Before you go any further, let me caution you that my write-up does not have any gift ideas. I am just gonna talk about a particular experience of mine related to this topic.
A few days ago, at seven in the night I was wading my way through the congested roads of main Bangalore to buy a gift for my girlfriend. I was fortunate to have the company of Rahul who had bought similar things before to please his girlfriend. That morning I put a query on the company bulletin board to know where can I find great gift items affordably priced in Bangalore. 80% of the respondents(4 out of 5) suggested that I should pay a visit to Shoppers’ Stop.
Frankly I didn’t expect the shop to be like that.
It was like any other US stores. It was not very inferior to J C Penny or GAP stores. The uncommon mixture of economy and richness pleasantly surprised me. We went to the second floor where they had some gift articles and books. My girlfriend didn’t have the reading habit. Hence books were ruled out. Since she had been my long distance girlfriend till then, I didn’t have a great idea on what she liked and what she didn’t. So we had a tough time deciding upon the nature of the gift.
That was when Rahul was stumped by the latest version of the 1959 phenomenon. He read out loudly…
*New for'00, the WEDDING BARBIE doll: A shapely teenage fashion Model in bridal dress! Retail price Rs. 1999.95.'
*Needless to say, I was hooked to that beautiful young lady. I loved the doll so much that I wanted to wrap it up at that moment and catch the next bus to Madras. I thought my girlfriend would love this gift.
'Wait a minute Venu, ' Rahul said suddenly, 'You liked it because you are a boy. She may not like it. For instance, I have never seen a grown up girl befriending a Barbie doll!'
I carefully studied this statement. What he said was true. Freudian analysis of the situation suggested I should not present a Barbie doll to a grown up girl. I was confused. The practical person inside me decided to surface and take the matter in his control. He walked to the nearest sales girl and said'Hi.'
'Just a minute sir, ' She turned to the sales girl next to her and whispered, 'Can you handle this Weirdo?' hoping I wouldn’t be able to hear that. Unfortunately I did but it didn’t make any difference because I knew exactly why people thought I was a weirdo. Try going to M. G. Road next time attired in six pocket khakis and a collarless sweatshirt. Wear a green colored pair of sunglasses, which sell for about twenty rupees on the kerbs of Bangalore. If you have an unkempt beard, you are just the right person for being considered as a weirdo. And smile when you say ‘Hi’. Only a weirdo can get away with all these. I patiently waited as the sales-women debated furiously with lowered voices on the issue of who should help me that evening.
After a couple of nervous glances and stupid smiles the first girl returned to me and said, 'Sorry to have kept you waiting sir, what can I do for you?'
I cleared my throat and showed her the Barbie doll, 'What do you think?'
She looked at it for a long time before consulting her friend again. After a minute of information exchange she looked back at me and said, 'It is a Barbie doll sir. Bridal dress. Nice gift for your daughter sir. She would love it.'
I expected that answer and hence was not too shaken to hear her opinion. I just wanted to try one more time. I asked her directly, 'Would you for instance, love to receive a Barbie doll as a gift from your boyfriend?'
Her face became red. She looked down at the carpet, which incidentally was also red. Then she looked at her companion who was aghast. Then both looked at me with a strange matching expression on their face. I instantly knew there was something wrong. I delayed no further.'I mean to say, is it OK to gift a Barbie doll to a grown up girl? I am thinking of buying a nice gift to my girlfriend.'
'Oh, ' she was relieved, 'Oh. Sorry sir! I thought of something else. Eh. Never mind. Barbie doll? Hmm. I don’t think so. It would be a great gift to a ten year old girl but I guess your girlfriend is much older…' She paused just to make sure and I nodded quickly. She smiled and continued, 'I would rather buy a Teddy. You know! We all love Teddy.'
'Great, ' I said and asked her pack the Barbie doll. She was surprised.'This is for me, ' I clarified, 'Just in case my girl abandons me.'
That joke didn’t succeed in evoking laughter.
The Teddy bear section in that shop was not very good. I didn’t have too many choices. So I decided to have a fresh look at the nature of my gift-giving plan. As a matter of fact, I had presented many a Teddy to Her Majesty during my one-year tenure in the United States. So I was not too keen on considering another Ted.
So we were on the streets again. Now there was no aim. What to gift her?
It was a magnificent night in Bangalore. Brigade road was full of life. There were couples, hand in hand, eating MTR Softee Ice creams and discussing about the latest movie showing in Shankar Nag Symphony. I missed My girlfriend terribly. Such a night should be spent with her, not with Rahul. Perhaps Rahul was also thinking the same. His girl, another Infoscion, was more interested in finishing her work before the deadline. She was still in the office, thirty kilometers away from the city.
The air was cool and the situation was electrifying. There sure was some combined energy which I call'The Brigade Energy' that was almost visible. One can very clearly feel it. When you get down at Brigade Towers and start walking towards Brigade road, you will suddenly feel an elevation in your energy level. Congratulations! You have just entered the Hi-Energy Zone of South India, 'Brigade-M. G. Road' the *mot juste *of street entertainment.
We were wandering aimlessly, occasionally catching some not-so-rare glimpses of the lovely IIM and IISc girls, when we chanced upon a Titan showroom. We went in and this time I didn’t take too much time in deciding what to buy. I bought a nice gold-strapped ladies watch with American diamonds on the strap. Even though there was no real gold or real diamond on that watch, I had to pay a hefty Rs. 5000.
Two days later I was in Madras. My girlfriend liked the gift immensely and she used her unique way of expressing thanks. Man! I love her. That evening we went to Life Style, another J C Penny kind of store. We were wandering here and there when she stopped suddenly in front of an exhibit.'Oh How cute is she! I am gonna buy this.'
That was a ’00 model of Barbara’s 1959 Lili doll – Bridal version. I did manage to put an appreciating smile on my face.
Venu
