Anything to make my wife smile. Review on Choosing Gifts for a Wife

Gifts for my wife

Staying on the subject of gifts.  First I thought of five gifts for myself in my previous review and now I am wondering what five gifts I could get for my wife(Prema).  I could dream of all the fantastic things for myself. Naturally! I don’t have to pay for them:-).  But for my wife?  I have to check my pocket first.  Oh oh go easy I only have some change there.   What no crisp notes?  Notes?  What notes?  They are all gone paying the monthly bills. Telephone(land line), Mobile, milk, grocery, cable connection, news paper, maid, washer man, tailor, credit card, (wasn’t that equivalent to ten gift for the wife?).  What is left but change?  So how do I go about selecting gifts for my wife?

Yes a great idea.  Put it off for next month.   Next month again the same story.  In addition, elder daughter’s college fees(four monthly) younger daughter's school fees(Quarterly) both coinciding.   Daughter’s school shoes are torn.  Put it off to next month once again.

Next month daughter dear says “Papa how lucky this month is.”  I say “what happened has the government doubled my salary?”  “No Papa, ” she says, “There are four parties this month as four of my friends have their birthday.”  My heart sinks. Four birthdays means four gifts too.  What about my poor wife’s gift?   The story goes on and on. Month after month without respite.  That means no gift for the wife?  *Are yaar ghar mein ghusna hai ya nahin? *(I have to get into the house don’t I?)  I have not had dinner as yet and of course my tot of whisky too!  Today I have to get some thing or else ….Ha ha ha.  You really thought I had it today didn’t you?

Not so. Not with my wife.   My wife is the sweetest most understanding person one can hope for I have o say it. Are yaar belan le kar kursi ke pich khadi jo hai.  (Isn’t she standing behind my chair with a rolling?) Ha ha ha.  For a moment I thought it was true.   I just turned around to see. No she isn’t there.  Thank God.

I sometimes wonder what I would do without her.  It is not that she has no desires or does not want anything, but she is happy with small pleasures.(*Lucky me! *  )

My first gift to her was for Rs 2/-.  Just Rs 2/-.  Can you beat it!   On completion of one month of marriage, I gave her a small ear ring. No not gold!  Just a Rs 2/- artificial blue stone piece.  She loved it.  Unbelievable eh?   But it is true.  * Kya Karen yaar I was broke after the honeymoon*:-).  She treasured it and used it for a full year.   Today, 22 years later, she still has it though it is broken.  She says “It is not the cost, but the feeling behind the gift that matters.”   I was touched.  That motivated me.   Since that first gift, I have given her many gifts. I have traversed many miles from the stage of Rs 2/- gifts.  Sometimes small, sometimes big, but always stayed within my budget.

My second gift of value(memory wise not cost wise) I remember was on my birthday. Why my birthday?  Prema asked me what gift I was giving her on my birthday(the first after marriage).  I was dumb founded. I asked her why I should be giving her a gift on my birthday.  She said “If you were not born, how would you have married me?  Aren’t you lucky that you were born?”  Talk of logic! I said “Yes definitely.”  So a gift followed.   What was it this time?  I had graduated beyond Rs 2/-.  This time it was gold. Yes real gold.  A gold chain.  After all it was my birthday. How could I give an ordinary gift?  Naturally I could afford it. No children as yet. Those were the romantic days!  We were at Naushera(J&K).  I told her we will take a walk up the hill behind our house.  We carried a thermos of tea and some sandwiches.  At the top of the hill after consuming the tea and sandwiches, just as the sun was about to set, I gave her the gold chain. Wow! She was stunned.  I loved the expression on her face.  She said that she had just joked about it. But I said I was dead serious.  That was wonderful birthday, because it made Prema happy and if Prema is happy, naturally I am happy too.:-)

Prema is fond of receiving gifts so I do not miss any opportunity to give.  Her birthday, my birthday, our anniversary, her father’s birthday – any occasion is good enough.

Ok now coming to the third gift.  This was two years later.   We were in Shillong.   I had gone on a tour to Guwahati and while returning I scoured the markets for some thing for Prema.  She was expecting our first daughter.  Naturally it had to be a saree.  Any Indian lady values a gift if it is a saree.   But this saree was not valued.  That is why I remember it.   I found a beautiful saree, at least I thought it was beautiful and bought it.  When I gave it to Prema she thanked me, but asked me ten questions. Weren’t there any other colours?  What other combinations were there?   Etc.  I knew that this gift had not found favour, but she assured me that it was nice.  However, when she did not wear it for nearly a year, I knew I had made a bad choice.   Whenever I asked her, she said that she did not have a matching blouse or the petticoat was to short etc.  She did not give it to anyone though; she still has it stacked away in the cupboard after all these years.

The fourth gift was a trip to Goa.  She had undergone a major operation and was recuperating.   My elder daughter had just given her XI Class board Examination, so we were relatively free.  It is difficult to get free time when children grow up.  Either they have their exams or they have their classes or tuitions etc.   The trip was a surprise gift on our 19th anniversary(last of the teens).  I got all reservations done and just two days before we were to go, I informed her.   She was overjoyed.   We stayed in Goa for a week and it was a fabulous week.  Each day was memorable.

Exceeded the prescribed length so will Continue in comments.