Halifax : With just a couple of days left for Christmas, shopping has about peaked up here and almost all the Malls are offering discounts as high as 50 per cent off to lure the buyers. And of course in the Malls are special enclosures made for Santa Claus, who sits there in his red robe and flowing white beard.
Parents can be seen lining up with their children, who are eager to sit on Santa’s lap and tell him what they want as presents for Christmas. He gives them a patient hearing, offering them candies with the all too familiar ho-ho-ho thrown in for good measure as a lady clicks for a memorable photograph. 
Keen to know what Santa says, I asked the lady at the enclosure whether I could also sit next to him, to convey my feelings from India and was politely told to jump in the line. It took some time, but the wait was worth its weight in gold, for the joyful Santa had pleasurable memoirs of India.
And this is what he had to say. “Oh some of the elderly tea loving people, love Darjeeling Tea from India and I love getting it during Dewali, when the place is all lit up and decorated, so very much like Christmas here. I go in my sledge and the snow in the Himalayas is so very convenient for it to land and collect the Darjeeling Tea, which is presented to the tea lovers. It makes them so happy, and seeing them happy brings cheer to me also”, he said followed with his ho-ho-ho.
He asked me whether I wanted anything for a Christmas present, and wished me well, adding that next Dewali when he is getting Darjeeling Tea for his tea lovers, he will definitely bring me the present that I want. “Perhaps it could be a Christmas gift on Dewali”, he said with his guffaw, which was all too friendly.
A journalist with over 40 years of experience, Jagdish Bhatt was Editor, Hill Post (Uttarakhand).
Jagdish had worked with India’s leading English dailies, which include Times of India, Indian Express, Pioneer and several other reputed publications. A highly acclaimed journalist, he was a recipient of many awards
Jagdish Bhatt, aged 72, breathed his last on 28th August 2021 at his Dehradun residence.
