In the Past decade or so, "Diwali gifts" became a metaphor for the big, the exclusive, the pricey, denoting the power of "exchange". The most favoured corporate gifts to bureaucrats or those in power were bottles of Blue Label whiskey, expensive suit lengths or imported wine and chocolates.

But since last year, a new trend in gifts seems to be putting the truth of cyclical change back into motion. "Now, people seem to have tired of spending too much on gifts. They want cheaper, simpler, less ornamentative and organic tokens," says Vinita Nath, proprietor of Sondha, a Delhi-based gifts shop. This year, Nath has done miniature landscape gardens in flat pots, small plants including cacti in handis or holders in the shape of frogs or hippocampuses which are totally non-traditional symbols.

Gifts have undergone a tremendous change. While the jarringly repetitive word "different" is the selling line of many a gift shop, there truly is some perceivable difference. It is as if the market is determining the aesthetic quality of spending among Indians. Tranquillity sets, soft pillows filled with soothing herbs and oils, Feng Shui kits, varieties of teas, organic health foods, handmade paper items, floaters and bamboo lanterns have overtaken crockery and silverware. "The packaging is now more important than the gift itself, revealing a reverse trend," comments Poonam Malhotra, proprietor of Full Circle bookshop. Nath feels that people are waking up to the idea of bringing smiles on the faces of their dear ones rather than show off their status by the price tags on the gift. "There is an emphasis on cheap, happy innovations," she says. Looks like meaning is finding more buyers than money.