Are gift-givers stingy, or is the Toshakhana peddling fakes?

It is commendable that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has decided to keep only a few tea sets from among the many gifts he received in his official capacity, but the modest valuations put by the government on all the items in the Toshakhana should annoy or embarrass those who bestowed them. Given the considerably reduced value of the rupee, that gifts given to our most important functionaries are deemed to be worth a mere Rs 1,000-5,000 points to an unusual stinginess on the part of foreign governments.

That could, of course, be ascribed to the continuing recession and reflect concern about their own taxpayers’ attitude regarding extravagance towards visiting VIPs. Or, more alarmingly, however, it could indicate that officials tasked with procuring gifts are not averse to bargain basement deals from dubious vendors, perhaps even knockoffs, to keep up appearances.

Luxury brands could also have a bone to pick with Toshakhana valuations, as even their infrequent sales do not see prices of watches and the like falling to Rs 1,000 in India. That implies either that the items are fakes — which should prompt an official protest from India about this insult to our dignitaries — or that the brands are foisting unreasonable markups on gullible ordinary (if well-heeled) Indians at their outlets here!