Dear Santa,

Wish you a merry Christmas and hope you reach back home safe and sound with no disease.

We are sending you just one letter and our wish-list is probably not what children ask of you but probably what most grown-ups all across the world want right now. Maybe your sack has some things which can fulfill at least some of our wishes.

Well, Santa this must be a strange year for you too. Wearing a mask and delivering gifts must be tough. But then look at us; we have literally been gagged for the entire year; no one knows when we are smiling and when we are pouting.

Yet, the wheels of time move’s like always; nothing has changed for the sun, moon, the five elements, its business as usual but for most humans, its either no business or very strange way of doing business now.

Its kinda pointless asking you for anything because any material object you give us today is useless; in fact this year has shown us how much useless things we keep on buying when 90% of it has no use in our life of today.

But like all children, we too ask you to use your powers and eradicate the virus from the face of this earth. We have learnt very valuable life lessons and wish that you now take steps to give us back at least a new normal, where we do not have to constantly live in a state of anxiety and stress. This might be tough for you too, given that you also are moving around in a mask.

What we can most certainly ask from you is to provide food daily for all the children of the poor who are not able to attend school and thus missing the free daily meals. We knew the significance of the migrant labourers this year and we wish you could protect them, give them rights and ensure they have a sense of belonging in the place where they work.

Online has become the way of life – we wish that you can help bring in technology which will bring back the sense of touch and a feeling of goodness which comes from direct social interaction.

More than anything else, we wish you can put your elves to work and build super-efficient hospitals with huge capacities so that we can meet any health crisis head-on. Maybe big gifts for the doctors, nurses, ward helps, the police, municipal workers, delivery boys, kiranas would be great – they are the ones who kept the people going when the entire country shut down.  

And yes, do not forget the millions of children. Stuck at home, not interacting with their friends and relatives, they are living a strange life but have quickly adjusted the best. But we hope you can prevent from this pandemic leaving any long-lasting impact on their mental health. These children and the senior citizens are suffering the most; hope you can bring some happiness and hope to them.

There are so many other wishes we have:

Change our measurement of growth from GDP to Happiness Index

Clean up the air in the entire country, making it smell and feel like air did 100 year ago

Reset the “intolerance compass” as we seem to have a problem with anything and everything that does not confirm to our liking and beliefs.

Redistribute wealth equitably – right now only the rich seem to be getting richer while more are getting poorer.

Well, we can go on and on but guess, most of these wishes are beyond your gamut. Yet, this year if you can give more toys and spread a sense of happiness across the world, that in itself will be wonderful.