I remember seeing this ad for a motorbike with a handsome hunk riding it.

What a bike, what a machine, what a guy, what a helmet!

I looked at the ad. At the four-stroke state-of-the-art engineering marvel that responded to full throttle by breaking through performance barriers… whatever that meant.

I looked at the sheer excitement on the young man’s face as he looked at the road ahead, and as he felt the slim arms that held his waist…

Slim, dressed casually in a pair of jeans and T-shirt, her glasses were perched high on her head as she sat behind and looked with excitement at the road ahead…

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My hands are generally not the talkative type, my mouth makes up for that, so I was a tad surprised to hear them speak, “What’s with this new act?” they asked.

“New act?” I asked my hands, “What act?”

“This keeping us away from your face, washing us a hundred times a day. It’s like we’ve suddenly become pariahs! We loved touching your twitching nose, smoothening your unkempt beard, even helping you remove those morsels stuck in your mouth. But now, we’ve forgotten what it’s like to come close to your face!”

“It’s this virus!” I told my hands and explained what the virus had done to our intimate relationship, and that now all hands were barred from touching faces.

“But we were meant to touch!” said my hands simply.

“I know,” I said, “I’m terribly sorry!”

“We miss stroking your beard when you were in deep thought, brushing a stray strand of hair back when you wanted to impress a pretty lass on the road. We loved rubbing your nose to stop you from sneezing…”

“Stop!” I shouted, “It’s been difficult these last seven months! You don’t have to remind me!”

“Maybe it was a punishment!” said my hands thoughtfully.

“Punishment for what?” I asked.

“For not using us in the right way!”

“But I did!” I cried, “My nose, my head, my face, my mouth, my teeth, all belonged to you both!”

“Maybe that’s the problem!” sighed my two hands, as they lifted themselves dangerously close to my face, and I pushed them back hastily, “Maybe the world is being punished for what they didn’t do with us!”

I watched as my hands actually looked at each other and nodded in agreement, “We were meant,” said my hands thoughtfully, “To touch those who needed a helping hand, not just digging your nose, but opening your wallet to help others. We were meant to hug those who needed to be comforted, not just shaking the hand of your next customer to make more money!”

My hands looked wearily at me, “And Bob, how many times did you clasp both of us together?” they asked loudly.

“Clasp together?” I asked.

“Like this!”

“Those are praying hands!” I whispered.

“How many times?” they both asked sternly.

“Not too many!” I said slowly.

My hands looked at each other dolefully, “Maybe a little caring, a little sharing, some load bearing, of those who are poorly faring!”

“Yes!” I said simply.

“Don’t!” shouted my right hand as I nearly put it on my beard, “Learn to use them for others, your weaker sisters and your brothers, and maybe.”

“Maybe what?” I asked.

“We’ll soon scratch your face,” sang my right hand.

“Dig your nose,” sang my left.

“And chase the virus away..!” they sang together in crescendo.

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“No one has ever become poor by giving.”
― Anne Frank

Do we give gifts just because we are obligated to do so? Or do we do so because we respect and appreciate the receiver? These are questions we should ask ourselves before gifting.

When we gift someone, we should think of what the person would like to receive and his or her tastes. Just palming off something we do not like would not be appreciated by the recipient. We should remember that thoughtful gifting gives out positive energies.

The simplest material gift is cash or cheque. This saves our time and we also do not gift something the recipient would not like to have. Gifting a cheque to newlyweds so that they can spend the money as per their requirements makes sense. But in order to personalize this gift, we could use a pretty envelope and card.

Handmade gifts are always appreciated. If you have a flair for painting, paint on a T-shirt and gift it to your friend. If you are a good cook, bake a cake for her or him.

Gifting, even though we will not get any return gift, has its own rewards. For instance, at festival time, gift a box of sweets to an orphanage nearby and see the joy on the faces of the little tots. You could, along with your friends, organize a party for these kids with fun games and goodies.

But there are also non-material gifts. There was once a barely literate widow who brought up her son by working hard in other people’s homes in order to give him a good education and put nutritious food on the table. She always insisted that they share a meal together. When the boy started working, he started forgetting to spend time with his mother. He started chilling with his friends. After all in a big city there is always something to do — playing video games, going for movies, and just whiling away time. He felt ashamed of his mother, the pokey room they lived in, her calloused hands and never brought his pals home. He bought his mother a fancy watch for Christmas. He was sure that she would be delighted. Imagine his surprise when she turned to him with tears in her eyes and said, “Thank you for your lovely gift my son. I know it came from your heart. But day after day I long for you to come home so that we can eat together. What I would have appreciated more was your time.”

“Remember how you loved me once, my son? You would come home and help me with the household work. You said that once you started earning, you didn’t want me to work in other people’s homes any more. And you kept your word. I am happy that you are enjoying your work and that you have time to spend with your friends. Yet it would be nice if we could once again chat like we did before.”

In our world today, we think that a gift can compensate for spending time with a near and dear one. Love displayed through material goods is shallow.

Another way to show that we love someone is by giving that person a patient ear. We may have an old grandmother or elderly uncle living with us. It’s no laughing matter for four generations to live together in a pokey apartment. The elderly tend to be repetitive, recounting the same story over and over again. So we try to escape. We may even do some charitable work such as helping in literacy classes. That is truly commendable but charity begins at home. We must make time to listen to long stories at least once in a while, to hear a about grandmother’s illnesses. The elderly are lonely, even when surrounded by family. They need our empathy. Trust me. You will be rewarded when you see the broad smile on grandma’s face because you spared some time for her.

Another such gift is that of knowledge. For instance, a student who is good in Maths could spend some time coaching his classmates who are weak in the subject.

I conclude with the words of Eleanor Roosevelt: “Since you get more joy out of giving joy to others, you should put a good deal of thought into the happiness that you are able to give.”

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