Merry Christmas

After an excellent Christmas at Agra in 2012 it was time for 

a decent Christmas celebration in 2013.

Why I call the Christmas in 2012 excellent?

1. It was the first Christmas self and my catholic wife were spending together in India.

2. We were very new in Agra and did not have a home our shelter was a hotel 

room and we were changing hotels on 25^th December.

3. Agra was bitterly cold and foggy with almost no sun.

4. I had joined a new job and my office was open on Christmas day.

5. I did not have a transport of my own.

6. The road in Agra, dark without street lights and deserted 

as night as falls, which ultimately gives you a feeling of insecurity.

When I returned back from work it was already 8-30 pm.

 It was bitter cold out the dark roads were empty with a thick fog cover. 

It did not seem like it was Christmas, A day of celebration and 

merry making. Just like another cold winter night. 

People prefer to stay indoors for the biting cold.

 I was happy to find that my wife had managed to move to the new hotel alone, 

with our huge luggage.

Although we wanted to spend the evening outside,

 the dark deserted and foggy roads prompted us not to risk venturing outside. 

We ate our quiet simple Christmas dinner in the hotels dining room. 

On that day I said to myself, the next Christmas we will not be in Agra.

On 24 December, 2013, afternoon we reached Pondicherry (also called Puducherry)

 a French colony for many years, now a union territory of free India. 

It has a fair amount of Christian population. 

After checking into our hotel we walked down to the nearest 

Catholic Church on Mission road.

It was an old church whose cleanliness, 

inside decor and paintings on the dome thrilled us. 

The Church was gearing up for the last minute preparation. 

The big number of chairs in the open space suggested there 

will be a huge turnout for the mid-night mass. 

The priest also said that we must come well before the mass begins to have a seat.

The only concern left was how safe are the streets of Pondicherry after mid-night?

 we have to walk back to our hotel after the mass.

 Everybody we asked said that the streets are safe and secure even after mid-night.

Pondicherry being in south India has a tropical climate so houses have no fire-place or chimneys. 

Santa has to come through the door. On our way to the church after dinner we 

saw women and kids busy putting up colorful Rangoli designs in front of their house. 

The shops along the street were brightly lit up, had decorated Christmas tree 

and other Christmas decorations, “in the air there is the feeling of Christmas”.

The road in front of the  church was cordoned off and no traffic movement 

or parking of vehicles was allowed.

People who did not get a place inside the church sat outside for the mass.

The mass started a bit late and stretched for two hours and was in Tamil,

 the language we Do Not Understand. Never mind be it in any language God is God.

My wife was very happy as we walked back at 2-30 am to our hotel with our hearts filled with Joy.

It was a Merry Christmas after all.