With a little more than ten days left for Christmas, CA John’s house in Kodambakkam is already sporting a festive look.
While most families depict the birth of the Lord by setting up cribs, John too has been doing the same for 16 years, albeit in different themes.
“Creating wonders out of waste is my hobby. I have done many such cribs in the past. However it was only from 2006, that I took it up seriously,” he says.
“Usually, a crib represents the birth of Jesus. I wanted to make it as creative as possible, so every year I set up different surroundings to the scene,” he adds.
Some of his themes include showing the scene inside a hummingbird nest, lotus pond, house boat, bamboo forest, tree trunk, candle, globe, water can, among others.
This year, his concept is the manger. “A manger is an animal stable and it is is the place were Jesus was born. So I decided to showcase the original backdrop this year. For this, I built a huge old castle around it using thermacol,” says John.
At the bottom, under a hut, there are figures representing infant Jesus, Mary and Joseph. To give it a farm look, dry leaves have been added, apart from cattle and a shepherd.
“Using thick thermocol, I arranged this manger and attached it with my showcase. Overall, the crib is six feet in height and six feet in length.
“Apart from depicting the birth of Jesus, I have also put up the Santa Claus and other Gods. Since peace, love and hope are the main themes for Christmas, I have mentioned all these and other Bible verses as flags in the castle,” he says.
Gunny cloth, hay, cotton, pvc pipes, corns, handmade paper, plastic leaves and bamboo basket were some of the materials used by him this year for the setup, it is learnt.
“I started doing it in November. It took me 16 days to complete it. I worked for 3 to 4 hours everyday before and after office hours, thus making the crib ready during the first week of December,” he states.
He also credits his daughters and wife for their support. “Even though the idea is mine, they assisted me in the entire process,” he concludes.
To see John’s work, reach him at 9043521772.