Christmas Carol
The weather in Calcutta isn’t very cold during the winter. It is cool and very pleasant. It is like an elongated autumn, seamlessly leading into spring. During the months of December and January the festive spirit is very high and there is a mood of relaxation in the air.
It’s Christmas time and some parts of Calcutta is lit up very brightly in splendid colors in the true spirit of the season.
Most notably, there is Park Street which has been the Mecca of Christmas celebrations in Calcutta since time immemorial. On either side of the broad stretch of asphalt, there are grand British structures which still house offices and apartments. On the level of the street, there are perpetual festivities throughout the year. There are such class hangouts like Flury’s and Park Hotel, as well as new franchisees such as Music World and One Step Up. Park Street is also the gastronomic centre of the city boasting restaurants such as Peter Cat, Mocambo, Moulin Rouge and the Waldorf (now off Park Street, on Russell Street). The prominent Anglo-India population in the Park Street-New Market area means an extra special enthusiasm for celebrating Christmas, the fervor being experienced by the rest of the city, especially the laid back fun-loving Bengali population.
The lights are best during the Durga Pujas, but it is not so well enjoyed because of the hot and humid weather of September-October. December, on the other hand seems perfect to revel with friends and family around the landmarks of the city, and the Christmas lights lend a special, dreamy feeling to the prevalent euphoria in the atmosphere.
Little boys and girls, teenagers, couples, families and grandparents are all on the streets on a winter night in Calcutta. The colorful clothes come out of naphthalene closets and the fluffy attires lend a feeling of prosperity. There seems to be no more pain, hunger or sadness. For the one month from mid December to mid January everybody is satisfied in their lives. The suffering of the summer gone by is forgotten and the sorrow that another one may bring can be easily ignored for a few days. The city is alive, the heartbeat rising. Traffic snarls seem to dissolve, even if they occur, they are forgotten. Politics seems to take a rest, and even the politicians turn to family during few days of this season. You may look in disbelief to find that the anxieties and frustrations of the year gone by are all erased from the memory of the city. The city is at peace. There is a tranquil silence. The sound that arises is the sound of music. The birds that sing are the doves.
The feeling of Christmas in Calcutta is beyond any regional religious revelry. It is a source of renewal, after the celebrations of the autumn months- the Durga Puja and Diwali. If the Pujas are a toast to a good harvest, then the winter is the time to revitalize ones goals for the coming year, and what better way to enjoy the well-deserved break than by celebrating Christmas, the birth of Christ.
The naturally growing pine trees on Park Street are lit up with bulbs, and how mystical and romantic it looks when the light emanates from the crevices and from between the branches of the tree.
Those who do not have a pine tree in their backyard or colony can do with the artificial ones for homes, which can be bought at cheap rates from the S.S. Hogg Market (New Market). The rest climb atop trees in the garden of their school, college or church, light them up with colorful bulbs and decorate the summit with the star. Somewhere in the background a calm Christmas Carol plays softly. People paying homage to the delightful Christmas tree sway their woolens-clad bodies in the tune of the carols, lost in some unknown utopic world, the feeling vaguely resembling an unidentifiable satisfaction within a grim existence.
Restaurants are out with special menus, with Duck Festivals and live music. The atmosphere is majestic, if only for a few days from Christmas to the English New Year. The old skin is shed, the pristine flow of the springs from the Himalayas seem to fill the soul with a new lease of life. The year ahead can be faced with courage and strength. Whatever fate have in store, the New Year may always be the best.
Merry Christmas!
Dwaipayan Adhya
It’s Christmas time and some parts of Calcutta is lit up very brightly in splendid colors in the true spirit of the season.
Most notably, there is Park Street which has been the Mecca of Christmas celebrations in Calcutta since time immemorial. On either side of the broad stretch of asphalt, there are grand British structures which still house offices and apartments. On the level of the street, there are perpetual festivities throughout the year. There are such class hangouts like Flury’s and Park Hotel, as well as new franchisees such as Music World and One Step Up. Park Street is also the gastronomic centre of the city boasting restaurants such as Peter Cat, Mocambo, Moulin Rouge and the Waldorf (now off Park Street, on Russell Street). The prominent Anglo-India population in the Park Street-New Market area means an extra special enthusiasm for celebrating Christmas, the fervor being experienced by the rest of the city, especially the laid back fun-loving Bengali population.
The lights are best during the Durga Pujas, but it is not so well enjoyed because of the hot and humid weather of September-October. December, on the other hand seems perfect to revel with friends and family around the landmarks of the city, and the Christmas lights lend a special, dreamy feeling to the prevalent euphoria in the atmosphere.
Little boys and girls, teenagers, couples, families and grandparents are all on the streets on a winter night in Calcutta. The colorful clothes come out of naphthalene closets and the fluffy attires lend a feeling of prosperity. There seems to be no more pain, hunger or sadness. For the one month from mid December to mid January everybody is satisfied in their lives. The suffering of the summer gone by is forgotten and the sorrow that another one may bring can be easily ignored for a few days. The city is alive, the heartbeat rising. Traffic snarls seem to dissolve, even if they occur, they are forgotten. Politics seems to take a rest, and even the politicians turn to family during few days of this season. You may look in disbelief to find that the anxieties and frustrations of the year gone by are all erased from the memory of the city. The city is at peace. There is a tranquil silence. The sound that arises is the sound of music. The birds that sing are the doves.
The feeling of Christmas in Calcutta is beyond any regional religious revelry. It is a source of renewal, after the celebrations of the autumn months- the Durga Puja and Diwali. If the Pujas are a toast to a good harvest, then the winter is the time to revitalize ones goals for the coming year, and what better way to enjoy the well-deserved break than by celebrating Christmas, the birth of Christ.
The naturally growing pine trees on Park Street are lit up with bulbs, and how mystical and romantic it looks when the light emanates from the crevices and from between the branches of the tree.
Those who do not have a pine tree in their backyard or colony can do with the artificial ones for homes, which can be bought at cheap rates from the S.S. Hogg Market (New Market). The rest climb atop trees in the garden of their school, college or church, light them up with colorful bulbs and decorate the summit with the star. Somewhere in the background a calm Christmas Carol plays softly. People paying homage to the delightful Christmas tree sway their woolens-clad bodies in the tune of the carols, lost in some unknown utopic world, the feeling vaguely resembling an unidentifiable satisfaction within a grim existence.
Restaurants are out with special menus, with Duck Festivals and live music. The atmosphere is majestic, if only for a few days from Christmas to the English New Year. The old skin is shed, the pristine flow of the springs from the Himalayas seem to fill the soul with a new lease of life. The year ahead can be faced with courage and strength. Whatever fate have in store, the New Year may always be the best.
Merry Christmas!
Dwaipayan Adhya
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