21 December,2025 09:39 AM IST | Mumbai | Debjani Paul
Balram Vishwakarma in a Santa costume, distributing toys to children in Cooper Hospital in 2023
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.
As a child, he remembers being thrilled about the boom in business and the ensuing celebrations, because it meant his birthday in January would be celebrated more grandly too. His father passed away in 2014, and the manufacturing unit was shut down in 2018, but Vishwakarma continues the family tradition to this day. No more cakes, though. The 31-year-old tries to spread Christmas cheer among some of the most vulnerable people - sick children.
In 2023, he dressed up as Santa and took 100-150 stuffed toys to distribute in the paediatric ward of Cooper Hospital. He sought permission from the hospital authorities and followed all their guidelines, such as not picking small toys that could pose a choking hazard for little kids. Last year, he was in Delhi for a project during Christmas and distributed plates of biryani to paediatric patients and their family members outside AIIMS. This year, he hopes to return as Cooper Hospital's Santa.
"I had always seen my father spread joy among children during festivities. Christmas and happy children - it's the first association that comes to my mind to this day," he says, "At first, I had imagined the children in the hospital would dance for joy on getting new toys, but they are sick, so many can't even get out of their beds. But their faces show how much comfort and delight the plushies bring them." "Most Hindu families splurge on festivities and gifts for others during Diwali, but I am very happy that for my family, this happens twice a year - Diwali and Christmas."
Some 16 years ago, Varsha Taurani used to be scared of dogs, but didn't have the heart to say no when her daughter asked for a dog. They brought home Snoopy, a white Spitz, from the Youth Organisation in Defense of Animals or Yoda shelter in Bandra, and her life was forever changed.
"I went from being scared of dogs to falling deeply into animal welfare work," Taurani says, chuckling, "I used to be one of those people who went to someone's house and asked them to put their dogs in a different room. Now I don't like it when people come to my home and tell me to put my dog away."
After Snoopy passed away, the family got a second dog, Max, and then a third - Snowy, a Lhasa Apso and Spitz mix, also from Yoda. There was no denying it, Taurani had become a full-on dog person. And she never forgot where it all started: Yoda.
Varsha Taurani with two of her favourite furry residents at the Yoda rehab centre in Khar. PIC/NIMESH DAVE
In the 16 years since she first adopted Snoopy from the shelter, Taurani has volunteered with them for rescue and rehabilitation of community dogs and abandoned pets, and also donated funds, medicines, and food for the furry inhabitants of the shelter. Every Christmas, she asks the centre what supplies they need, be it medicines or food, and brings it round.
This year, Yoda launched a new four-storey clinic in Khar West that was funded by Taurani and Anacare, the CSR wing of Anarock Property. The clinic - which provides free treatment for community dogs and cats, and subsidised treatment for pets - is set to get a brand new blood test machine, just in time for Christmas.
"This has always been a country full of compassion; I am worried we are losing some of that," she says, adding, "But there's something about this season - isn't this such a beautiful time of the year? It's all about love and generosity. It inspires many to give freely."
When we speak to Mavourneen Peters, 40, we are reminded of the proverb found in the Bible - when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret.
Peters seems to embody this ethos; in our 20-minute conversation, she is open and kind but when it comes to the topic of charity she seems a bit hesitant. "I feel charity is not something that needs to be advertised and if you're doing it, just do so, without really talking about it," she says. Peter, who is mom to two human babies and one doggo, is also the owner of Café Mavs, a small little bakery in Bandra at Waroda Road, Ranwar.
Mavourneen Peters at her bakery Mav's Cafe on Hill Road. PIC/SATEJ SHINDE
For Peters, though, practising kindness is not a once-a-year thing. She donates grains to an orphanage called Soul Of God Organisation, that have branches in Mira-Bhayandar and Thane every year. "The grain donation is just something we have always done, and pre-COVID we used to have a drive as well, where the community would come and donate pre-loved clothes or toys, but that has been difficult to do after the pandemic," she says. So instead Peters does small boxes with Christmas food, with pastries, rolls, patties and much more, "We do small boxes for charity for kids that include these small little packages that are carefully planned and curated, so that they are as enjoyable as can be," she adds.
Peters, who grew up in Mumbai, went to Dubai for a bit but returned in 2013. She opened a bakery upon her return and made Bandra her home once again. Peters agrees that kindness and the feeling of giving was very common when growing up in Mumbai, "Giving should not be something you do but I think Mumbai has always been a giving city and we understand the importance of kindness," she adds.
