BEING SANTA
Robert Xavier and Felix Parnell have been dropping down city chimneys for years. And for them , it’s all about the smiles
ROBERT XAVIER, TEACHER
While Santa Claus drives sleighs during Christmas, Robert Xavier, one of the oldest Santa in town, travels on a bike or a bus to “bring smiles to kids.” Now aged 60, Robert became a Santa when he was in the first year of his college 35-40 years ago. In college, he was a member of All India Catholic University Federation (AICUF) organisation and used to visit street kids and NGOs dressed as a Santa. He says, “It is not every day that Santa visits you. That one day in the year they wait eagerly for Santa and that’s why I chose to visit the needy. I’ve been doing it year after year.”
Robert has also been to South Africa as a Santa when he was 23. “I was member of Rotary Club Butterworth there. We used to visit old age homes and government hospitals during Christmas,” says Robert.
Unlike the portly Santa that we imagine, this one looks much younger and he once embarrassed himself after he scared a kid with his Santa self.
All his life, Robert has been a physical education teacher, spanning St. Patrick’s High School and St Joseph’s School. Now, he’s the deputy chief education specialist for learners support and school enrichment in S. Africa.
About being Santa for so long, Robert says, “It’s not about dressing up as Santa but touching lives of so many children in this attire. I do it voluntarily and get them dolls, studykits, toy cars. They actually believe Santa comes from some planet.”
Surprisingly enough, he never dressed as Santa for his own daughter when she was a kid. He only kept gifts under her pillow. Also, for him Santa or hanging stockings wasn’t important when he was a kid. He was in Class VIII when A. Felix Parnell realised that Santa Claus wasn’t real, and it was his father behind the false beard and red suit. “My dad stopped dressing up as Santa as I found out,” says the marketing professional,47, who recollects feeling guilty for days back then.
Sadly enough, the story repeated itself last year when his two daughters and a son discovered the truth behind their Santa. “It’s not just about gifts, but a mystery man who travels miles and miles to fulfil wishes. When the secret is revealed, the excitement does fizzle out,” says Felix, who as a child wrote to Santa to make his studies easier. Not one to let the magic end, Felix has been spreading Christmas cheer and delivering gifts to several children free of cost since 2003. He is the Santa Claus of the United Christmas Celebration (UCC) and has had politicians like Chandrababu Naidu, the late YSR, Kiran Kumar Reddy and K. Rosaiah shake a leg with him at the Christmas parties. “At one of the high-tea parties, Mr Kiran Kumar Reddy kissed my hand to seek blessings from Santa,” he remembers vividly. The perks of being Santa, according to Anthony, are, “Receiving blessings from elders and love from children.” After surviving a massive heart-attack last September, he was back on his feet as Father Christmas again, thanks to all the good wishes he has garnered. This month, he’s been to eight Christmas events already. Why does he choose to be Santa instead of relaxing with his family? “I am quite fair, I have a paunch, have no stage fear and I certainly have loads of experience of being one at home. So, I fit the Santa’s profile,” he says in a single breath, adding, “All I have to do is wear the costume and distribute chocolates. That’s nothing for the smiles I get in return.”
This Christmas, he is planning to gift his college-going kids swanky cellphones.