Of Simplicity and Minimalism

One of my closest friends just got married last week to her long-time partner. A few days before the wedding, the happy couple sent an email titled “Gifts for the wedding”.

That peaked my curiosity, because I initially wondered whether they were asking for gifts. Weddings in the West are that way--you can list the things you want and have the people who matter to you gift you the things you’d rather want, as opposed to what they’ve set out to gift.

In the East though, this is not always the case. Nowadays, most couples choose to write “Blessings only” at the end of their wedding invite. Or, they choose to avoid mentioning anything related to gifts at all. In this case, the guests are free to decide what to get.

What was so different about this ‘Gifts for the wedding’ email?

My friend and her partner sent an email asking us gift-givers to donate the amount we would have spent on gifts for them, to an NGO instead. The email was complete with links and details, mentioning easy ways to donate.

What a beautiful thought! What one simple gesture can do to bring in some much-needed change in the world, one can imagine. A wedding would have a minimum of 50- to 100-odd people. If each one were to donate something relevant, the impact would be useful.

Several people choose to do something that involves lifting others on special occasions.

I remember, in 2015, a story about a young Turkish couple who spent their wedding day feeding 4,000 Syrian refugees went viral.

Given that India does still like the idea of big weddings, how brilliant a social impact would it be if we choose to follow the same ideology?

When I lived and worked at an NGO in Kanpur for over a year, I saw a host of these.

A young mother used to bring her little one to the NGO every birthday to celebrate with the children there.

Simplicity and minimalism should be the objective of the day. If we do not give back, what is the point of it all? If community does not find a way to lift everyone with small, easy steps, we should ban the word ‘community’.

Spreading one’s joy should be about sharing it with people who need it most, after all. Shouldn’t it?

Wouldn’t it be great if this turned into a movement? Instead of taking that bouquet you’d have carried to a friend’s reception or that 1,000 rupee note that you’d neatly tuck into an envelope, with a 1 rupee coin for good luck, maybe the next time around, you could try this? #TakeCharge for #Change!

image not our own