The last Sunday of 2024 had the weekend hotspots in and around Calcutta teeming with visitors.
The chill was missing but the clear sky played a near-perfect ally to Sunday revelry.
The traffic on New Town’s Major Arterial Road was clogged well before noon because of cars headed to Eco Park.
The ticket counters had serpentine queues.
Pratim Mallick, 40, who was visiting Eco Park for the first time with his nine-year old daughter and family friends, said: “The main reason to come here is because the children can learn about the seven wonders,” said the resident of Behala.
The food counters were crowded with many waiting outside for their orders to be served.
At 1pm, the parking lot was almost full.
Prithwish Ghosh, 42 , a resident of Salt Lake, drove in early so he could get a parking spot.
“I came with my family. We wanted to enter the park by 11.30am so that we don’t have to stand in queue for tickets for long and also so we can manage the parking,” said Ghosh.
“The weather is good for outdoor activities,” he said in front of the replica of the Great Wall of China.
A Hidco official said the footfall at Eco Park was around 60,000 on Sunday.
The Birla Industrial Technological Museum (BITM) had space coming at a premium in the afternoon.
The Ballygunge museum was hosting a winter science fest.
One of the exhibitions demonstrated how a falling body appears weightless and how sound can be altered using simple tools like straws.
Ayushman Mukherjee, 9, a resident of Kasba, who visited BITM for the very first time with his family, said: “I love science, my dream is to become a scientist. I loved the show.”
Aurobindo Sur, 58, a resident of Uttar Pradesh who came with his 12-year old son, said: “We chose this place because it is a place for learning for children.”
A “mini version of a coal mine” has his son hooked.
Around 3pm, the gates of the Alipore zoo, opposite Taj Bengal, looked like a sea of heads.
Inside, finding a place to stand in front of the enclosures was a challenge.
The lawns were taken over by families for lunch. Many were seen playing badminton.
Madhuri Das, 30, who came to visit the zoo with her seven-year-old son and four-year-old daughter, said it was a family ritual to visit the park in the last week of the year.
“Every year, we visit the zoo at the end of the year. Our children are fascinated to see the animals. It took us nearly an hour to reach the zoo from the Police Training School signal,” said the resident of Howrah.
A zoo official said around 98,000 people visited the zoo on Sunday.
In the afternoon, a couple from England watched the queue at the gates of the Victoria Memorial from a distance. They were intimidated by the crowd.
Robin and Catt Lyons, from Manchester, were in Calcutta for the first time. They came to the city via Delhi.
“This is our first ever visit to the Victoria Memorial. We couldn’t get in as it was too crowded. What we liked about Calcutta is that the people here enjoy every season. We love the culture of the city. We recently visited the Sunderbans. What a fantastic place it is,” said Robin, a climate change researcher.
Even at 4.40pm, the restaurants on Park Street were crowded. There were long queues in front of Peter Cat and Mocambo.
Debi Prasad Ghosh, 51, a resident of Belur, said they had been waiting for an hour for their turn to get a table at Peter Cat. His family visited Birla Planetarium and Nandan in the first half of the day.
“It has been a bumper year-ender so far. Even the odd-hours have been crowded,” said Nitin Kothari, owner of Mocambo, Peter Cat and Peter Who off Park Street.
Thousands of people flocked to the Maidan greens. From cricket to lunch, everyone was busy.
“We know it is going to be crowded. But the Maidan has a charm of its own at this time of the year, “ said Rakesh Singh, who lives on Girish Park.
He had come with his wife, son, daughter and nephew for a winter outing.