We love tragic romantic stories , like the gift of the Magi
.
She had long hair , but no ornamental comb . He had a gold
watch , but no platinum chain . She sold her hair to buy him a chain , while he sold his watch to buy her a comb .
And on Christmas eve , they put away their no longer useful gifts , and rightly
upheld the true beauty of love .
Maybe I have no business to take a sarcastic note on this
story during Christmas . My only arguments will be to discuss how valid is this
story in today’s world .
(Of course , when I say “world” , I only speak of the young
and thriving IT population around me .)
I draw a parallel to this story befitting today’s
environment .
Smart , beautiful and brand crazy Della really loved
dressing up and looking her best . With every dress , she loved to have a
matching bag and sandals to go with it .
For Christmas eve , Jim , her fiancé , decided to get her a
gift – and he knew just the right thing to buy . He spent hours surfing website
after website until he found the thing he knew would make her happy .
Come Christmas , and the gift arrived – neatly wrapped in
red and golden . Della was thrilled to
know that a present awaited her . Joyously , filled with eagerness , she tore at
the wrappings . When it was finally opened , her face fell . It was a limited
edition gold plated Titan Raga watch .
“Oh Jim ! You KNOW I do not wear yellow metal . Couldn’t you
have gifted me a cool fast track watch ? At least tell me I can exchange this
for a better one !”
Forget the effort involved in choosing a beautiful watch
that would look good on her . Forget the amount spent over her gift . Even more
, forget the disappointment poor Jim underwent when he was told that his gift wasn’t good enough for her !
(In a way , this is the exact reason how all branded stores
make business . They entice you to buy vouchers rather than goods , and when
spending vouchers the human mind tends to forget its direct relation to money)
This is how tragic the gift of Magi gets in the present day
world .
While the old story has no correlation to the modern day
world , isn’t it about time we stopped narrating it our kids ?
Isnt it time we realize that it has reached its expiry ,
deem it outdated , and dispose of it ?
Well , NO IT ISNT !
If anything , I would say it is time we started narrating
this story more often than ever !.
The gift of Magi is truly a beautiful story , the core of which tells us to value love
more than any material possessions .
What would you rather have rejected ? Your gift , or the
love and thought that went behind choosing it for you ?
THAT is the difference between the old story and the new one
.
-Deepika
