What a lovely Christmas lunch at PVs home in Chembur. The area has turned terribly upmarket with several spas and Costa Coffee-all down the road. A good coffee shop does it for me. PVs Irish friend and 3 Nigerian women, splendidly attired, all Trade Unionists from the town of Jos and the Vieira family made delightful company. The chicken was delicious and the Christmas pudding set aflame kept the blue flame going for a while-as you can see it had soaked the alcohol thoroughly. That is the spirit of Christmas.
When I returned home, I was shocked to hear that a church in Jos had been attacked by a group of Muslim fundamentalists. Till I met the Nigerian women, I had never heard of Jos, outside Abuja. But now it came alive as a place where people lived, earned their livelihood, went to church and participated in a productive , peaceful community life. And, suddenly that fabric was stripped by the attack on the church goers. One policeman lost his life on Christmas Day. I am so sorry for his family. I hope 2012 will be a year of peace. I hope it will be a year of reconciliation, reconciliation of differences for the sake of understanding the value that lies in holding diverse view points, then there really will be hope. And like the Christmas cake with its blue flame , I believe we can keep on hoping even for a little while or longer if you wish, that the year ahead will be more alive, vibrant and meaningfully different than the year gone by. So, here's to you and to me, a great 2012. And join me at Costa Coffee somewhere!
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