When I saw the latest prompt for the
contest from Blogadda, i thought i have already written about this a
couple of years back and so did not give
much of a thought. I was enjoying the vacation with my children, socializing and soaking the
festive season visiting golu at many of friend's place. Just as i was walking
back from a friends place last evening with the tamboolam( goody bag) in my hand, I realized I had something to share about the crazy shopping I did for the goody bag gifts last summer.
Here I go, this post exclusively for blogadda’s contest.
When my children were young, one of the most painful pleasures I had to undergo was choosing a gift for my children’s many friends birthday. Painful because most of the times I had to hunt for the right gift at the last moment, pleasure because the brightly wrapped gift pack lights up the face of the child.
It is a known fact that today most children
are blessed with the best of books, clothes and toys. So anything you gift them
would only duplicate or even quadruplate
their collection. It has happened to my own children. I have many such
books, toys and board games which I have donated to the toy bank .
Thankfully my children
are now in their teens( 13 & 15 now) and so choose the gifts to go with
their friend’s wishes or make handmade quilled collages or scrap books for
their friends. Recently they gifted their dad a handmade scrap book containing
his photos from childhood to now and a MP3 CD containing songs which he heard
during his college hostel days ( During their talk sessions they found out his favorite songs in college). This comes
in handy when he listens in his car and he said that was the best gift he ever
got. Together, they source and create similar handmade gifts for my parents, in-laws,
near and dear ones.
The hand made scrap book made with handmade recycled paper( don't miss the frilled golden lace at the base and top)
The first page of the collage containing his solo photos with a poem by her for her dad. the succesive pages photos collaged from our marriage titled jodi no 1, his photos with elders in the family titled blessed by elders and a page exclusively devoted with photos of them with beautiful foot notes.
I have been spared from this crazy act of choosing gifts though a pleasureable one.
For my own friends and colleagues, generally many of my like minded friends
come together and do group gifting which
is pooling the cash and then buying a gift voucher. For very close relatives
like cousins we gift cash which is easier
and they make their own choice.
But very recently, in the
May gone by, my son’s thread ceremony(
yagnopaveeth/ poonal) was scheduled. This event is a socio religious event and the event requires preparations as good as
a wedding . The venue was fixed close to our native at a beautiful place and we
wanted a grand celebration so that we could meet all the elders and youngsters
at one place after a long time. It is occasions like this which brings the close knit family
and relatives around the world under one
roof.
The venue, the caterer, photo
–video grapher, purohits and all other arrangements were taken care of by my
family elders. But the task of invitations and gift giving fell on me.
Invitations were done with the help of my cousin’s husband who owns a printing
press. That left me with gifts. I thoroughly enjoyed shopping for
the gifts after a long time and I managed to pick up good sarees, dress
materials, shirts etc, for the elders and young ones but the task of buying a
gift article to go with the tamboolam was what drove me crazy.
Tamboolam is a goody bag
or like a party favour which is a tradition of
guest hospitality which is followed in south Indian festive occasions
like baby shower, house-warming, weddings, thread ceremony or even festivals
like the ongoing Navaratri.
It is a token of gratitude
and love the host shows to the guest for attending the event and
blessing the host( in my case, the son at thread ceremony). It generally
consists of betel leaf, arecanut and coconut / grapefruit along with this a
gift like a memento.
This gift was what drove
me crazy. I shopped from shop to shop in general bazaar, a traditional market
in Hyderabad where you find lots of
party favors and gifts for goody bags amonst many things. I even asked the shopkeeper “ bhaiya, aisa koi naya cheez dikhao jo dikhnay
may accha ho, durable bhi ho aur anokha
bhi ho,” and to all this I wanted a stamp of ethnicity on it and so told him “ … aur kuch hyderabadi bhi ho”. After all you
get mass produced gifts everywhere and so
I wanted something hyderabadi.
They showed me so many
items like embellished banjaran draw string bags, hyderabadi
lac mirror ware items like pens, key chains, divine collections like miniature
lac ganeshji and other icons, Banjara
mirror work cell phone pouches, jewelery pouches, lac incense holders, kumkum
bharni, dress pouches, card holders, banjaran mirror work purses. I did narrow
down on the last one but I found most of them would need card slots to keep
their credit cards. This purse would be worthless in utility, though beautiful
and ethnic to look at.
Then after getting in
and out of many shops, I landed at Karachi bag works. This shop is where I
generally shop for my children’s school bags and other bag needs. It also sells trendy ethnic bags and purses. I recently
bought my leather wallet here. I asked him the same here “ Bhaiya, aisa koi naya cheez dikhao……….”. He showed me a beautiful rose bag. Which
looked like a small multi petalled rose and fits into your palm, when
unpetalled this would become a bag. I found this ideal to carry, when you go for
walks or just drop it into your handbag.
Now-a - days most shops avoid giving plastic
covers or charge extra for the plastic bags. At times like these and , just in
case you go for walking, you could buy things , unfold this Rose and carry the shopped things home. An ideal gift, that had
utility value and aesthetic value. I
have a strawberry bag which I carry for walks and when at home
this bag cocoons into the strawberry and dangles from my dining hall curtain hook like a show piece.
I was delighted when I get that elusive gift piece. I wanted it in bulk and so
told him to pack those and I got it for
an excellent rate.
But wait….. my delight
bubble lasted only for a while.
Just as he was packing,
I took one of the bags and pulled the drawstring and out came the clip in my
hands.
.
OH NO! this is not for rough use. I told him I don’t
want such a delicate gift.
And then he suggested
something unique, yet he told me it was not hyderabadi like the rose one. I was ok, by now I was tired of finding that gift which met all my criteria and
so I had to let go one of those criteria.
He now showed me a bag
with good quality material which when folded looked like a purse and when the 3
folds were unfolded it opened up to be a
beautiful and colorful shopping bag. It could hold more items than the rose
bag. I was maha impressed with this bag. This looked beautiful, useful and
compact. Just what I wanted only it did not have the ethnic tag. Never mind, I
narrowed on this gift to go with the tamboolam.(goody bag)
Six months have gone by
since I gifted those bags, till today I have got many calls from near and dear ones and during the course of conversation, they tell me that
was one of the most useful gifts they have got and comes handy when they go out and fits snugly into their handbag.
Well, that is what I
want my gifts to speak. Because whenever I buy a gift, I generally don’t pick
anything off the shelf. I am a person who goes for something which is unique
and has utility value for the recipient.
A good gift should be remembered forever and speak about your
thoughtfulness, care, affection and gratitude and that perfect gift need not be expensive.
The strawberry bag and the folded elusive bag which sent me on a crazy shopping spree
When unfolded the bag shapes up like this.
This post is a part of the contest at BlogAdda.com in association with Badhai.in
