China.
- In Indian culture, cash are also given along with the main gifts. Here amount of cash must end with 1, which symbolises continuity of progress, happiness and prosperity.
Human feelings are so complex. Gifts are embodiment of distinct feelings and experience. They are like beautiful trees on the unsteady path of life!
