It is a day of the year when the lawns of the German consulate general turn to a bazaar and the gates are opened to shoppers looking to pick up gifts for the festive season as also soak in the atmosphere. And it is all for a good cause. The stalls are manned by NGOs or self-help groups from marginalised sections who get hosted free of cost.

“This gives us a platform to showcase a slice of German culture as well as allows the NGOs to network,” said German consul general Barbara Voss.

The Disappearing Dialogues table sold bookmarks, notebooks and stickers with pictures of wetland species on them. They also had tote bags made of gamchha. “We present organic waste reused as decor,” said Nobina Gupta, the founder.

Simon "Santa Claus" Kleinpass was easily the most favourite figure with the children

Another participant was Lokmata Rani Rashmoni Mission. “We are partnering in an Indo-German project through KFW, a German bank. We are working on creating alternative livelihoods for people in villages on the fringes of the Sunderbans. These products — moa, honey, rice and daal — are all from them. We are teaching them organic farming too,” said general secretary Amitava Roy.

There were some German nationals too. Maria Singh, a resident of India for 34 years, was selling Bohemian fashion items — accessories made with glass beads and crystals — under her label My Happy Heart. “I have spent a year and half in Calcutta but I am planning to return to Jaipur, where I used to stay,” said the artist who settled in India post-marriage.

Cafe Positive, which has branches in Patuli and Lake View Road, dished out a variety of snacks and hot beverages. “We are the first cafe in Asia to be run independently by HIV-positive employees,” said one of them.

Live music by Dipannita Acharya and Joy Sarkar

There were pottery and patachitra workshops underway for young visitors to dabble in.

Coupons for a lucky dip were sold and about 20 visitors went home with hampers sponsored by star hotels, restaurants and so on.

As the sun went down, Debalina Chatterjee and her group belted out English and German pop songs, after which Dipannita Acharya and Joy Sankar presented folk music.

On their way out, visitors could pick up pots of seasonal flowers, crotons or cacti from the table of Khaitan Horti Farms, which asked only for a donation to be passed on to the organisers.