Hello Ladies : I plan to have my Son's Upanayanam done this March. I would liek to hear some good suggestions on return gifts to the invitees alongwith the thambulam. I am keen to look at something very novel or innovative suiting the occasion. My budget would be around Rs.300. Appreciate if you can provide me with some tips and if you do know of a good place where i can shop such, the phone number as well please !!! Do you also know anyone who specialises in Poonal planning like a wedding planner ?
Hi how about giving a good dvd of religious hymns and chantings or some fancy looking Ganesh or anyother Gods idol in silver or brass.
How about Some Travel bags. This would be definitely useful to all. Since your Budget is more you can try for even Branded Ones
Regarding gifts, Samraa's idea is good. Otherwise you can gift something like a travelbag, which people will be using for long, which will also remind them of your function. (By the time I finished typing and posted this, i found brahan has also given the same suggestion) Upanayanam is considered as more of a family function and it does not require preparations in such a large scale as in case of wedding. Then why do you want to take assistance from planners? Consult with elders in your family to find out what are the things to be done, procedure of doing them, etc and make a list of them. Go about completing them one by one. That will give you more satisfaction and joy of celebrating the function rather than outsourcing. It will also give you the experience and knowledge of preparations and arrangement for upanayanam, which you can use to guide some others in future. Going to planners may relieve you of the work but i doubt whether it will give you any knowledge or experience. They will do it only for money and not out of love and affection. If you find it difficult to manage all the arrangements, you can ask you relatives and friends who are close to you to help you, which most people will be glad to do, i believe. After all it is your son's upanayanam and who can care more for the function than you and your hushand? Hope i have not offended you. Good luck and all the best!
May I add that upanayanam is actually a *religious* function and a rite of passage for a young man. Assuming you and your family believe in the tradition, you could try and find out the noteworthy ideas/philosophy around it, and pass it on to your son. If you have a daughter also, please be ready for a discussion on why no upanayanam for her! I remember having such a discussion with our family priest many eons ago! Personally, I am inclined to go back to roots and celebrate the religious aspects that we are proud of, discard the ones not worth preserving, and de-emphasize the consumerist culture which pervades all aspects of our lives nowadays. Again personally, I would be happy with going back to blouse bits (or towels, which are probably more useful). We have a saying in Tamil `aadai koduthaal peedai ozhiyum' and gifting cloth (silk or cotton) was considered meritorious- could we not go back to it? It does not have to be expensive, and nice if it is useful. My two cents'.
