With the trees going up, stars glowing with festive hubris, the occasional Santa ho-hoing and a general holly-jolly merriment in the air, it is beginning to look a lot like Christmas in Bengaluru.
What’s adding to the festivities? Well, the spirit of giving of course! City folk are celebrating the big holidays by doing their bit for their fellow humans. We catch up with some of the stories that are giving us the warm fuzzies.
For the team at the Radio Indigo 91.9 office, the spirit of giving is looking outwards instead of inwards. “We realised that we wanted to make it a good one for children that don’t always have luxuries that we take for granted. Some of the things they wanted weren’t even luxuries, just really simple things like pullovers, shoes, hair bands, clips, frocks and toy guitars that cost us very little, but mean the world to them,” says RJ Michelle Patrao, who is even inviting her listeners to play personal Santa Claus by coming forward to give out presents.
The team is reaching out to over 40 children at an orphanage via The Open Door Foundation and they have a good reason. “In today’s overly materialistic society, it’s all about having the biggest and the brightest, the latest and the greatest. We forget that those aren’t the things that truly make us happy. The best moments in life are the ones you share with others. Giving and helping others is a great reality check that there’s more to life than trying to make yourself happy by acquiring ‘things,’ adds RJ Nathan Woerter, who will be going over to sing some carols while playing Santa too! There’s only so much one person can do, but what if a lot of them came together? That was the thought that struck Bengalurean Jovina Smith.
“You want to do something, but you don’t know how. But it gets serious when it’s up on Facebook. I put out a general post asking if people would be up to do some good this season and the response was overwhelming,” says the 26-year-old piano teacher. She and her friends have raised over Rs 56,000 to benefit the kids of graveyard workers at the Kalpalli Cemetry in the city.
“The conditions that they were living in were quite bad so we are not just getting them floor mats, mosquito repellents, emergency lights and footwear, but also personalised presents from their wish lists,” she says, prepping to hold a Christmas party for the kids along with Santa in tow.
Pooches in the city are getting some help from kind Samaritans too. For instance, the Pawzmas Tree —‘Tree of Giving’ at the Cessna Lifeline animal hospital is collecting used/extra pet supplies for less fortunate animals at animal shelters on behalf of Bengaluru Opts to Adopt.
“With a Christmas theme, we’ve also clicked pictures of pups that were rescued to put up on the ‘Tree of Giving’ at the hospital,” says pet photographer and Bengalurean Ashok Chintala who worked pro bono on the shoot so you can give a fur baby, your home for Christmas.
