The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Christmas spirit infuses city

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Dec 25, 2007
ePaper

Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Christmas spirit infuses city

Special Correspondent

Milling crowds, twinkling lights, traffic jams mark the flavour of the season

Special midnight mass has been organised in various churches, cathedrals and basilicas
Every bakery in the city has put out its best fare

— Photo: K. Murali Kumar

Colourful: A view of the illuminated Brigade Road on the eve of Christmas and New Year celebrations, in Bangalore on Monday.

BANGALORE: Whoever said Goa is the best place to be during Christmas should try to be in Bangalore, especially in the cantonment area: it is a carnival out there. The festive mood is all-pervading, twinkling lights everywhere — on homes, shops, hotels, roads, churches, some of the public buildings, cathedrals, malls and even inside the automobiles and public transport.

The roads are packed and traffic jams abound. But who cares? It is Christmas!

As the evening broke into the Christmas Eve it was as if all roads led to the centre of action Mahatma Gandhi Road, Brigade Road and Commercial Street. Some celebrations were also seen in Fraser Town, Cox Town, Benson Town, Langford town and Richmond town.

For most of young Christians, it was time to pick up their guitars and head towards their respective churches and get ready for the midnight mass preceded by some spiritual choir. Special midnight masses in various churches, cathedrals and basilicas in different languages namely English, Kannada and Tamil were organised. The highlight of the Christmas celebrations at the St. Mark’s Cathedral on Mahatma Gandhi Road was the 80-year-old pipe organ being played after it was revived from lying in state for more than 30 years.

Delicacies

The two foremost things that come to the mind during the Christmas are music and cakes. Every bakery in the city had put out its best fare. Some of the old bakeries like the Crown, Excelsior, Nilgiris and Fathima and The Sweet Chariot at Brigade Road and Cunningham Road outlets had whipped up special recipes. The extra large chocolate logs, the vanilla-strawberry duet with hot chocolate fudge were some of the scrumptiously gooey ones.

Every music store in the vicinity of Mahatma Gandhi Road played the Christmas specials, right from Jim Reeves, Matt Monroe, Amy Grant, Harry Belafonte and even the desi versions of jingle bells a million times. Planet M and Music World on Brigade Road were specially decorated and had stocked with every kind of Christmas music.

The Atmeeya Sangamam, a cultural ensemble of Fraser Town, had floated a special Christmas tableau, complete with a snow sledge on which a jolly Santa danced to the tunes of the season. Bell boys and door boys of almost all upmarket shops were dressed in a Santa suit.

The KFC, MacDonald’s, Yo China, on Brigade Road, Amravati on M.G. Cross Road, Pub World, Downtown on Residency Road all offered special treats for Christmas.

The entire Brigade Road was covered under a carpet of serial lights, its first since Deepavali.

A foreigner couple, Krug and Stephanie Bassy from Germany gamely parked themselves amidst the milling crowds outside the St. Mary’s Basilica in Shivajinagar, filming the mood in their video camera. They said the impressive altar of the basilica particularly reminded them of Christmas at home. Later, they were spotted filming at the St. Marks Cathedral.

The mood is guaranteed to continue. As one Karimuddin, one of the shopkeepers on Brigade Road, said: “It’s going to be a long night, not just for today but till December 31.”

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