Picnics, church visits, food make Christmas merry in West Bengal

Picnics, visits to churches by the faithful and long queues outside various monuments marked the Christmas celebrations in West Bengal on a fun-filled Sunday for the young and the old.

Those who chose to enjoy a leisurely holiday stayed at home with a sumptuous spread for lunch while at many places, local clubs and cultural organisations arranged for a feast for underprivileged children and the elderly.

While city dwellers made a beeline for popular picnic spots in the rural surroundings in groups of various sizes, another flow of people from the districts swarmed Kolkata for a visit to the Alipore Zoo, Victoria Memorial Hall, Eco Park and Nicco Park, among others.

As the day progressed and evening descended, the dazzling Park Street, the beautifully decorated cynosure of many people for whom a visit to the place in the posh Kolkata locality is a must for food and drinks and merrymaking, came to life in its full glory.

There were queues of the young and old at St Paul's Cathedral in Kolkata and Bandel Church in neighbouring Hooghly district.

"It is my first Christmas here. It is really wonderful. It is super exciting to see the streets decorated with lights," said Hannah, an American who was visiting the city.

Sandesh and rosogolla made with 'nolen gur' (new jaggery prepared during winter) and Christmas cakes were not competitors but complemented each other with connoisseurs going with gusto for both forms of sweets.

"Today is a big day, it's Christ's birthday. Along with my daughter and husband, I have come to St Paul's Cathedral to pray for everyone's well-being. The weather is also great," said Archita Dutta, a homemaker from Barasat.

With the winter holidays on at schools and colleges, numerous people took the opportunity for a visit to the hill destinations in Darjeeling and Kalimpong, forests and tea gardens in the Dooars in northern Bengal with their families and friends.

The sea beaches of Digha, Mandarmani and Shankarpur were also choc a bloc with tourists trying to make the most of the Christmas holidays this time after two years of pandemic-triggered restrictions.

While most of the revellers were not keen on heeding to fresh alarm over a new variant of the coronavirus making its advent, a few were more cautious about using masks and hand sanitisers in public places.

With road trips have gained popularity even among the not-so-adventurous people during the pandemic to avoid public transport, numerous families chose drives to newer destinations in the picturesque Purulia and Bankura districts, which are around 200 kms from Kolkata, while many booked trips and stays on vessels to the riverine jungles of Sunderbans.