Indian traditional gifts Online for foreigners should have a hint of Indian culture and Indian colors, and it should be something that signifies what India is all about. Choosing the right gift for anyone can be difficult for many reasons.
The biggest reasons are lack of time and money, so here we are with a few gifting ideas for your friends abroad so that you don’t have to spend much time browsing or searching for Indian souvenirs online. We have attempted to include gifts in the range of inexpensive to expensive.
Indian Traditional Gifts Online: A Comprehensive Guide
INDIAN ETHNIC WEARS
India has a very rich and diverse culture. Be it its language, food, religion, tradition, and so on.
Like everything, Indian traditional clothing is also very diverse and unique in many ways; from Kashmir to Kanyakumari, we have adopted different articles of clothing because of the climate or ancient traditions.
So whenever foreigners come to India, the first few things they get very intrigued by are our food and our colorful clothing. So Indian clothing is one of the best Indian gift for American friend of yours. A few of the hand-picked options are:
1. Pashmina from Kashmir
This is prepared in the Kashmir region of India, and it is made up of the hair fiber from the changthangi goat from the Ladakh region of India.
Pashmina means “a fine wool”; it is very soft to the touch and gets softer with every use. It is also known as Cashmere.
Scarves or shawls made of pashmina are one of the ideal gifts to give to your foreign friend, though it’s quite expensive.
2. Mysore silk saree
It is one of the best silk sarees in India, and it is quite famous all around the globe.
These lightweight sarees are simple yet very graceful and elegant in design. Pure silk and gold zari give it a natural sheen and rich texture.
This saree also becomes a very good traditional gift item, showing pure Indian colors and craftsmanship.
3. Chikankari from Lucknow
Chikankari is a form of embroidery from the Lucknow region of India and is very famous. This is the form of embroidery introduced by the Mughals.
It is a very subtle and precise work on the garment, giving it a very classy and Nawabi look.
Initially, it was only done in white threads, but lately, you can get it in any color with advancements. So you can get saree, suits, scarves, bed sheets, table clothes and many more things in chikan work. So these handicrafts also make a very elegant gift.
INDIAN JEWELLERY
Indian jewelry has a uniqueness to it, and I am not talking about the very expensive gold or diamond jewelry here.
Here we are talking about street jewelry which we can get anywhere in India in any style, say traditional contemporary or designer. Everything is available everywhere, like jhumkas, bangles, and different kinds of neck pieces.
These are some of the best souvenirs or gifts that can be taken back or gifted to your friend from another land.
You can purchase this artificial jewelry in the streets and shops, or if you want to go for brands, there are some artificial jewelry brands also there in India like sukkhi, Zaveri pearls, Voylla, the Luxer, and many more.
They make a very good traditional gift item.
INDIAN POTTERY
Pottery is among India’s most ancient and unique arts and crafts, which has been practiced for centuries and has a significant value in Indian culture.
You can find handicrafts everywhere in India, like matkas, flower pots, chimes, surahis, sculptures, and many more. Pottery is a form of art that lets you express yourself. That’s why pottery is one of the most important parts of Indian tradition.
You can gift your foreigner friend these artifacts from India, and trust me, they will love them. There are many choices, like terracotta, khurja, khavda, and my favorite, the blue pottery from Jaipur.
You can find these potteries anywhere in India in shops or online, and there are wide varieties in varying ranges. Pottery can be an essential part of the home décor, so this makes another best Indian gift for American friend of yours or any other part of the world.
PAINTINGS
The tradition of painting has been in India for a very long, and the evidence of this can be found in many places like the murals in the caves of Ajanta and Ellora, Bhimbetka petroglyphs, Buddhist palm-leaf manuscripts, and the list goes on.
Painting is among the unique arts and crafts of India. With time the paintings also evolved and almost became a blend of different cultures and traditions.
There are different types of famous painting techniques in India, like Madhubani, warli,pattachitra, and Tanjore paintings. You can find these paintings on canvas, on pieces of clothes, or even on pottery.
These paintings make one of the best souvenirs for your friend as they are the perfect blend of Indian culture, colors, and tradition.
They illuminate any corner with love and colors where they are put. The folk paintings of India are famous and loved around the globe; they make a perfect gift.
INDIAN TEA AND COFFEE
India’s love for tea is world-famous.
Tea is the national addiction of India. We, as Indians, rely on our tea so much that our mornings don’t start without a sip of our famous masala tea.
India is the second-largest producer of tea in the world. We Indians don’t believe in tea bags, and we like to brew our tea in a pot slowly with all the spices and simmer it till it gives us that Indian CHAI vibe.
We have many famous teas in India, like Darjeeling tea, Assam tea, masala chai, kahwa, and Nilgiri tea, and our obsession with CHAI continues.
So as India produces a few of the most famous teas in the world, “Indian tea” can be a very flavourful gift for your foreigner friends, which will remind them of you every time they take a sip.
Like tea is India’s addiction, coffee is probably the world’s addiction.
Indian coffees are also one of the most sought-after beverages in the world, as most of the coffee is grown in the shade rather than under direct sunlight, making it one of the finest coffees in the world.
So you can send your friend the basket of these finest brews of India.
INDIAN PICKLES
Pickles are one of the most important condiments in Indian cuisine. Indians call it ACHAR, and any meal without pickle here is incomplete.
It adds a different flavor to any food. They come in different tastes like sweet, salty, tangy, etc., unlike the pickles we find in the USA which are basically cucumber in brine. Indian pickles are very different, and it contains a lot of different spices.
In India, we make pickles from almost everything, like vegetables, fruits, and sometimes even meats like mutton and fish pickles.
So you can send your friend abroad any pickle of their choice, according to their taste, and they will love it. It will surely remind them of India whenever they taste it.
SCENTED PRODUCTS
Who doesn’t like fragrances??
in current times, perfumes and deodorants are an essential part of our day-to-day life. In India, we specialize in making perfumes called Itra/Attar.
Here the fragrances are extracted from different natural ingredients and then mixed according to customer preferences right in front of them.
Making these attars are one of the unique arts and crafts of India. Hence these fragrances and very different from market-produced perfumes as they are naturally based, unlike perfumes which are chemical based.
These fragrances can be used in many ways, You can wear them, and a few fragrances like rose and kewra can even be used in making sweets and food items. Unlike perfumes, these are very long-lasting and have no side effects.
Plus, the best part is that it can be used as a room freshener as well, all you have to do is dilute 3-4 drops of attar in half a bowl of water and mix a few drops of your choice of essential oil, and your room will be fresh as a daisy.
So if any of your friends like the fragrances, ittra/attar is the best gift for them and can be a nice Indian souvenir online.
INDIAN SPICES
Indian history and culture with spices are as old as its civilization. We Indians are very possessive when it comes to our spices.
Our spices are an important part of our culture and our daily life. Spice trading is among the few things that helped in Indian globalization.
When anyone from other country visits India, the first thing they go for the food tasting, be it the street food or the five-course meal of a 5-star hotel, they are always mesmerized by the different tastes, textures, colors of Indian cuisines, and the secret for all this are our INDIAN SPICES.
These spices make our food more palatable and flavourful. In India, we use spices not only in food but we use it as medicine as well.
Since ancient times, we have believed that spices are the natural way of caring for and healing ourselves. Indian spices are one of the most sought-after spices in the whole world; they can be used as flavoring agents, for colors, and as preservatives as well.
So if your friend got a taste for Indian food, these spices could be the best gift you can buy for your foreigner friends.
AYURVEDIC PRODUCTS
India and Ayurveda are al, almost synonymous with each other. Ayurveda originated in India almost 3000 years ago.
Ayurveda comes from the amalgamation of Sanskrit words ayur means “life,” and Veda means “science or knowledge”.
So altogether, it became the science of life. It is the oldest way of holistically healing our bodies.
As Ayurveda originated in India, it is used in everything from food, medicines, cosmetics, and so on.
India has the world’s biggest brands in ayurvedic products in medicine, and cosmetics like Himalaya, zoic pharmaceuticals, Vicco, Patanjali, and Dabur India ltd. are a few of them.
Ayurveda is considered among the best ways of treating any ailment in the long run as it takes a longer time but has no side effects.
Yoga and ayurvedic spas are also very much sought after by foreigners in India for deep spiritual healing.
So in this way, ayurvedic products make a very special and Indian traditional gift item for your foreigner friend, its India in a hamper.
INDIAN BOOKS
Indian literature is undoubtedly one of the oldest and richest literature in the world.
India is a great destination for all book lovers; we have books on everything, like Indian culture, history, mythology, fiction, romantic novels, and so on.
But suppose you want to gift the book to any foreigner. In that case, we recommend giving something about India and its heritage.
Regarding mythology, we have Vedas (one of the oldest known scriptures in the world) named rig Veda, Saam Veda, Atharva Veda, and Yajur Veda.
Today people are very interested in different religious texts. If you are interested in Hindu mythology, Vedas are one to go, or you can go for Shrimad Bhagwat Geeta, Mahabharat, or Ramayan. These books ooze with spiritual knowledge.
However, if you are not into mythology, there are thousands of books about our history.
Also, there is some very famous fiction like Godan by Munshi Premchand, immortals of Meluha by Amish Tripathi, Wings of Fire by Apj Abdul Kalam (former president and scientist of India), there are a few beautifully written must-read biographies as well like spy princess, Gandhi before India, beyond the last blue mountain.
These were the few drops from the ocean of literature we have. So if you have a bookworm friend, then books about Indian culture and heritage are the best choice.
IDOLS\FIGURINES
Everybody loves decorating their homes, and there are numerous ways of doing that, like using paintings, colors, plants, different types of handicrafts and artifacts, etc.
Indian sculpture artists are fascinated by mythology, be it Hindu idols, buddha sculptures, or sculptures related to Christianity.
You can find n number of varieties of idols here. They can be made out of plastic, or metal, carved in wood, or even sculpted in stones.
So you can always buy these for your foreign friends and send them over to brighten one of the corners of their house a little more; they will appreciate it.
CD’s\DVD OF INDIAN MOVIES AND MUSIC
There are many movie and television industries worldwide, but the most famous ones are Hollywood and Bollywood.
We Indians are very proud of our movie industry; it is one of the world’s biggest industries, producing approximately 1500 to 2000 movies per year in 20 different languages. From north to south, India has different film industries, like the Punjabi industry.
Then we have Bhojpuri, Bengali, Hindi, and last but not least south Indian industry, which is on a boom right now and making its presence felt all over the world.
Most people love Indian music and movies because its very different from their industry. Here in our industry, we have songs, dances, colorful sets, and flashy clothes, which are hard to find in western movies. Here you can choose from various genres according to your friend’s preference, like romantic, action, biography, mythology, and ancient history.
You can get them documentaries about India as well. A few recommendations are Dil Chahta hai, mother India, Munna Bhai MBBS, Taare Zameen par, Lagaan, RRR, Bahubali, and many more.
You can always gift them as Indian souvenirs online or through DVDs. Trust me. It is one of the best Indian gifts for an American friend of yours, which they will thoroughly enjoy.
INDIAN SWEETS
I hardly think that anyone in this world can live without sweets. Sweets or desserts are the ones who complete our meals.
When it comes to Indian sweets, which are called mithai in India, there are numerous varieties, from juicy gulab jamuns to crispy jalebis.
Indian sweets have their niche in the global market, and sweets in India have boundless significance. For us, sweets symbolize love, happiness, joy, and prosperity, and all our festivals and special occasions are incomplete without sweets.
So our sweets are a must-have for anyone visiting India. We have all the options, from very sweet and less sweet to sugar-free sweets.
A few of the best sweets to buy will be Kaju Katli, gulab jamun, jalebi, Motichoor laddu, and so on. So if your friend has a sweet tooth, then no gift can be better than these sweets.
So go ahead and send it as a gift and see the magic happen.
DRY FRUIT BOX
What are dry fruits? These fruits are dried, so there is no water content left in them.
They can be dried under the sun or by using a dehydrator. Dry fruits contain antioxidants, proteins, essential oils, calcium, and numerous other nutrients. Dry fruits help us to keep healthy.
They are good for your hair and skin, and they are good for dental and heart health as well.
They can also be used in preparing food; almonds, cashews, raisins, and pistachios are widely used in sweet dishes, and dates are one of the most used dried fruits in the Middle East.
So if you want to gift your friend something healthy and tasty, you can buy them these dry fruits, which make the perfect gift.
We hope we have covered all the best Indain traditional gift online ideas from India for your friends abroad. If you think we have missed out on anything or should add something more, please let us know in our comment section. We are always open to suggestions.
