Mumbaikar changes the colour of a 67-feet Christmas Tree using Alexa
Kids enthralled by asking Alexa-enabled Syska smart-lights to change the colour of the Christmas tree
Mumbai, December 26, 2019- Douglas Saldanha, a landscape architect from Worli, Mumbai is spreading Christmas cheer in a grand way. In memory of his late sister Twila, Douglas decorated a 67-feet Christmas tree with over 50,000 lights. Out of which 192 smart lights can be voice-controlled with Alexa. The setup is made magical by Alexa, a voice assistant that comes with Amazon Echo smart speakers. Visitors on a mere command to Alexa can change the colour of these smart lights to match their favourite, e.x “Alexa, change magic tree to pink”. This voice-controlled magical tree is spreading smiles and Christmas cheer to children from all walks of life.
“It was my sister’s dying wish to decorate the Christmas Tree so much that she could see it from the heavens, thereby knowing our location. Douglas, since 2005, has been keeping his promise to his sister Twila. Decorating the Christmas tree definitely dents my wallet, however the smiles across the children’s faces are priceless, that more than compensates the cost of decorating the tree. Changing the colour of the Christmas Tree using Alexa coupled to the smart lights is magical said Douglas Saldanha…thats why we now call it the Saldanha’s magical Tree.
Douglas’ glorious garden in Adarsh Nagar, Worli is open to public till Jan 6th 2020. He has even arranged for a photo booth for those who want to click a picture with the Alexa/Syska powered Christmas tree. He is also organizing three parties, one that was just held on the 24th Dec for 145 underprivileged kids where he got eminent political leaders to gift educational accessories like school bags with exercise books and compass boxes. The kids were also given a snack box with food and chocolates. On the 28th Dec Douglas is hosting a children’s Christmas party and on 2nd Jan a New Year’s party for senior citizens of his colony.
