A happy Christmas for Jitesh and Vartika in Lucknow

Making the most of their visit to their hometown, Lucknowites,

Jitesh

Singh Deo, Peter England Mr India World, 2017, and

Vartika

Singh, Miss Grand International 2015, 2nd runner-up, are excited to be in the city this year for Christmas. While Jitesh is relaxing at home after his win at the Mr India contest, Vartika is here for personal reasons. The two winners from the city decided to kick-off Christmas festivities on Friday evening at a popular cafe in

Hazratganj

.
"I am celebrating Christmas in Lucknow after so many years as all these years I was studying in Delhi. This time, I'll be celebrating Christmas in Lucknow after five years," said an excited Jitesh, adding, "I am happy to see that the city now boasts of so many happening party places and every place is decorated so beautifully for Christmas. In fact, I have been making plans to attend a party today with my school friends who are here in the city these days. Everything is looking so festive and cheerful." Sharing a few of his childhood memories of the festival, Jitesh said, "Though nothing much was done in our school for Christmas, the festival used to be one of the most-awaited ones for me when I was a kid. I used to get a lot of chocolates to eat, all wrapped up in Christmas stockings by my parents. The red stocking and what is inside it used to be the best part of the celebration. Also, being a complete foodie, I used to love feasting on the Christmas cake. A plum cake never tasted the same on other days. I remember, before I went to Ghaziabad to study in college, I used to go to Hazratganj with my friends for the Midnight Mass at Cathedral on Christmas Eve. Obviously, we didn’t go inside the Cathedral, but we used to love seeing all well-dressed girls and the festivity there. There would be these pheri wallahas selling Santa Claus masks and caps and I remember hum woh zaroor khareed ke pehente thay. It was all so much fun."

Vartika Singh, Miss Grand International 2015, 2nd runner-up, and Jitesh Singh Deo Peter England Mr India World 2017 enjoying a Christmas cake (BCCL/ Vishnu Jaiswal)

While for Jitesh it was the cake, Vartika recalls how visiting the Cathedral at midnight on Christmas Eve was the most happening part about the festival. "I too am celebrating Christmas in Lucknow after ages. All these years, I have been out of Lucknow and could not come home for the festival," says Vartika adding, "I remember Hazratganj being so crowded on Christmas and a night before Christmas. People would flock in hundreds to the Cathedral and I also used to go there with my friends. This part of the city, Hazratganj, used to be all decked up for Christmas, though sadly the celebrations this year will not be the same here because of the Lucknow Metro construction," said she, adding, "While I might sound dumb here, but for a very long time, I used to think that Santa Claus is for real and on Christmas I will bump into him. I was heart-broken when I grew up and realised that Santa is a fictional character. But still, I used to love the gifts I used to get from family and friends during Christmas."
The duo then shared some memories of the festival and finally, when they could not resist themselves, decided to indulge in some plum cake. "Ab Christmas hai toh cake kaise na khayen?" said Jitesh, while Vartika resisted the temptation for the longest time. "But now, I can’' resist this and I am having the cake," she declared.
The youngsters from Lucknow also shared their experiences of their respective contests and Vartika gave Jitesh some invaluable tips to further groom himself for the

Mr World

contest.
— Akash.Wadhwa@timesgroup.com