Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year 2014 !!
To all my extended family, may this day and all the coming days be full
of just unlimited happiness and joy. May all your wishes come true, may
family and friends remain out of harm and illness. May there be peace
among us, to imbibe adversity and confrontation with love and care. And
may we be as always with each other holding hands, sharing caring and
loving each other ! So help me God !!
For the first time ever in my remembrance, brother brought in a
Christmas tree in the house and decorated it with the finest trappings
of all that goes to make it look inviting and attractive. But more, he
hung little gifts for us all and as the midnight hour struck, asked us
over to look for our goodies. It was so sweet and generous and
considerate to have done all that – and all done quietly, all by
himself ! Oh ! Such a wonderful moment. We had a few guests over for
dinner and he had gifts for them as well. So well thought out and
executed ! Everyone was quite quite overwhelmed !
The guests at dinner were then treated to some special cooking by mom, and I have to say that even for ‘conservative indian vegetarian
food addict me’ it was a delight. There was laughter and happy
conversation, great revelations and stories of interest on the dining
table, everyone holding tightly to their gifts off the christmas tree !
And as I sit down to pen my thoughts (strange that we still use
this expression even though there is the absence of the inked pen ), I
am so nostalgic of the many christmas eves celebrated throughout these years ! The midnight carol singing in the cold of northern India, the
coffee breaks to keep us warm and awake, those visits to the neighbors
and then the little gifts that we received when we went across. The
special cake and pastry for the occasion. The mid night mass that we
attended with all our friends in the nearby church and just such a
feeling of warmth and happiness throughout. ”
A very large contingent of the official colleagues visited me again today – its
raining extended families here in office – and it was such a
joy to be with them and theirs, to exchange greetings and gifts brought
across with such thoughtfulness and feeling. I am ever so grateful to
them all and for their kindness and love. God bless you ! And I shall
respond to each separately in time to come, thank you !
And as the year comes to an end, one cannot but feel a sense of
sadness and jubilation all at once. The good that happened, the bad that
overcame us. The trials we faced and the triumphs we accomplished. The
faces we met, the situations we encountered. The distances we travelled,
the territories we discovered. The love that we received, the abuse
that we endured. The tears that we shed and the tears that we wiped. The
laughter of loved ones, the playful presence of the young. That hand of
help that you extended, that reprimand that you received. The feel and
touch of reverence in divine company, the disappointment of unanswered
prayer. The exhilaration of success, the remorse of failure. The joy of
acquisition and equally its sudden loss.
And lastly – the benevolence of the Almighty through all of this and more …
Thank you Lord for your grace and sustained care ; to keep me human and with life !
View of the Church of Belgaum, where i am going to go for Christmas eve.
Love
Harish Nayak
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