Pritam's Blog
My Christmas
I am an atheist. But like any other kid,I too was ‘taught’ to be religious as a kid.And I was a religious kid. I still remember the way I used to wear a ‘dhoti’ and perform ‘Puja’ when I was six-seven years old. I was a Shiva Bhakt unlike the other members of my family who are Vaishnavites. But it was OK with them as long as it’s a Hindu deity.
My mother,however,was cool with everything.Yes,she is a practising Hindu. I am saying it because in one of my previous posts,I had mentioned her as a rebel which she is,for she doesn’t believe in many of the so called ‘customs’ and ‘traditions’, but she believes in God. And she was the one who introduced me to other religions,Christianity and Islam to be precise, and taught me that ‘their’ religion was as good as ‘ours’,something my grandparents,who taught me about Hinduism never said. At this, I want to add something. At an age,when other parents teach their kids that Gods exist and that they should believe in their existence,thereby resulting in a mental condition that the other way-the idea of a Godless world is unimaginable to the kids,it was my mother,a religious woman,who told me that there was another way too- and that is not to believe in God. She was the one who,despite being religious,introduced me to ‘Atheism’.
Anyway,coming back to what I was saying-because my mother taught me religious tolerance,I never hated Muslims or Christians or people from any other faiths,but I was also a kid who knew he was Hindu…
But I was a kid after all,and the stories about how people of other religions celebrate their festivals used amaze me…
Once I asked her if Santa would give a Hindu kid like me any Christmas present.She said ‘Yes’. And in the morning on the Christmas day, I found a toy under my pillow,beautifully wrapped.I was so happy. I really believed it was Santa who got me the present. And in the evening,on her way from office,my mother bought cakes and pastries,to celebrate Christmas with me.
Now,maybe it doesn’t mean anything to anyone. But considering the fact that we were a conservative Hindu family living in a village,it was quite a ‘matter’ of discussion,firstly because it was a Christian festival my mother was teaching me to celebrate, and second,we were so poor back in those days that celebrating an outsider’s festival was kind of luxury,a wastage of money.
But my mother continued to do it every year, until I was grown up enough to know that it was not Santa, but my mother who kept the gifts under my pillow…
When I grew up, became an atheist, and a part of me used to feel irritated knowing that my mother was a practising Hindu,I asked her why she would celebrate an ‘outsider’s’ festival with me if she believed in Hinduism so much…
And she asked me,“Tell me,did you not feel happy everytime you found a gift under a pillow?”
“I did.”
She smiled and said,“That’s what matters to me.Your happiness… And being happy has nothing to do with one’s religion… The mere thought of Santa dropping a present for the kids around the world brings so much smile to their faces… And nothing in this world is more beautiful than a kid’s smile… And religion shouldn’t be a barrier in its way…”
This is something I never forgot. This was one of the reason that despite being an atheist, I never kept myself away from religious festivals as long as it has nothing to do ‘torturing’ others with stupid songs playing on megaphone or animal sacrifice or things of that sort… I am always ‘in it’ as long as it is celebration in the truest sense of the word.
I worked for two years before and after graduation. And in those two years(the second year being the last year) I celebrated Christmas with kids living in slums…And the smile on their face…Blissful !
This year, I do not have a job (I quit it in last February). And I am broke. So I thought I couldn’t celebrate it this time.
This evening as I went downstairs to buy cigarettes from the shop opposite to our appartment, I saw this kid in torn dresses,returning from somewhere with a bag in his back,the zip open.I bought a Cadbury dairy milk from the shop and put it inside his bag.
Cause even one child’s smile is precious.
P.S.- If there is ann ‘Bhakt’ reading this and feels that I am propagating Christianity, it’s my humble request to him to go fuck himself.