“ Silent night, holy night” , we sang in chorus shattering the silence of the wet and cold Christmas night in Madras over 30 years ago. My throat was sore after singing “ Joy to the world ” at the top of my voice to wake up the carol weary but faithful church members. Our songs surely had the desired effect. Doors opened and we were given a warm welcome and the chukku kappi soothed our sore throats. Our carols even woke up the neighbours from other faiths, who gladly invited us in and treated us to home-cooked goodies in the unearthly hours. Our hired vans ferried us faithfully throughout the night right up to the wee hours of the day. We would encounter vans carrying Ayyappa devotees on their pilgrimage and shout halleluiahs to them and they would greet us back with Swami Saranam … Christmas also brings back memories of the greeting cards that we used to pick up from CLS – that was THE default stop for buying those lovely hallmark cards. Inserting them into their respective pas...