The Christmas Spirit

It was a task waking up on the 25^th of December, 2010 after a spree of party hopping which included lots of drinks, food and dancing. It was like my body had split into half. The morning rays pierced through my eyes as my mother moved the curtain to let some light into my room. Surprisingly my phone was ringing louder than my head as I answered it. It was a friend of mine who was playing a show that day at the Bandra Amphitheatre. So after confirming with a couple of other mutual friends we made our way to Bandra that evening.

The only thing that had me excited about Christmas was the parties, nothing else. As we rode our bikes through the city, I couldn’t help but notice how the ‘Spirit of Christmas’ that was hyped so much when I was a little child had deteriorated into commercialization. It was as if people were trading the Spirit of Christmas for a new expensive dress so they could look all pretty for the Christmas party and I was honestly no saint. I did feel sad for the beggars, who let alone new clothes, couldn’t even afford food but I could care less about them. It’s as if I had lost that certain Spirit myself.

It was a great show. We had fun head-banging throughout the gig. After the show, we decided to go for diner and then spend some time at Carter road. So we made our way towards our bikes and stopped by a bar and restaurant to decide where we would eat before we started our engines. Our discussions were continuously being invaded by a little child who was begging. So a friend of mine looked at him and removed his wallet although I told him not to but as stubborn as he was, he did. Much to my surprise, the kid did not accept the money, he said he was hungry. Although his plea fell on my deaf ears, my friend was overflowing with sensitivity towards the homeless little brat.

I couldn’t believe my eyes, he actually took the kid by his hand, took him into the Bar and Restaurant, bought him a plate of rice, dal and vegetables, sat with him listening to the child’s tragic tale till he had finished eating and gave him some more food and money which he could take back to his family. The rest of the journey kept me thinking about what just happened. I asked him why did he do it, he could have just given him the money and we could have been well on our way, to which he responded by saying, “We have parents who work, look after us, buy us clothes and accessories, gifts and meet all our needs and demands, can’t we just spare a little time and affection with the people who don’t have these things?” His answer hit me harder than the slaps I received from my mother as a child.

I couldn’t help but assume that the Spirit of Christmas, though very dim was still out there somewhere and with some people who bothered to keep it alive. Christmas is also referred to as the season of giving but have we really done anything for the unfortunate? It’s just that our minds are filled with so many thoughts about what we’re going to wear for Christmas mass or how we are going to spend the rest of the night or which party we should go to that we sideline the actual concept of giving and sharing. Although I still feel Christmas is highly commercialized, I was glad that I got to see a glimpse of the true Christmas Spirit in a friend that I held in high regards ever since.