Christmas 2025: How these Mumbaikars are spreading the festive cheer

Updated On: 21 December, 2025 09:39 AM IST | Mumbai | Debjani Paul

For many Mumbaikars, this time of the year is not just about the carols, tinsel, or decorated trees — ‘tis the season of giving to those in need of some joy and comfort

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Balram Vishwakarma in a Santa costume, distributing toys to children in Cooper Hospital in 2023

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‘Santa and happy children, it’s the first link that comes to mind’
Balram Vishwakarma, Marketing executive

For Balram Vishwakarma, the Christmas spirit about gratitude and giving back. “My late father had a 150-square-foot workshop in Jogeshwari where we made bakery tins and equipment like trays, cake moulds, icing knives, decoration stands, and so on,” he recalls, “We would get extremely busy two months before Christmas, since bakeries — interestingly, mostly owned by Muslims — needed new tins and equipment. Christmas brought us as much money as Diwali brings others, so as a sign of gratitude we would celebrate Christmas at home and distribute cakes and chocolates to our neighbours.”

One of his core memories from his childhood is of his father handing out 40-50 cakes in their colony in Behrambaug, Jogeshwari, every Christmas, much to the bemusement of their neighbours. “At one point, people in our neighbourhood assumed that we [Bihari Hindus] were closeted Christians but most eventually understood that since our trade revolved around the bakery business, Christmas was directly tied to our prosperity,” Vishwakarma explains.

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