High on X’mas cheer

Just when Christmas was around the corner, the Andhra-Telangana tussle took a turn for the worse, sending all the Christmas shopping and party plans into a tizzy. But ask Hyderabadi Christians and they will unanimously agree that nothing can douse the spirit of the festival of joy and giving. From working their way around the prevailing tension to coming up with impromptu indoor plans, Hyderabadis are doing all it takes to have a merry Christmas.
Nathan Akshith, an engineer, whose last moment Christmas shopping plans went for a toss with the declaration of the 48-hour bandh, says, “Plans to go shopping and head out to the midnight mass had to be cancelled. But as far as festivities are concerned, nothing has changed. Leave alone this tussle, even a world war cannot dampen the Christmas spirit. The decorations are up, the goodies are made and we are going to have family and friends over for Christmas. There may be a bit of rescheduling, but nothing will be stalled.”
City youngsters who’ve returned home for the holidays say they won’t let the prevailing tension play spoilsport. “I’ve come from Coimbatore to celebrate Christmas with my family and I’m not going to let this unrest affect our yearly rituals. After all, Christmas comes only once a year,” says Emmanuel Kavoori, an engineering student, who spends Christmas visiting his relatives after the mass.
Michell Liu, a career cousellor, couldn’t agree more, “I never had elaborate plans for this Christmas, but the one plan that I had was to attend the midnight mass at St Johns Cathedral and I did not let the bandh scare or the unrest stop me. We did have to give up the midnight buffet, post the mass, but Christmas this year will be a family affair.”
There are others who prefer to look at the brighter side of things. Daniel Jaykumar, an engineer, says the bandh declaration has come as a boon.
“Every Christmas, we head out for a big family dinner to a restaurant. While we may not be able to do that this year, we have decided to have all my cousins over at my place for dinner. Elaborate plans are being made and an extensive menu is being decided upon. The only thing that was affected was our shopping plans. That said, it’s a great time to bond with family”