Kolam

Elixir of life !

This post is a part of Write Over the Weekend, an initiative for Indian Bloggers by BlogAdda

I love books & so do many others.Books provide us companionship at all times & places.When we read books ,we are not alone.We have a friend and a confidant in the book.

Books give us immense joy as we read them . Confucius rightly said ,"You cannot open a book without learning something".They help us with learning & educating ourselves.Books help us in getting creative &  get us thinking.Books divert our attention & relax us.They may give us solutions to problems & by this, I do not mean guides & keys ! 

There are self help books,books on crafts & arts ,story books,books on facts & figures,account books,science books ,etc.There are so many varieties to choose from.There are coffee table books & books with illustrations and lovely photographs !

We may not be able to own all books we want & need.We can borrow from friends & the library to  read & stare.In this age ,our matchbox like houses, seldom have space to accommodate all the books we would love to read & store to re read.

Unconditional acceptance is what books give us.There are no demands by books,isn't it ? We, of course, demand to be enlightened as also  entertained by books.Seldom, are we disappointed by books.

Ernest Hemingway said "There is no friend as loyal as a book ."I think the best thing in life is / are  books as they are for a lifetime ! Many book can be read many times over.Each time ,we may come across some new idea which the author intended & we failed to  get it the last time we read it.

In this age of the internet,books seem to be losing to the net.Many books are downloaded on electronic devices & can be read online.Many book stores are closing down.People seem to have decreasing attention span to appreciate books.Still ,all is not lost.

The fact, that books are being downloaded on the web, proves that there are readers who feel printing on paper is anti green & prefer the net !

I am lucky, as I have started reviewing books gifted to me by BlogAdda. I get to read the latest books by so many writers.Incidentally ,book reviewing may get other wannabe readers interested in reading ! In essence,I stay in touch with  what is happening in the world of letters.Hence,I am in tune with  the times, on the net ,with the net & by the net, by blogging reviews of books  !

Rangoli

The gift of time !

This post is a part of the contest at BlogAdda.com in association with Badhai.in

I love receiving gifts.Giving gifts is not my cup of tea.I do give gifts & that too without discrimination.This means, that I find the cheapest ones available.I go to sales & buy gifts.I know, that as you read this ,you must be thanking your stars, that you are lucky enough to be have never met me ! I am like that only.

Most of the people we meet & know, generally have everything they needed & gifts are unnecessary except for the feel good factor.Moreover, our gifts may be not liked by them because they preferred a different brand,colour,type etc etc.Many of the gifts, we give to others, are simply recycled so much so, that often ,they are gifted back to us !

I have many NRI ( non resident Indians ) friends.They gift me & I in turn, have to hand them presents. For NRIs,the choice of tohfa gets very narrowed down.Electrical items are a big no as these items  available  here, are especially suitable  for Indian power fluctuations.Heavy  & bulky items cannot be gifted as NRIs generally have lots of baggage of their own.Clothes are also ruled out as dressing up abroad is a different ball game unlike here.

I once had this problem of what to gift my NRI friend who was on a short visit to India..She is working & has got many Indian clothes & she would hardly use the said dresses.She said she wanted nothing as she  had done most of  her shopping .

Gift unwrapping at Birthdays is so exciting !

I was confused.I was racking my brains to come up with any idea of a special  gift for her.I asked my other friends,parents,neighbours ,etal but to no avail.I tried shopping for something unique & that gift shopping experience drove me crazy & I failed . Very soon, it was time for her  to return.

The phone rang .It was my friend.I again asked her if she needed anything ,I would gift her that.She said she wanted  something.I was thrilled .She enquired, if I could accompany her the next day or any day in that week for meeting  friends.She said she needed company as  the city was not what it was, when she stayed here.I agreed, as I had no work lined up the next day.I had also felt the need to talk with her & gossip about our other friends , acquaintances,the city,our neighbours,& so many things.I just couldn't  let go of this chance of spending so much time with her.

The next day ,I met her at her parents place & we left together.She paid for all the travel ( I love this about my friends - they never let me spend a dime ! ).We met her friends.She also finished some last minute shopping & other errands on the way.We gossiped throughout - I gossiped & she listened.She had no choice.After all, she had asked for it ! We did get emotionally nostalgic about the times we had spent years ago.

It was late evening ,when I left her at her place & bid her goodbye.It was a day well spent for me.I doubt if it was the same for her ? She must have got a splitting headache listening to my ranting. And she called me up before she flew back.She told me how much she loved me for having given her the gift of my time ! She said that I had given her the most memorable tohfa - of love,  by being there with her, when she needed me ! I was on cloud nine ! I mean, this was priceless for me, for reasons stated earlier , & even  for  her !

Henceforth,I know that, I must spend time with those, whom I want to gift.That is me -gift wrapped  !