CHITWAN, May 4: Chitwan National Park has completed capturing all four rhinos that are to be gifted to the northern neighbor China. The park had already captured three one-horned rhinos. The fourth, a female rhino, was captured from the western area of the national park on Thursday at around 11:15 am.

Although we all have just passed by the greatest festival of Hindus Dashain, we are still in the festive mood as other festivals are around the corner which is followed by the festival of colors and light Tihar and the other festivals like Christmas, New Year also the wedding seasons which gets started right from the month of Mangsir. In this regard, the art of gifting can play a vital role in making all our lives much more convenient than before.

Some time ago, during the engagement ceremony of a relative, the purohit mentioned something about ‘baak daan’. That reminded me of kanya daan. I have always felt very uneasy about kanya daan. I feel the very words transform a girl into an object that can be given away. Not just the Hindus, even the westerners ‘give away the bride’. This prompted me to further explore the term kanya daan, which is a tradition passed on from generation to generation. It is religiously sanctioned and socially accepted. I have not found anything against it in religious scriptures either, nor could I find out when it started. But one thing was clear: a girl is a ‘kanya’ before puberty, before she menstruates. Since she needed to be ‘donated’ as per tradition, child marriage naturally followed.

It’s the season of weddings, and then there is the occasional birthday, anniversary, or celebration time that calls for a gift. While gift cards and money-in-an-envelope can be easy and practical, it isn’t always heartwarming and nice. Whether you are lousy at choosing gifts, or are dealing with people who don’t know what they want, here are a few ideas you might want to turn to the next time you find yourself in a gift-giving situation.