Girl About Town

In the true spirit of secularity, my friends have embraced Christmas. Isuspect most of their secularity comes from just an excuse to celebrate, butI’m not complaining. This past week, I’ve been doing non-stop parties, onefor each day of the week before the Big Party on New Year’s Eve. 

Evidently, the spirit is catching on. Even Mumbai’s moral police lets up ontheir rein a little to allow the city to stay out and about till five in themorning on Christmas Eve, Christmas day and NewYear’s Eve. We took advantage of that last night --Christmas Eve--when theprivate party we were at petered out at two in the morning. "Let’s moveelsewhere," said my friends and I looked from my watch to them, puzzled, untilthey told me about this new rule, applicable for three nights only. 

Sadly, the flip side is, not everyone had the energy we did. The bar we wentinto was mostly empty, save a bunch of teenyboppers who bounced around the dancefloor. The tables were free (this at one of Mumbai’s more happeningnightclubs, where getting standing room sometimes is an issue) and themusic--being electronic trance--was just not what we wanted. Still, it was niceto know we had that option open.

What does the rest of the city do while young professionals are dancing thenight away? Believe it or not, as we finally headed home at around five in themorning, the roads had traffic on them, even though check-posts for drunkdriving had been set up all over the city. What is it about this time of theyear that makes you feel more uninhibited? Is it the fact that the year isalmost over? Or that the Western media is constantly bombarding you with theidea that you should be feeling jolly? The latter option probably holds true. 

I know that around Diwali time, when Indian advertisers are relentless intheir need to make you spend! spend! spend! everyone pretty much takes thosethree or four days mentally off from reality. My own magazine gives us all sometime off during Christmas and New Year’s which is very nice of them, because Iremember having to work at a newspaper on New Year’s Eve, leaving when itstruck midnight, because the pages had to go out. No one was particularly in themood to work and the office took on a general air of merriment, even as weedited stories and fitted in headlines. I don’t know whether that reflected onthe paper the next morning, but even now when I read the papers at some 2 pm onJanuary 1st, I feel for the people who had to actually sit and make them. 

But this year, I have holidays, and therefore, in keeping with the feeling ofgeneral well-being I offer you some good news. 

• If you’re always broke, as I find myself to be frequently, this little snippet will make you happy. The Reserve Bank Of India is going to make ATM transactions between banks free, so by April 2009, you can pretty much walk into any ATM and withdraw money without having to trek to "your bank". Awesome.  
  
  
• An American GI adopts an Iraqi boy with cerebral palsy whom he met whilst he was in Baghdad. I’m a hardboiled cynic and I read the story expecting to roll my eyes but actually, the story is quite sweet and aww-inducing.  
  
  
• Wow, it’s hard to find good news even on Christmas, but I can only try. In Peru, the One Laptop Per Child programme is doing excellent things, when kids who are too poor to be able to afford even pens and pencils are doing everything with their technological companions, even sleeping with them at nights. 
  
  
• And the last piece of good news from this columnist? The Reuters story about busting medical myths. It’s nice to know that we don’t, in fact, only use ten per cent of our brains, reading in dim light won’t make your eyes go bad (take that, Mom!) and shaving your legs won’t make your hair grow back coarser (take that, Beauty Parlour Lady!)  

Seasons greetings, from me to you, and see you in 2008!