Wednesday, 23 January 2019

Kamadhenu and the art of Gifting

Staying on the topic of Gifting and its significance here is another take on a special kind of gifting and how the entire act of gifting is aimed towards welfare and bestowing riches to fellow brethren.
We all know and have come across many functions in a typical Indian household. There are functions for the newborn, in fact, one for the yet to be born, one for the first birthday and it goes on till the Upanayanam to the wedding and makes a full circle when there is a celebration for the first child. The list continues towards celebrating the 60th marriage anniversary, called the "Shastiabdapoorthi" and one for the 80th marriage anniversary called the "Sadabhishekam". Mind you I haven't listed the routine ones like Engagement, House warming and other randomly thrown functions in a household. We will for the moment also not discuss Navarathri et al.
Now that's an exhaustive list if you add up all these. Plus if you live in a temple town there are functions at the temples too !! I am sure you are wondering, how many days are left after celebrating these functions?
The Indian life and culture are towards keeping your mind engaged. Diving into these functions and enjoying the colors, beliefs, foods, and way of life gives you a deeper sense of life and takes you on a deeper inner journey.
One small thing that has caught my attention is what people gift each other. The guests come with a gift, though most of the time it's a nice white envelope with cash in it. The organizing group gifts something back as well, as a gesture of Thanks and more importantly praying for bestowing the best in life. The key here is not the object but the act and the gesture. You add up all the functions and the traditions, you are either organizing one or visiting a function. Remember you receive blessings and give a lot back. Now that's a lot of good wishes!! Who doesn't want more ??
Kamadhenu is a mystical cow In the Indian culture. She is the mother of all cows and bestows one with whatever he or she desires. She is the cow of plenty. She is believed to have emerged out of the churning of the ocean.
Now if you have been to an Indian house warming ceremony, right at the end of the function, before the new home is dedicated to the owners, a Cow and its calf are brought into the house for a few moments. Its become a difficult task these days to locate a cow in a city, forget about making them climb the multistoried buildings.
This act is a way of telling that the new owners be blessed with riches in plenty. The act of bringing a cow and its calf signifies asking the divine Kamadhenu for its blessings.
As modernity catches on, the act of gifting hasn't missed remembering this deeper connection with the cows and seeking its blessings. Guests bring with them beautifully crafted Kamadhenu idols as a gift to the new house owners.

The same is also given as return gift to guests for House warming and Upanayanam.
PujaCelebrations has always been at the forefront in deepening this connect with Indian traditions and they have a good collection of House warming return gifts and Upanayanam return gifts.
Browse their portal for a great collection of Kamadhenu idols that come in various sizes, colors, and design. They are a great way to surprise your guests for the occasion of House warming return gifts, Upanayanam return gifts and for Indian wedding return gifts.

#Wedding return gifts #Housewarming return gifts # Upanayanam return gifts.