Indian Christmas

I’m at a hotel in Nashik. It’s all decked up for Christmas. A plum cake was delivered to my room with Merry Christmas sketched out in chocolate on the plate. The hotel is sold out, but it is easy to tell that most guests are not Christian. Some are Sikh. Most are Hindu. In the lobby this morning, a Muslim family was recognizable by its traditional wear. Anyway, the thing to tell you is that in the small world I move around in, Hindus appear to have appropriated Christmas.

Merry Christmas! And, because I’m entering a Buddhist retreat on Wednesday, and will observe complete silence for ten days with all my digital devices surrendered, I wish all you lovely people right now: Happy New Year!

If you read this micro-post until this point, you may want to read this story in the Guardian.