Bashar and Methila Robin of Bangladesh ticked one off their bucket list on Tuesday: an evening in Calcutta’s party street on Christmas.

“The carnival here has become popular even in Bangladesh. There are no such Christmas events back home, so we decided to come and enjoy Christmas in Calcutta,” Bashar, a restaurant manager, said.

As he, Methila and their 21-month old son Rayyan soaked in the atmosphere from a corner of a pavement around 7pm, Park Street was a sea of humanity in Santa caps, headgear with LED lights and headbands with Mickey Mouse ears.

Methila, who runs a boutique, said visiting the carnival was a great start to the holiday that will continue till Sunday. “We want to visit Eco Park next. We plan to have dinner at the Quest Mall tonight,” she said.

Park Street, usually a trail of car headlamps and tail lights in the evening, had been closed to traffic at 4pm, allowing revellers to walk right under the canopy of illumination stretching as far as the eye could see.

“I think the feeling of happiness that you see on every face is what draws us all to Park Street. The brightly-lit street, the parallel rows

of restaurants with long queues outside and the happy faces — it’s a wonderful tapestry,” said a resident of south Calcutta.

Arnab Dutta, a 28-year-old resident of Belghoria, was with friend Reya Banerjee, 26, in front of old favourite Mocambo, waiting for their turn to be let in.

“We have been waiting to get a table for at least an hour. We will stick around longer, if need be. Won’t home without having dinner on Park Street!” Arnab said.

The queue in front of Mocambo kept lengthening as the evening progressed. There were similar scenes in front of almost every restaurant at the city’s go-to destination on Christmas.

The 7pm crowd was made up of mostly young couples, small families and large groups of friends. Sovabazar residents Ranjan and Poulomi Roy Dawn were there with their five-year-old daughter Riyansika, a student of DPS, North Calcutta. “Being on Park Street on Christmas is quite an experience,” Ranjan said.

Anticipating larger crowds than last year, police allowed entry into Park Street only from the Chowringhee crossing. Exit was through Camac Street and Rafi Ahmed Kidwai Road.

Walking down Park Street, groups of revellers would frequently burst into shouts of “Hoooooooo…” for no apparent reason.

Toddlers piggybacking on their parents looked mesmerised by the decorative lighting on Christmas trees, bells and figures of Santa Claus riding a sleigh pulled by reindeer.

Park Street, usually a trail of car headlamps and tail lights in the evening, had been closed to traffic at 4pm, allowing revellers to walk right under the canopy of illumination stretching as far as the eye could see. Pradip Sanyal