Giveaway

I grew up in the time when "Digital Photography" was not introduced. We had the film cameras which used to have limited number of photos that could be taken from it. Once the photos had been taken the real had to go for picture development. Clicking pictures and seeing the results used to be a time consuming process. Digital cameras came in and literally changed the whole picture.

Digital camera. An iconic item to possess in early 2000s. My father had bought a digital camera in 2000s. I remember that one afternoon he had called me from his office. He was very excited. He told me that he had spoken to someone at Shoppers Stop. They had a new age digital camera available in their kiosk. Because of his connections we were going to get the digital camera at a reduced rate. He told me to carry the cash and meet me at the Shoppers Stop within 1 hour. I was delighted to hear this. I loved photography. I was the family photographer. Whenever there used to be any event or function in the family then responsibility of taking pictures and videos was always with me. It was an unassigned responsibility yet it was always assumed that I would be the photographer. I was excited because finally I was going to be able to take the best quality pictures with the new age digital camera.

I met my dad at the Shoppers Stop. We quickly made the purchase. The sales person had shown me various modes that the camera had. He had told me how to use the camera. I was on cloud 9 after receiving that camera. It was not a gift to me but it was going to be the item that I would use the most.

I would take the digital camera everywhere I used to go. I would capture all the family events and functions using the new digital camera. Everyone used to get so impressed with the superior picture quality. I naturally had the talent towards photography so my pictures used to be amazing. I had covered so many family events using that digital camera.

The only drawback with the early models of digital camera was the battery. This camera model did not have a rechargeable battery. Every time I had to use the digital camera I had to buy the batteries from the store. If I run out of batteries I was not able to capture the pictures. Hence using the digital camera started becoming tedious. Also by that time the phones had been level up. The phones were having a good quality camera. So it was convenient to carry the phone and take the pictures instead of carrying the digital camera along with spare batteries. My usage of digital camera started reducing at soon as I had a better phone camera. I would prefer taking pictures from phone rather than the digital camera. So now the digital camera just kept sitting in a corner of the cabinet. It would rarely be used.

Then 2010s started. Digital cameras were improving. Digital camera started coming with a rechargeable battery. I had bought a new digital camera with my own adult money. I started using that digital camera more often. I had almost forgotten about the old digital camera. But it's still had a very special place in my heart.

20 years after the purchase of the digital camera now it had started becoming useless. It had lost its relevance. I would rather use the new camera or my phone camera for taking pictures because they were more convenient. But I had no heart to give my old camera away. I had a strange attachment to it. It became my first camera from which I had taken amazing pictures and had captured the best memories. My first step into becoming a photographer. So it was impossible for me to give it away.

Finally the time came this year. We had to declutter our house for a purpose. We were removing a lot of stuff that either was no longer useful or had become obsolete. The first digital camera fell into this category. It was hard for me but it had to be done today or tomorrow. I made a tough call of giving it away. We gave it to our society security guard who wanted to use it for his son. With heavy heart I had handed him the camera. At soon as I gave him the camera I felt lighter. As if I am giving away my most favourite thing to someone who would care about it. I am glad that I made this decision.

Today I still remember my first digital camera and I still have the pictures I had taken with it. At the same time I know it was handed over to the best person. I do not care if he sells that camera, destroys it, or uses it. That digital camera had served me and it had given me the most loyal services that I could have expected. I would forever be thankful to that inanimate object.

I had been a rock music lover. In the rock music what stood out to me was the guitar solo. For every song the guitar solo used to be my favourite. Some songs I like only because of the guitar solo. When we love something they inspire us to do something. Rock music inspired me to learn guitar.

I was a 20 something girl back then. A rock music lover who wanted to learn guitar. I aspired to play amazing guitar. I dreamt of becoming a guitarist and perform on a stage. To achieve that the first goal was to learn guitar. One weekend I made a decision that I am going to enroll myself into a music class so that I can learn guitar. That weeekend itself I visited a music class and got myself enrolled. My learning journey started from there.

While I was taking guitar lessons the instructor told me that I would also need to practice. Otherwise the lessons would not prove to be helpful. The instructor asked me to buy a basic guitar. I enquired and found that there was a shop nearby which used to sell entry level guitars. I visited that shop and purchased the beginer friendly guitar. I was so delighted. This was my second step towards becoming the guitarist. I started practicing on the guitar which I had bought with my own adult money.

But then career took a different turn. I received a promotion at the office. I was given more responsibilities. More responsibilities meant that I would have more work and would need to spend more time on that work. Soon the 9 hour work day turned into a 12 or 13 hour work day. I would not even have time to have lunch or dinner. I became really busy with the new role. This result date in halting of the guitar lessons. I had no time for guitar lessons. I stopped going to the music class but I continued to practice on my own guitar over the weekends. Then for the work increase even more. I had no time even on the weekends. I would work even on the weekends and had no time to practice the guitar.

Later on my guitar became an accessory. It sat in one corner quietly, waiting for an opportunity to shine. Unfortunately that opportunity did not come. I would play the guitar occasionally but the occasions became very rare. In last 2 years I hadn't even touch the guitar.

Then in the last month I was sitting on my bed and staring at the guitar early in the morning. I had one good look at it and decided that I should sell my guitar. I informed this to my parents. My mother was unhappy but my father approved of my decision. I started searching who could buy my guitar or at least the place where I could donate my guitar. I found a music class near my house. I went to the music class and enquired if they are willing to buy or accept the guitar as a donation from me. They willingly accepted it.

I immediately handed over my guitar to them. Again this was not an easy decision. I had an attachment to the guitar. It was my dream to become a guitarist but as a walking professional this was not something I could have done. At first it was really tough to think about giving away my guitar to someone. But eventually it looked like a possibility. I thought to myself that here the guitar is just sitting in my room where as it deserve to be played by someone who loves it. It deserves a chance in this world. It deserves a music lover to take the opportunity and use it. So with this thought I sell sold my guitar. With this give away I felt even more lighter. This detachment was necessary because it was not only in the benefit of the guitar but the guitar would have benefited a less fortunate person who wishes to become an artist.

This is how I detached myself from my beloved guitar.

For every science stream student, dissection kit is an essential item. It is like water to the rain. Without the dissection kit, the science students' life is incomplete. I was a science student who ventured into a paramedical field. So dissection kit was an integral part of my life.

Dissection kit was something that would generally get passed down by cousins, siblings, or friends. In my case, my cousins who took the science stream were over 10 years older to me, so they could not pass down anything to me. My sister and other cousins had chosen a non science stream, so there was no requirement of the dissection kit. I had to buy a kit for myself. I bought the dissection kit from a college stationary shop in my first year of college. When I took the dissection kit in my hands, I actually felt that I belong in the science stream. I felt welcoming. I felt connected to the choice I had made by entering the science stream. I felt like it was a prized possession.

I used the same dissectation kit for 6 years. I used it throughout my college life. After completing my studies, I had no plans to give it away. I had no intentions to pass on to the next generation. Even though it was no longer useful to me, I was not ready to let it go. I had an attachment towards it. I wanted to keep it for me.

After the college I had kept it for over 10 years. During this time I used to often open and clean the kit. I would enjoy doing that. It would reconnect me to all my memories from the college. I would feel younger and more energetic after cleaning the dissection kit. I don't know why but this used to give me a great boost. I would love that boost. So this gave me one more reason not to give it away.

Then one day I heard our house help talking to my mother. Our house help had a son. Her son was bright. He had scored good marks in his board exams. He had chosen science stream. She was able to secure a place for him at a good college. The boy had received scholarship so they were able to afford the fees. Now the struggle was books and other study articles including a dissection kit. She was asking my mother if I had kept any books which he could use. I confronted her and asked her which books were needed. I knew that the books were expensive so I had retained my books too, thinking that someone someday would find them useful.

Next day she came to me with the list of books which her son needed. I had some of those books from the list. While I opened my book cabinet to look for the books, she saw the dissection kit. Without any hesitation she asked me if I can give the kit for her son. That moment changed me. I knew that the kit is no longer useful to me. It was a nostalgia bait. Someone else was in need for that kit. It better be with the needy.

I gathered the books and the dissection kit. Placed them in a bag and handed over the bag to the mother of an aspiring science student. After handing over the bag, I felt an immediate sense of detachment or maybe relief. I realised that I was holding on to an object that I no longer needed. Giving it away made me feel a lot younger and better.

Finally it went to a person who needed it. Today I do not know whether it is still being used or it is now with a scrap dealer. Whatever may be the case, the giveaway made me free and lighter.

I was always fond of fashion accessories. I would love earrings, necklaces, bracelets, belts and anything that would look shiny. Anywhere I go and if I see a shop selling fashion accessories I would definitely visit that shop. I would buy some or the other things from that fashion accessory shop. I had a huge collection of earrings. In my college days and in my office I was known to have really great and fashionable earrings. Many girls word approach me to borrow the fashion accessories for special events. I would happily lend them the fashion accessories. There was one time when I had to give away my favourite earrings without having intention to do so.

Once a new shop had opened near my house. This shop only had fashionable earrings. I had visited that shop and I had purchased a lot of earrings from there. I had purchased some earrings for myself and some for my cousins whom I was going to visit soon. Since all of them used to like my earrings I decided that instead of giving some different gifts I will give them the earrings that I had selected for them. They would be really delighted that is what I thought. Well they got delighted after receiving but there was one instance that left a deep impact on me.

I visited my cousins. I had packed the earrings in cute wrapping papers. One by one I handed over those packages to my cousins. They started unwrapping the gifts and were glad to receive fancy pairs of earrings. Except for one cousin. She was happy to receive the earrings but she wanted something more. This was one of my elder cousins who was supposed to go abroad for further studies. She liked the earrings that she had received but her face said otherwise. I asked her if she liked the earrings that she had received. She awkwardly said yes and then looked at me. I was little confused. If she like my gift why was she not happy about it.

My cousins eyes were glued on my ears. She was looking at the earrings that I was wearing. She openly told me that she liked the earrings that I had given her but she liked the earrings that I had been wearing the more. I took that as a compliment and said thank you. She did not stop there. She asked me so are you going to give your earrings to me? I was surprised. How can someone not be satisfied with the unexpected gift?

I had not reacted at all. I was frozen. I did not know what to do. This was such an entitled behaviour from my cousin's side. Other cousins were listening to our conversation. Unlike me they were not shocked at all. The knew what kind of brat my cousin was. I still had not reacted and my cousins also had not spoken.

Now my entitled cousin played a victim card. She started crying. Imagine a 24 year old woman crying over a pair of earrings. She started saying that I am deliberately keeping the best pair to myself. I have no love towards her to give away one thing she has asked before she goes abroad forever. This was the most stupid argument that I have ever heard. I said I like to all the earrings that is why I bought them I kept a few pairs for myself and gifted others to all of you. If you are not happy with the gift you receive you are just an ungrateful brat. Now my cousins started crying even more.

My parents and my uncle's heard the commotion and entered the room where we were a sitting. They saw her crying. This is when I felt I should give away my earrings to her. I want to not happy about it but it least I did not want to get into more trouble. I did not want to hear any criticism from any of my relatives there. I just wanted to end this. But I did this ugly. I removed my earrings and thrown them at her saying that be happy with what you get. I called her brat again.

My cousin was happy with her victory. I was upset with how I was treated. And my other relatives were angry for the way I acted. Yet not a single word was said to my cousin. She was loved and pampered. While I was scolded. This is when I decided that I am not going to give it anything to anyone without any occasion.

Most of my giveaways were voluntary. They made me happy. But this one just made me upset.

I consider myself to be a fashion enthusiast and an inspiration. In my 20s and early 30s I used to try each and every fashion trend. I would love trying different things and incorporate them in my day to day wardrobe. While I would try a lot of new styles there were some staple styles in my wardrobe. One of them was a floor length dress.

My mother had purchased a beautiful blue saree for one of my cousins' wedding. The saree itself was simple but the colour was exquisite. It was sapphire blue. I loved that colour. Several years later my mother did no longer need that saree. She had worn that saree at numerous occasions. Also because of her age, she felt that the saree was heavy and it was making her tired. I did not want to give that saree to anyone so I came up with an idea. I told my mother that I will get a dress stitched from that saree. My mother agreed and give it to me. I took it to my tailor and he had stitched a beautiful dress from that saree. As I said it was very simple but the colour made it look very special. The dress looked very elegant.

I had worn that dress to various functions. It was an Indo Western fusion dress, so I was able to wear it at weddings and also at parties. Whenever I used to wear that dress I used to feel more beautiful. It was very comfortable and flowing making me feel like a Disney princess. It complimented my complexion and hence it would always look fantastic even though it did not have much embroidery or stones on it. I had worn that dress to family functions as well as to the office events. Whenever I used to wear that dress I used to get a lot of compliments. It was a gorgeous dress and it was stitched to perfection. I had worn it several times and I loved wearing it every time for any occasion.

The saree was very old and my mother had used it quite a lot. After converting the saree into the dress I had used it for several years and at numerous occasions. The time that the saree and the dress had spent on this mortal plane was becoming visible. The colour of the dress had faded. The shine of the fabric had also gone down. We knew it because we had been seeing the saree and the dress from the beginning. The fabric was still intact and the colour was still pretty. It was still my favourite dress. My mother once mentioned that I should stop using the dress because it has faded. I still did not listen to her because it was my favourite dress and it still looked good in my opinion. I still kept wearing it.

But then one incident occurred that made me think differently. My house help Shanta was telling my mother that her daughter is soon to be weded. She was trying to get sarees and dresses for her. Shanta did not have enough money to buy new outfits so she was checking with every person she was working with if they can lend her good used clothes. These clothes would be helpful for Shanta's a daughter's wedding. Something changed inside me. I looked at my favourite dress one last time. I knew that it was the best time to part ways with it. I took my dress and I had given it to Shanta. I told her to use this dress for her daughter. Shanta was delighted to receive such a beautiful dress. She thank to me and said that her daughter would be happy to see it as well. For me it was a bittersweet moment. But then I believed that the sweet part had overpowered the bitter part of parting ways.

Even if it is not with me right now it still remains as one of my favourite dresses. This was one of my giveaways that stayed with me even after several years. I knew that it made someone as happy as it had made me. I knew it made someone feel special. I was glad that at the right moment I was able to break the bond between me and that dress.