Christmas In Bandra: Carols And Razzle-Dazzle Return To The Mumbai Neighbourhood After Two Pandemic Years

The fairy lights on the streets, the festive decorations at the windows, the rows of little shops decked up in all its finery and the pop ups are a joyful reminder that Christmas is around the corner. Every inch of the road is laden with decorations, Christmas trees of medium and miniature sizes, cute bells, snowflakes, Christmas doormats, wind chimes, wreaths, miniature Santa Claus, stockings, beautiful candle sets, coloured festoons, cribs, baubles and ribbons. The shops look inviting and hard to resist. When you walk into Bandra, a suburb to the west of Mumbai, you know that it is Christmas time.

Though Christmas is celebrated in every part of Mumbai, it cannot rival the fanfare, razzle-dazzle and the pageantry as the celebrations in Bandra, a traditional Catholic neighbourhood. The sales pitch of shopkeepers selling the Christmas dreams are a clincher. The Santa caps on their heads and the “glow light” around their necks beckon you into the shops crammed with Christmas paraphernalia. To every corner you cast the eyes, it is a sea of red and green, the traditional Christmas colours. The air is thick in anticipation of the celebrations ahead.

On all other days through the year Bandra appears jaded with its traffic jams, the constant cacophony of the shopkeepers which is an irritant, the teeming crowd of shoppers, the narrow streets barely wide enough for a single car to pass and the aromas wafting from roadside eateries. Come Christmas and the same irritants become a matter of joy for the shoppers and revellers caught in the spirit of the festivities.

“Christmas is special in Bandra. We all use the time to reconnect with everyone, meet and greet as many as we can,” said Annabelle Ferro, “Bandraphile”, writer and playwright. “The years have brought so many changes to this suburb, but the spirit of Christmas has enhanced multi-fold,” she said. “In the good old days there was a saying that if you threw a stone in Bandra it would hit a Pereira, now it will hit either a Salman Khan or Aamir Khan,” she joked.

Today, Bandra is a far cry from the days of yore – now it home to the affluent. The mass migration of the Christians from Bandra to Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the USA, has definitely affected their numbers, but it has not dampened the spirit of Christmas, said Ferro. With many others moving into the far-flung suburbs of Kandivli, Borivali and Vasai, traditional Christmas celebrations have scattered across Mumbai. Yet, it is the Bandra celebrations that rule over the rest of Mumbai, said Ferro.

There are two parts to Bandra – the rural sites or gaothans and the cosmopolitan face of the place. Tall skyscrapers have replaced many of the quaint bungalows which had given Bandra its unique blend of the old and the new. Bandra is now a trendy address, a home to the super rich film stars and others from Bollywood. The “doodhwala” has been replaced by the patisserie and paan shops with paan boutiques.

With the pace of development picking up in the area like any other, there is a hard jostling between the old and the new. However, come Christmas and the old wins over the new. With six parishes and a basilica in the suburb, Christmas fervour in Bandra attracts people from all over. From December 20 onwards, residents and the members of the various parishes move around Bandra singing carols. Such groups also assemble at street corners and sing popular carols.

Though the culture of street carol singing has been on in Bandra for several decades, it is the year 2000 that it started picking up popularity. In that year, Ferro and a team of Bandra residents organized carol shows on the street, the first one being on a little street off St Andrews Road. Leslie Lewis, Roger Drego and a host of other celebrities voluntarily participated in this street carol singing lending it a star shine. Since then, this event has grown larger and has seen a larger inclusion.

In 2019-2020, the years of the Covid-19 lockdown, this event went virtual. The Very Bandra Christmas, a 12-day virtual event was organized by Ferro and team. “All those who had migrated connected virtually. The world became our street. The promo was Santa Claus moving around in different locations. We started using this promo from October and by December everyone waited eagerly for the event,” said Ferro.

This year the live carolling events have already started and includes the popular Candy’s restaurant, Bandra Gymkhana, Carters Road, St Andrews Road, Hill Road, Linking Road etc. Carols on Convent Street is a much-awaited happening. Residents cardon off the road and set up a makeshift stage for the crooning Bandraites to assemble here to participate. Festive seekers can find the magical experience of carolers, choirs, lights and decorations a heady mix.

All restaurants are advertising the sumptuous Christmas spread – lunches and dinners – which includes stuffed pigling, vindaloo, roast chicken, sarpotel, variety of poultry, meat dishes etc. “Christmas lunches are always a family affair. It is the time when families meet, greet each other and eat together,” said Joshua Thomas, a landscaper. According to him, the traditional Christmas pudding – a brown pudding with raisins, nuts and cherries – is a must have. “Christmas is the time to eat, so eat all you can. Bandra gives you the best Christmas cuisine,” said Thomas. Bars and restaurants are filled with patrons joining in the merriment.

As bright, shiny lights illuminate the pathways those in Bandra are warped in the spirit of the holidays while stars and lanterns hang in the trees gifting revellers the holiday spirit.