Saturday, December 24, 2011

Winter Warmth

Giving gifts is essential. Call me a nutcase for it, but I firmly believe and maintain it. I read somewhere, that gifts are better than promises. I do not know under what dimensions, but this seems like an uncannily true line. Now, gifts do not always have to be tangible. At times, they can be in the form of just gestures. In either case, what counts for me is not the size, cost, color, texture, usability, et al, of the gift- but simply the thought behind it. Thoughtfulness is what separates a perfunctorily exchanged gift from a truly special, heart warming, talking,loving gift- which someone would adore and remember for centuries (as we may delineate time under the influence of cheesy romanticism)

So why these random murmurings today? Well, in the past two days, I have been blessed with two new people in life- each who brought a different kind of gift-cum-gesture for me with his/herself. While what they gave me was really special, what was more special were the people themselves. They, I am forced to believe, were the actual gifts the holiday season brought along for me. A little something about them.

A Listener
She has elaborately mentioned details of our first meaningful tryst on her own blog, Yarn Of Words, a perfect virtual hangout for hopeless romantics like me. So,what I will tell you of Aakriti Malik, an elder sister for me, is not that she gifted me an image of my own while she sat in front of me; but that she blessed me with the valuable comfort of listening to all my ramblings without judging me in the least. Yes, it is a blessing to be able to stumble upon someone unexpectedly, who connects with you instantly at more levels than you can recognize at once. And if the same person also is an amazing listener, who promises not to judge you while you share thoughts and angst intimate to you, who respects you even for your mortal shortcomings, who wants to hold your hand as you start shivering a little under the influence of your own uncomfortable thoughts- you know the moment you are living is a gift. A rare, special, precious one.

The fact that we have the same proclivities, same phones, same kind-of crushes, same convictions, same romanticism ingrained deep within us only adds to the beauty of what we shared in the short time we've known each other. At times, what we write for ourselves curiously answers the other person's predicaments. I've known her from my pre-blogger days, as a senior in college- but its only here that I could connect so beautifully with such a beautiful person. So even though I have hated online interactions for taking the soul out of human attachments- blogger made a reverse process happen for me. Online interactions, for once, intensified attachments for me. And sure as hell am I glad for that!

A Smile. A Huge, Persistent,  Persuasive Smile.
This was the second most amazing gift I received in a span of two days. More than just a smile in fact. In parts, I have a sequestered existence. With that, I have my sequestered old world notions, a crippling inability to get over things which the technology driven world is leaving behind. Having my ecological austerity in the right place, I still love the whiff of paper. I have always favored greeting cards (the tangible, paper-made ones)  as an amazing mode of conveying simple and warm thoughts, at times even without any reason or season. My ill luck- in the past one and half years (I remember distinctly), only 3 greeting cards have made their way to my collection (In my charming younger days, around 30 cards could be exchanged on any single occasion). To make matters worse, out of those three, two I bought for myself on MY birthday. Desperation, you see.

However, deeply thankful am I to an ever smiling and outrageously humble person, who goes by the name of Rohan Manchanda, for recently making that significant addition to my collection. A year my junior, Rohan, besides being one of the smartest, is also one of the humblest species of BITSians I have come across (oh yes, he totally belongs to that distinguished institution), While I was preparing to greet him with my foul morning temper, exacerbated by the fact that I was a little cross with him over something, the thoughtfully prudent Mr. Manchanda gifted me some colorful scribbles in a dainty little card. If I were a little less sleep deprived, I might have sat down and giggled as I read through the first line of his creativity. It could be my compliment of the year. But, that put aside, I was happy to have made a new friend who was capable of sharing contagious smiles. Himself a brilliant writer, Rohan has been a constant source of not encouragement, but enthusiasm behind many of my recent writings. And the kind of respect he has held towards me, despite me not seeing any reasons behind it, has given me those secret, narcissistic moments of bliss.


Thank you Rohan and Aakriti Di. December began on a particularly morose note for me this year. I sense that changing.
Thank you Saurabh, for just lurking around and being the support I often forget to acknowledge.
Winters feel pleasantly warm now :)

6 comments:

  1. You really know how to make people feel special. I'm sure Manchi and Aakriti would be delighted to see your flow of words from within your heart. :)

    Though I really don't know how I figured out in the entire blog, I thank you for it. I like to be the person around when it comes to you. It makes me feel I'm a better individual.

    Cheers to the December! :)

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  2. Dear Saumya. It feels great to make a difference in someone's life, more so when that someone becomes special to us in the very simplest of the ways. Trust me, even as I gave something, I took a lot from you too. And I do hope that our friendship is an everlasting one. We'll make sure it lasts as long as we live:)
    Accept my deepest gratitude for having got to know you through ur writings, and more so now in person.
    And another similarity;D I cherish and have till date treasured every piece of post card to a letter to a card which I ever got:) Want one, gimme ur ghar ka pta!;)
    Tonnes of love and the very best for you ahead:)
    Aakriti

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  3. dee while going through dis particular journal of yours i came across dis line about online interactions for taking the soul out of human attachments(sic) which i found perfectly true because nothing can take away the charm of face to face conversation,the instincts,the true feelings,expressions.
    but at the same time i believe online interactions are a vry good way of staying in touch, in a progressive time when you jst dnt have ne tym to meet, so i would love if u write a blog on this,your views on it as i feel this definitely deserves some attention,i hope im nt asking much..:)

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  4. Hey Saurabh!
    You were the person at whom that fantastic day culminated. And you need nothing/noone to make you feel like a better person. Thats because you are a phenomenal individual, one whom I claim proudly as my best friend, and I know for all the right reasons that too.
    Much love :)

    Cheers to January I'd say !

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  5. @Aakriti Di
    Awww..You make me feel so warm, even via your words. I can see that these are not some carefully chosen words, they are the ones that simply flowed from within you. You are my greatest gift from blogger, and yes, even though I love cards, I will not ask you for one. May be I will just keep one in your hand the next time we meet.
    Love you! Its awesome to have you around!

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  6. @Apoorv
    I would love to do a piece on this topic Apoorv. The only thing that constrains me is that I feel my opinions have not yet crystallized to a dependable degree on this topic. I am really a person stuck in time. I abhor the over usage of technology, but cannot thank it enough for helping me keep abreast of the lives of people who've left the country- special people I mean.

    But, point taken! I shall voice my views on the same when I feel equipped enough :)
    Thanks for taking interest!

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