I have always loved the cemeteries of Kolkata, and there is no better time to visit them than around Christmas. This is because foreign visitors begin to trickle into India, around this time, especially the British, who come in search of the graves of their ancestors. The canny caretakers know this and the graves look slightly better tended, as the nip enters the air.

Christmas is a festive time in Kolkata. No doubt I am old-fashioned, but for me it is associated with Flury’s, the cake shop from which Kolkata-based cousins would send us goodies. There were chocolate cream boats that we loved and éclairs of different kinds.

The world has since changed. Good patisseries have opened in Mumbai and no doubt Flury’s hegemony has been challenged on its own turf too. But there was something about going out dining and dancing, about the live bands and the atmosphere that they generated that was quintessentially Kolkatan. You should walk down Park Street and have dinner at the Fairlawn Hotel—and enjoy the lights and the cheer.

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