Thousands were out on the streets to celebrate Christmas since morning on Wednesday. Alipore zoo, St Paul’s Cathedral, Eco Park, Victoria Memorial and Nicco Park drew the maximum crowds. Some snapshots.
Nicco Park
Victoria Memorial
Eco Park
Alipore zoo
Lunch star: At 3.30pm, at least 30 people were waiting outside Peter Cat. A large group came out of the restaurant around 3.50pm. The star attraction of the group from Salt Lake was an 80-year-old man bound to a wheelchair. P.N. Bhaduri, a former IAS officer who was once the deputy secretary at Raj Bhavan, had come with his family and friends. “Park Street is nostalgia for him. "He is a man of varied interests. His mobility has been affected, not his zest for life,” said Guru Prasad Banerjee, former assistant commissioner of Calcutta police (in brown suit) and part of the same group.
Besties: Sanjibani Sanyal (left) studies biomedicine in the UK. Asmita Yadav is doing biotech in Noida. But the best friends from school have been spending Christmas in Calcutta for four consecutive years now. On Wednesday, they were twinning in white tees and denims and sunflower headgears.
To sir, with love: A man on a crutch had a group of young men and women for company. Bipul Sarkar, whose right leg was affected by polio, is a private tutor in Naihati. His companions were his students. “I always wanted to see Christmas in Calcutta. They planned everything and just brought me along,” said Sarkar.
Debut with kid: Shilpa Das, a Lake Town homemaker, came with her two-year-old daughter Shruti. Park Street on Christmas was a first for both. “I did not expect so many people,” said Shilpa, buying a reindeer headgear.
