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 Isn't
it ironic that while the world is getting smaller, distances between loved
ones are on the rise? Thankfully, succour is at hand in the form of the
Net. Never mind the dynamics of geography, in an increasingly wired world
let the chemistry send sparks, wishes and gifts. Virtually. And what's
more, while the nature of the process remains the same as past years-simply
log on, take your pick and click-what has changed is the phenomenal rise
in choice.
Let's begin with that most common of Net uses: sending e-cards. In a
modern, open-ended world, Valentine's Day has come to signify friendship
and goodwill as much as romantic love. Which means that this isn't just
about mailing mushy cards to girlfriends, boyfriends, fiancées,
lovers and husbands. As for gifting, the best websites for Indians abroad
seem to be those that have been set up by overseas Indians who seem to
understand best Indian gifting needs.
The range of cards for demonstrating your affection is limitless-from
whacky cards to conventional sedate ones. Try naradonline.com or the usual
poetic spiel at bluemountain.com. If you find the corny desi card fascinating,
just log on to shubhkaamna.com with a range of quaint Bollywood e-cards,
appuonline.com, bharathgreetings.com, indiadiscovery.com or 123india.com.
For more desi razzmataaz, key in "Valentine Special" in the
indiatimes.com search engine, specify the search is in Indian sites and
savour the homeland flavour served up.
Now for the more brain-rattling part: gifting. As an Indian abroad,
Country Oven's gift portal, giftagift.com, might suit your needs. One
of the few portals to survive the dotcom bust, it began with a promise
to deliver emotions in the form of cakes and flowers at $5. It has now
shaped into an online supermarket with over 5,000 varieties of gifts-cheques
and hampers, toys, watches, pens, apparel and accessories, electronic
gadgets and home appliances.
Using the gift finder option here, you can locate the best gift suited
for you according to parameters of relationship, occasion and price. With
the option of being able to check which gifts are available in which city,
you can save yourself the bother of locating a great gift and later finding
out that its not available in the city you were planning to send it to.
Moreover, sensing the penchant of NRIs to gift health insurance to family
in India, giftagift.com has entered into an alliance with Apollo Hospitals
to offer some of their popular health products and services online.
Then there's neverdistant.com which gives customers the convenience
of paying either in rupees or in dollars. Its unique feature is the "loveshot"-unfortunately
available only in Delhi-which allows the sender to view the impact of
the gift on the recipient's visage for $1.99. Within 24 hours, you will
get an e-mail containing a picture of the receiver with your gift.
At dikshagifts.com, there's a Valentine 2002 Special that offers gifts
in two sections: Economy (below US$ 10) and Premium (above US$ 10). While
the options in both categories are interesting-mugs with the "definition
of love", bubble bath "love struck" box of luxurious spa
treats, monogrammed heart jewellery boxes-the point to note is that the
"below US$ 10" section only offers gifts worth US$ 9.99! They
promise to refund money if a gift does not reach on time due to their
fault. The portal offers the option of gifting dinners at Taj Hotels,
Resorts and Palaces.
A popular trend-albeit limited to bigger cities-is that of city-centric
websites: bangalore.net (for Bangalore recipients with an additional payment
of $6 for delivery on its outskirts), Delhigiftcentre.com (a bouquet of
15 fresh roses can cost US$13.95), Chennaibazaar.com which has joined
hands with reachhindustan.com for a comprehensive gifting site, Mumbaigifts.com
(just chocolates, sweets, cakes, flowers) and puneshopping.com, which
has choices of books, clocks, music and computers. Through flowers2in-dia.com,
send biryani and tandoori chicken from top restaurants in Mumbai and Pune
to foodie pals though it seems a tad expensive when the dollars are converted
into rupees. But they promise to deliver in one-three hours.
For sending a utility gift, try eindiamart.com, which promises to deliver
portfolio bags and business organisers within 24-48 hours. At send2india.com,
there are separate UAE and US gift shops and there's up to 12 per cent
discount in the "best buy" section.
If cosmetics make for the perfect gift, easyreachindia.com is the one
for you, where you can send Revlon cosmetics. They have glamour baskets
with different tags. Their Indian crafts section is good too with pieces
like Tanjore gold leaf painting and Gujarati embroidery design magazine
rack. You can also pay by cheque though these have to be drawn either
in INR or USD.
After this preview, let yourself succumb to the charms and temptations
of the Web for Valentine's Day.
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ISSUE FEB 11, 2002
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