Thaindian News

Kolkata, Jan 1 (IANS) The residents of Kolkata welcomed the New Year on a note of merriment Sunday with huge crowds thronging to various tourist and picnic spots and popular places of worship in the city.

Thousands of people gathered at tourist spots like the Alipore Zoo and the Victoria Memorial.

Devotees cutting across religious barriers queued up at the St. Paul’s Cathedral. A sea of humanity also gathered at the age-old Kali temple at Dakshineswar for ‘Kalpataru Utsav’, which is celebrated on this day every year in memory of spiritual guru Sri Ramakrishna Paramhansa. It is believed that Sri Ramakrishna Paramhansa had gone into a trance on Jan 1, 1886, and achieved enlightenment.

“Every year on January 1, I visit the Dakshineshwar temple. It gives me immense pleasure and peace of mind,” said Raghav Dutta, a bank employee.

Several city dwellers decided to move out of the city with family and friends to the world’s largest mangrove forest in the Sunderbans and the sea resort of Digha in East Midnapore district.

At the stroke of midnight, the tony Park Street area drew huge crowds. Various posh restaurants with their mouth-watering delights were open throughout the night. The night clubs had a choc-o-bloc situation as youngsters from across the state thronged to witness pole and belly dances.

The Park Hotel in its five venues had arranged ‘A Midnight Kiss’, a musical extravaganza with some known Bollywood item girls and international models.

Exotic Egyptian dancers danced around the pool while musicians played harps, flutes and cymbals, as the Hotel Hindustan International welcomed the New Year with Egyptian charm.