Christmas in Bombay

In Bombay’s glorious melting pot: cultures, histories and traditions blend into unique customs, transcending boundaries and beliefs.

Diwali decorations continue to shimmer across the city until the new year. But by December pockets of Bombay are adorned with an added layer of colour – twinkling lights and merrily decorated trees. Colaba, Juhu and Mahim all undergo triumphant transformations, but it’s Bandra (home to more churches than any other part of Bombay) that burns brightest. The iconic Mount Mary Church is decorated in splendour and sells colourful candles. Throngs descend on Bandra Wonderland – a kaleidoscopic light show with live music and street food. Those less keen to brave packed streets seek the quiet magic of Ranwar, one of Banra’s urban villages. Home to 300-year-old Portuguese-inspired architecture, residents decorate the lanes with glimmering strings of light and soft-glowing stars.

Christmas stalls overtake Crawford Market and Hill Road Bandra. Glinting treasure troves of delicate ornaments, spices and handmade treats. Bombayites crowd into Cheap Jack for tinsel and trinkets. Fir trees are hard to come by in the city’s breezy heat, so many deck artificial ones. Others add sparkle to local branches – casuarina, mango, and so on. Trips are made to Irani cafés like Britannia & Co. or Kyani & Co. for festive feasting – plates of Berry Pulao, Salli Boti and Rum Balls are raucously shared. Then, perhaps, a tipple or two at Leopold’s.

Savvy Bombayites secure one of Kyani’s warm, comforting Plum Cakes. Delicious innovation lies at the heart of this popular Indian Christmas cake, with recipes varying across the country. Baker, Mambally Bapu, is said to have made the first, in Kerala in the 1880s after tasting an imported British plum pudding. Lacking French brandy he used a local cashew-apple and banana liquor, added a hearty amount of cocoa and baked instead of steamed. In Allahabad, petha (candied white pumpkin), marmalade and ghee are used. Goans include dark caramel, while in Bombay, rum, cashews, and a heady masala that includes cardamom, fennel and royal cumin are popular. Once the countdown to Christmas starts, the race is on to secure this sweet commodity. Some Bombay bakeries sell out minutes after 6am.

Come Christmas Eve, a night replete with revelry unfolds. Friends gather at each other’s home for parties and crowds flock to Bombay’s Roman Catholic churches for midnight mass. Hymns, carols and nativity scenes ring out among the golden lustre. Many of the churches date back to the 16th century when Christianity was introduced by the Portuguese. Their volume seems striking given the city’s small Christian population at the time. But the churches were built before Bombay reclaimed land from the sea when it was still made up of many islets. The number of places of worship was necessary for keeping parishioners' feet dry!

On Christmas day, little ones open stocking presents from Christmas Baba (Father Christmas). Families exchange carefully wrapped gifts and tuck into bountiful feasts. For some, roast turkey or chicken or mutton takes centre stage – occasionally spiced, often with a bevvy of trimmings. For others, it’s platters of pulav, richly spiced beef xacuti and chicken cafreal. Sweets are central to the festivities. On one dining table, slices of plum cake nestle next to decorative kaju katli (cashew fudge), rose cookies (named for their shape, not flavour) and neoris (sweet dumplings stuffed with coconut, almonds, poppy seeds and cardamom). Another might be laden with kulkuls (fried dough curls), mawa karanjis (pastry puffs filled with dried whole milk), and perad (guava cheese).

Christmas in Bombay is a time when friends and family arrive at each other’s homes to celebrate – irrespective of invitation or time. Much like at Dishoom, where all are welcome for decorous feasting, santa hat-wearing and an abundance of joy from morning ’til night.