20
mid-day
Friday
23.12.2022
Sleigh it like Santa
What does it take to be Father X’mas?
Two men who slip into the big ol’
man’s shoes annually reveal that
spreading cheer is serious business
More than a costume
IT was the winter of 1994.
Pravin Tulpule, then a Navy
officer, was posted in a remote
unit near Tuticorin, in Tamil
Nadu. A Christmas emergency
ensued as his captain sprung
the idea of celebrating with a
Santa Claus upon him. Tulpule
took on the challenge. The red
night gown of a colleague’s
wife was fashioned into a coat,
while a pillow was snuck in
for the paunch. “Chart paper
was rolled into a cap, while
cotton from the medi-
cal unit made up my
beard. A pillow case
became my sack.
We didn’t have a
sleigh or reindeers,
so I rode on a fire
engine,” the 61-year-
old recalls, cracking up. A
kind of ‘jugaad’ it might
have been, but the abil-
ity to spread cheer gave
him an unparalleled
amount of joy. “I real-
ised that there’s more
to being Santa
Claus than the
costume. When
people come
to you, they
nurse a little
Say it with sugar
From sugar Santas to an edible nativity scene,
a cake artist whips up unique festive creations
TUNE IN
FOR FUSION »P21
All about weaving
memories
When he’s not busy working
at a private firm, Savio Fonse-
Dial a Santa
Old St Nick and fun X’mas
experiences are just a
click away.
ca from Borivali is usually an-
LOG ON TO wantasanta.com
choring at parties, weddings
and gigs. But come December,
Pravin Tulpule plays Santa
both online and offline.
the 43-year-old slips into a red
jacket and trousers, props up CALL 9699905990
his belly, puts on a fluffy beard
Reach out to Savio Fonseca
and gets ready to jingle away.
aka Humpty Savio to
Fonseca has been playing San-
ta for 15 years. “We used to have
Christmas parties in the church
engage young and old
revellers alike.
bit of hope that there’s some compound when I was a kid. I CALL 9833437057
good in the world,” shares the used to wonder if Santa was real
medical clown who turns into or not. But I imagined myself
The folks at Party Planet
Father Christmas in December. wearing that attire, connecting
Behind his silvery beard with people and bringing smiles can take care of your party
are sagely eyes glinting like on their faces,” he tells us. needs as well as transport
Professor Dumbledore’s, and Fonseca’s first gig, he recalls, a Santa to you.
a subtle sense of humour that was at a school. He had sourced LOG ON TO @partyplanet-
has visitors in splits. The call his costume from old Bandra india
of Yuletide has kept Tulpule favourite, Cheap Jack on Hill
on his toes this year. It’s a wel- Road. Over the years, he has
come change from the played around with different
online gigs, he admits. Santa-wears. As a compère,
But this Santa’s day ac- connecting with audiences
tually kicks off once comes naturally to him. His
he returns home. fun freestyling with kids and
That’s when he adults has led him to different
analyses how he corners of the city and beyond,
connected with including to a party at Salman
kids and handled Khan’s farmhouse. “With time,
troublemakers I have improvised with differ-
— both young ent techniques and gestures to
and old. Recall- perfect the art. Just being Santa
ing the latter, he cites (Left and above) Tulpule collects different costumes from across the world is one thing, but talking to kids,
instances of children reading to and with them, and
being egged on by Parents watch you like a hawk. are dominating, or negotiat- actively engaging them is an-
parents to pull his I try to chat with the kids and ing the challenging terrain of other ball game,” he explains.
beard or fiddle with casually divert their attention,” spirituality. “Like I said, it’s By the first week of Decem- Savio Fonseca as Father Christmas
his clothes. Santa he reveals. more than the costume. But ber, Fonseca has his bags packed
also has to field some Tulpule is also part of a global I do have a wide array of cos- with his costume, gloves, boots, if funds are low. “If someone
pretty tricky comments: group of Santa Clauses and has tumes that I’ve invested in over cap and various sizes of bags — asks me to do this every day of
‘You’re a fake Santa!’ or undergone training sessions on time. I’ve picked them up because you never know the month, I’ll do it. I love being
‘Can I get a puppy?’ physical and emotional groom- from all across the how big the gifts will be! Santa!” he signs off.
“How do you handle ing that centre on tackling kids world — from Russia This Santa seldom says
these situations? who are scared, parents who to the USA,” he shares. no to organisers, even By Sukanya Datta
People
Tanishka D’Lyma
tanishkadlyma@mid-day.com
new. Like an edible
nativity scene.
This is no ordi-
EVERYONE’S favourite festive nary gingerbread house.
modelling chocolate.
It’s like edible clay, so
I can play around with
it. Sugar paste lasts longer
clude three and
five-tier cakes
adorned with
sugar flowers,
activity this time of the year is Every year, since 2014-15, depending on humidity and sculptures and
to drive around town or walk Charkop-based cake artist Su-
along bylanes for an indulgent sanna Sequeira builds her
temperature conditions and
you have more time to work
figurines, a doz-
en animals for
view of Christmas decorations. household crib from sug- with it, but with model- kiddie-themed
In Catholic households, apart ar paste or fondant sans ling chocolate, you have birthday cakes, Susanna
from the décor, folks put cake to avoid wastage. to work faster. This is the and other sug- Sequeira
their heads together every Last year, Sequeira cre- first time I am making a ar babies as she
year to think up in- ated the entire chocolate sculpture nativ- calls them. Sequeira quit her
genious crib ideas. crib, complete with ity scene. It should last a week corporate job in 2013 to create
It’s not uncommon bright-eyed charac- or two.” She began work on it edible flowers and figurines;
to see elves hauling ters like the three this week and will have it ready over the years, her passion
tiny buckets of mud, kings, baby Jesus, by Christmas Eve. has led her to create sugar and
lemongrass and
sticks from the gar-
den for an authentic
3 the angel and even
the shepherd and
his animals. Except
For orders, customers can
head to her Instagram
page. December is a
chocolate magic. She has won
medals for her work includ-
ing one for crafting a bust
crib structure. We DAYS TILL CHRISTMAS for the dummy skel- hectic month for the of Mother Teresa. Sharing
have even seen in- eton of the crib cov- artist with orders for her 2023 sculpting goals,
spiration being borrowed from ered by fondant, everything else wedding cakes and Sequeira tells us, “I want
school projects with sprouts is edible. For this year’s sugary sugar Santas. Some of to focus more on India
grown on a bed of cotton for version, Sequeira is crafting her largest works in- as a topic for my work
papier-mâché cattle to graze the three main characters of because of our rich and
on. There are no limits to Jesus, Mary and Joseph — the (From left) Sequeira’s colourful culture.”
creativity, yet we reck- Holy Family — in an all-choc- sugar crib from 2020;
oned it was impossible to olate avatar. She says, “Choco- an edible sculpture of LOG ON TO @_sueet on
come across something late and liquid glucose become Mother Teresa Instagram