President Pranab Mukherjee quietly reverses roles with the giver of gifts

It is not often that Santa Claus gets a gift. That seems particularly unfair as his whole year is spent getting his elves to fashion presents for all those who wait for his sleigh-borne gift run on Christmas Eve. It is unfortunate children have not been conditioned to leave something in their stockings for the snowy-bearded old man though Christmas is the season of giving.

It is, therefore, heartening indeed to learn that President Pranab Mukherjee had the forethought to bring a little something for Rovaniemi's first citizen as he crossed into the Arctic Circle in Finland to meet Santa Claus, even though there are still so many weeks to go till Christmas. Obviously, the marble elephant that the President presented was made in India, in keeping with both protocol and the zeitgeist of the times.

However, it would be germane to learn what the two gentlemen talked about when they got down to business. Did the President convey Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Make in India' pitch to Santa too, in addition to the other dignitaries he met in Finland and Norway? Given that Santa's occupation — handcrafting gifts — is a rather labour-intensive exercise, rising demand may soon prove to be too much for his usual complement of elves. President Mukherjee hopefully convinced him that India would be the ideal place to outsource production.