A tradition involving the joy of giving with a bit of the fun quotient is what Secret Santa is all about.
Many people from Bangalore have taken up this game with their friends, family or colleagues to experience this old tradition in the past few years. People are gifting music CDs, fancy apparels, rare posters, film DVDs and other personal items.
But the kind of gift always depends on the person receiving it. “In corporate offices, Secret Santa is a very private affair held only within teams. The number of teams organising Secret Santa in our office has increased over the past two years. It is all about having fun," says Nikita Jadwani, an advertising professional.
Music CDs are popular gifts this season. “We are hosting a Secret Santa event at our workplace just to relieve our work pressure and have fun. This year, I play Santa to a friend who loves Whitesnakes. So, I have planned to give him an original Vinyl record of the first Whitesnakes album. I can't wait see the look on his face when he opens my gift on Christmas morning," says Sivarshis Dutta, a hospitality professional.
These days almost every major city in India hosts a general Secret Santa where people register and send gifts anonymously to random people assigned to them.
Bangalore has its own Secret Santa. “You have to register online for the Secret Santa in Bangalore. They will send you the contact details of the person whom you are supposed to send the gift. But you can't reveal your identity. I will gift accessories if it is a girl or a set of rock band posters if it is a boy," says Shreanca Bhattacharya, an animation student.
The Bangalore Anime Club is also organising a Secret Santa event where, after receiving the gifts they plan to host a party anime style.
“I am the Secret Santa for a friend who is a huge fan of Fairy Tail, the anime series. His favourite character is Master Makaroff. I plan to give him all the necessary material for Master Makaroff 's cosplay because he loves cosplaying," says Anushruti Saha, an engineering student.
