Mithai gifting is not as simple as it seems.
The kind of sweet selected for you is a giveaway of your place in the social circle, believe gift analysers
For Indians, festivals are
about mithai splurging. But for the many `gift analyzers', mithai
gifting is no trifling matter. If you thought your mom or dad just go
to the mithai shop and pick one kind for everyone, here's a reality
check. De pending on the price, ingredient quality and pop ularity,
every mithai comes with a hidden `market standing' in the gifting
hierarchy . On the basis of mithai shop conversations and social
circle gossip, here's our hierarchy of mithai gifting.
WE'RE IMPORTANT AND KAJU SHOWS IT
Kaju katli and other kaju sweets have always carried a `fancy' tag,
with a comparatively higher price per kilo, and in the mithai market,
they still hold position number one in the gifts category . According
to Ankit Gupta at Anand Aggarwal Sweets in Dwarka, “Kaju katli looks
presentable and everyone knows it's expensive, so it makes for a good
gift for important people whom you want to impress.“ With a `500 or more
per kilo rate, every family usually buys limited quantities of kaju
mithai to be given to select, important members of their gifting
circles. So, if you've gotten one or more kaju barfi dabbas, relax and
enjoy the attention, because you've definitely made it big in your
social circle.
KALAKAND AND MILK CAKE: GOOD INGREDIENTS FOR GOOD FRIENDS
According
to mithai business insiders, like price, ingredients also matter as a
measure of the market standing of any sweet, and ultimately , the
social standing of the recipient.Kalakand is therefore considered a
shaukon wali mithai and gifted to people with good taste. Similarly,
milk cake, which
is sold all year round, is considered to be a rich mithai in terms of
ingredients, and gifted after making sure the recipients enjoy this
variety of sweets. According to a salesperson at sweet shop,
“These two mithai are good gifts to give because they are very good
quality products. Sab ko kal akand nahin diya jata kyunki yeh
`achhe logon' wali mithai hai. Milk cake bhi log khareedte hain
kyunki yeh achhi, tasty mithai hoti hai.“ So a box of either of
these shows that you are a family of appreciators of taste.
GULAB JAMUN, RASGULLAHS: NO-BRAINER GIFTING
It
doesn't matter whether you're on the white side or brown side here
getting a box of either of these means you're one among many
others for the mithai giver party . According to Manoj Aggarwal,
who works at a sweet shop, “Gulab jamun and rasgullah are the safest
mithais of them all. Yeh tum apne padosi se leke kamwali bai tak kisi ko
bhi de sakto ho, bas quality ka price change ho jata hai.“ This
basically puts rasgullahs and gulab jamun in the no-brainer gift
category , which can be bought by ordering on the phone, sending drivers
to pick and drop these from the shops.
SONPAPDI: EAT IT OR PASS IT ON, WE DON'T CARE
There
is no house in the city which will not receive at least one box of
sonpapdi this Diwali. From the bulk gifts in office to the bigger gift
packs sold by sweet f
brands, sonpapdi is easily one of the most sold mithais in the
Diwali market. But don't get fooled by the sales pitch of `oh, yeh toh
lambi chalne wali mithai hai'. Like gulab jamun, this mithai also shows
you're on a list and not in the mind of your gift giver.Manveen Kaur,
who works with a human resource consultancy , says, “Getting a box of
sonpapdi means that the person giving it just picked it up from a store
and didn't think twice about it.“
BARFI: KHOYA IS UNCOOL, BUT WE'LL GIVE IT TO YOU ANYWAY
The
`khoya is unsafe' dialogue has been circulating in the mithai market
for a few years now, but salespersons tell us how they still manage to
sell good quantities of khoya barfis every year. According to them and
us, it puts you in the `dabba pakdao, aage badho' category . Like
*Shalini Dhamija, a homemaker, puts it, “There
are so many people whom you
have to gift some mithai to because it's a tradition.
Yeh dabba exchange karne ka routine chal raha hai toh
chal hi raha hai. I pick out these mithais that I have
to give to my not-so-nice neighbours on the last day .I know ki
agar main unko duniya ki best mithai de dun, toh bhi humara rela
tion won't change. Why bother, then? It's a formal ity gift and I
buy a for mality mithai for them, guilt-free.“
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