To most Mumbaikars, Christmas seems like a familiar and comforting festival – bilkul ghar jaisa. We spoke to a few who go all out every December, no matter what religion they belong to. And it's a heartwarming thing to see
Soha Ali Khan and her dog Oreo pose with her Christmas tree, crafted from recycled scraps of paper and put together by her daughter Inaaya and her friends. Pic/Ashish Raje
‘I told Inaaya, Santa takes the lift!’
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Soha Ali Khan, actor-author
We are at Soha Ali Khan’s tastefully done apartment in Khar, and her dog Oreo, a Maltese and Shih Tzu mix, is playing with her as she poses for us with her Christmas tree. “We had a play date here a few days ago, and the kids made it with leftover scraps of paper. We are a bunch of parents and we all take onus of one festival—this year, it was Christmas,” she says, sipping some green tea.
But Khan says that she has been celebrating Christmas ever since she was growing up in Delhi.
The tree-making workshop is held by art centre Crafty Bugs Atelier, which is run by Chinky Sainani. Afreen Ansari from Crafty Bugs helped the kids made the tree. Pic/Ashish Raje
“Bhai (Saif) was responsible for giving us gifts. We would hang our socks near the fireplace, leave snacks for Santa, and a carrot for Rudolph. Our brother was responsible for filling it up, doing all the tam jham. We often got very traditional gifts, like an apple or a book. Wonder what he got—we never bothered at that time because all we wanted was our own gifts.”
This year, Khan along with husband Kunal Khemu and daughter Inaaya will head to Pataudi to celebrate on December 25, and bring in New Year’s.
Khan rues that here, in Mumbai, in the high-rise that they stay in, there is no concept of fireplaces. “So Inaaya asked me, ‘How will Santa come?’ I said, ‘He will take the lift’,” she says, laughing. “The kids also have been told the story of Christmas, but they all want to know how Santa and Jesus are connected!”
As part of the workshop, the kids also wrote down what they wanted for Christmas, and Khan says Inaaya’s letter was a wholesome one. “She understands Christmas is not about presents—she wrote a letter and asked for world peace and for her family to be happy. In the end though, she slipped in that she wanted a cookery set. She loves baking!”
Dreaming of a Black Christmas
Shruti Haasan, actor-singer
For Shruti Haasan, it was a natural choice to extend her goth aesthetic to Christmas celebrations as well. This year, Haasan will be away on a shoot during the festivities, but that hasn’t curbed her enthusiasm to decorate her all-black tree, as has been her tradition for a couple of years ago.
Haasan’s dark tree is adorned with twinkly lights and silver ornaments, along with a silver star for its crowning glory. The only nod to colour is a skirt of brilliant red poinsettias, and green and red tinsel at the foot of the tree.
How did people react the first time she did up a black tree? “They thought it’s cool, that it was fun,” she says.
Shruti Haasan puts her own stamp on festivities with the choice to go with a black tree
While sharing joy with family and friends still remain central to her celebrations, Haasan put her own stamp on the festivities with the choice to go with a black tree instead of the traditional green.
There’s no goth dress code for her Christmas parties though. In fact, Christmas is the one day when even Haasan puts aside her dark aesthetic. “I might throw on a bit of red,” she says, adding, “For me, Christmas holds a lot of beautiful childhood memories—growing up in Chennai, having a Christmas tree and having all my friends come over. I also have a lot of Christian friends, I’ve grown up around the culture of celebrating Christmas, so it’s been a big part of my life.”
‘It’s about keeping traditions alive’
Sarika Motiani with her Christmas décor at home. Pic/Ashish Raje
Sarika Motiani, hairstylist
Christmas is special as it’s a very happy vibe, and brings the family together,” says Sarika Motiani, who transforms her living space with Christmas decorations every December. Motiani, whose husband Avinash Jagtiani lived in Hong Kong for a while, says it was a part of his childhood—going to parties, singing carols, and having authentic Christmas lunch—and so he has continued all the traditions his father started. “Everything is bought at Hill Road, and some from Amazon. The lights are lit up every morning, and at night, and it makes us happy. It makes us feel like there is a festival happening!”
Staying true blue to their roots
Priyanka Paul and Shrujana Shridhar, artists and illustrators
When Priyanka Paul moved out of her family home into her own place in Bandra that she shares with friend and fellow artist Shrujana Niranjani Shridhar, it was a chance for her to celebrate in the way she had always wanted—a Blue Christmas, to bring her overlapping identities as a Christian and Dalit together.
Priyanka dons a blue Santa hat; (right) An anti-caste greeting card designed by her featuring “Periyar Santa”
“There’s no Dalit Christian practice. Our history, culture was robbed from us,” says Paul, who has been a vocal proponent of the anti-caste movement, “The nature of caste is so pervasive, that it has stuck with Dalit Christians even after conversion. Within the church and Christians in India, casteism is prevalent; Brahmin Christians call themselves Brahmin Christians. So, we can’t all be considered as one and united.”
Her childhood Christmases were always traditional, but having her own space for the first time meant Paul could “choose what’s important to me, and how to make Christmas reflect that”. For someone who grew up in an inter-caste, mixed-religion home amid Hindu, Christian and Buddhist cultures, weaving her Dalit identity into the celebrations is also a way for Paul—who is not a practising Christian—to reconnect with her faith.
Priyanka Paul and Shrujana Shridhar host a Blue Christmas party, complete with a blue tree and a dress code to match
Why Blue Christmas? “It’s is an important colour for the anti-caste movement [BR Ambedkar famously wore blue suits],” she says. The fact that December 25, 1927, is also the day that Ambedkar had burned the Manusmriti as a mark of resistance against casteism and sexism makes it all the more symbolic.
The duo now intend to make an annual tradition of it, after the success of their first Blue Christmas last year. Their flat was done up entirely in blue, from the tree to decor accents like ribbons and buntings, to even the tableware. Everyone wore blue, including Shridhar’s bowtie-sporting dog Bombil.
It was a conscious decision to bring into focus the true spirit of Christmas, which in recent years has been appropriated into a capitalist festival, she says. “At a time when minorities are under threat in the country, even Christmas is being whitewashed into a ‘winter festivity’, to the point where it’s no longer a festival for Christians. Now it’s more about hot chocolate than Jesus Christ,” she rues.
“Christmas,” she says, “is the season of generosity and a time to be thankful for all you have. It’s about cooking and eating together. All our friends had come over and we made grilled chicken, mashed potatoes and chorizo pulao. We sang carols. I made them greeting cards featuring [anti-caste activist] Periyar Santa.”
It’s important to highlight the joy of the anti-caste movement, which so often gets shrouded by the struggle, says Paul. “Our happiness is also political.”
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