I grew up in Bombay (now Mumbai), a city with a population of over 20 million people. Cultural diversity stood out;
Christmas was never spent as a religious holiday of sorts, it was just a wonderful time of year, which most middle class families celebrated!
I’ve never been one for Christmas shopping, shopping in general does not appeal to me, however on December 22nd of that year I decided to make a solid effort and buy something ‘nice’ for my mother as a token Christmas gift.
I knew I had to work hard to purchase this gift, being a 375ml bottle of Joop Femme, which was my mum’s favorite at the time. Whilst the gesture in itself would have won me brownie points, I needed this gift to come from me. It wouldn’t have been as rewarding if someone else bought it, but of course I didn’t have the required funds.
I was very determined; this gift was for my mum! I thought part of the kitty could come from dad; I would pay him back of course. My life savings (and a bit from dad) were used to buy the perfume, and the gift was well received!
At first my mother didn’t believe me when I said I’d paid for most of it myself, she also found it hard to believe that I’d chosen her favorite fragrance. She soon realised that I’d gone about the whole process exactly how she would have done it herself. I used the old perfume bottle as a reference and asked the shop owner to give me a replacement.
Math was my favorite subject at the time, which led me to ask the shop owner if I could get something in return for the empty bottle!
Even though my bargaining skills weren’t up to the mark, I had been coached well and she knew that.
I was 9 at the time, but some habits die hard.
by Sharan Sheth
View Sharan's Profile
