Ganesha's Christmas Tree

One day Ganesha was playing in his house. When he got bored he asked his father, "can I go outside and play?" Shiva said, "no, stay inside!". Ganesha was disappointed but just then the door bell rang. Guess who was at the door? It was Santa Claus and he had brought along a huge Christmas tree for Ganesha! Ganesha happily set to work decorating his tree and he was happy. 

This story was made up by my daughter, then four years old. This was the innocent creative effort of a child being brought up in a multi-faith - or to be more precise, a faith-neutral - household by parents who tell her stories of all hues. She thinks of Jesus in more or less the same way she thinks of Cinderella's fairy god mother and Krishna - or Ganesha for that matter - is as dear to her as Ninja Hattori or Dora. She is not old enough or exposed to the world enough to know that she is blaspheming by putting Ganesha and Santa in the same story. Nor does she get that she has to choose one or the other for her salvation; choose her company or her life partner according to the Holy Book they swear by and view with suspicion anyone who does not subscribe to her own views on God and the afterlife. It pains me to think of the day she has to be told that her story might hurt someone's religious sentiments.