5 Books That Make For a Perfect Gift This Festive Season

With the festivities around the corner, everyone is busying themselves with buying presents for their loved ones. From Diwali, Bhai Dooj to Chhath Puja, your homes are graced with the near and dear ones.

For those with an admiration for reading, there is nothing better than presenting books this festive season. Even though fancy gifts adorning the shelves and the most advanced gadgets have their own charm, ripping off the crisp wrapping papers to reveal the beautiful covers, and taking in the smell of new books beat everything else for bookworms.

Here are the five best books that you could gift your friends and family, and yourself.

1. A Little Book of Flowers by Ruskin Bond

In this gorgeously illustrated collection, Ruskin Bond has put together his succinct observations on his favourite flowers. From the dandelions, daisies, and buttercups to the snapdragons, violets and marigolds—Bond describes them all. This pocketbook is a handy guide for anyone who is interested in exploring the world of flowers as well as all those who love reading about nature. Gentle, elegiac, and replete with beautiful descriptions, A Little Book of Flowers is for every nature-lover to cherish.

2. How to Become Rich: 12 Lessons I Learnt from Vedic and Puranic Stories by Devdutt Pattanaik

Lakshmi is worshipped as the goddess of wealth. Her arrival is considered auspicious, while her departure is bad and inauspicious. Yet, some friends and relatives, even gurus, tell us not to be money-minded, or that it is wrong to equate Lakshmi with money because Lakshmi is spiritual and money is material. Why this mockery of money? How to Become Rich is a simple retelling of the stories of Lakshmi found in the Vedas and Puranas. Devdutt Pattanaik deftly explains what Hinduism says about economics at a personal level as well as at the social level.

3. Gitanjali by Rabindranath Tagore

Gitanjali or ‘Song Offerings’ is a volume of 103 poems selected by Tagore from his books of
Bengali poetry. It was largely the Gitanjali poems that took the western world by storm and brought
him worldwide recognition. Even after more than a hundred years, this collection remains to be the warmest and the most heartfelt piece of literature for lovers of poetry. This customized edition of Gitanjali, inclusive of some Tagore’s greatest quotes and paintings, makes a thoughtful present to gift to your loved ones.

4. My Hanuman Chalisa by Devdutt Pattanaik

Acclaimed mythologist Devdutt Pattanaik demystifies the Hanuman Chalisa for the contemporary reader. His unique approach makes the ancient hymn accessible, combined as it is with his trademark illustrations. Every time we experience negativity in the world and within ourselves, every time we encounter jealousy, rage, and frustration, manifesting as violation and violence, we hear, or read, the Hanuman Chalisa. Composed over four hundred years ago by Tulsidas, its simple words in Awadhi, a dialect of Hindi, and its simple metre, musically and very potently evoke the mythology, history, and mystery of Hanuman, the much-loved Hindu deity, through whom Vedic wisdom reached the masses. As verse follows verse, our frightened, crumpled mind begins to expand with knowledge and insight, and our faith in humanity, both within and without, is restored.

5. Greatest Folk Tales of Bihar by Nalin Verma

The stories in this book belong to the soil of Bihar, from the land of Bhojpuri and Maithili—stories that have traversed centuries and created a catalogue of oral wisdom. It is a collection of timeless tales that have been told through generations, are adored for being literature and treated as a sacred testament of village wisdom. The stories are a source of joy for younger generations and a celebration of the past for the older ones. Firmly grounded in village life with characters both humans and animals, this book is an enchanting read to draw you into a world of its own.

Happy festivities, and happy reading!