PUNE: The festival of Christmas had the entire city lit up with the festive décor. The echo of Christmas carols and bustling of crowds in the market in Camp was every Puneite’s delight. The PCB areas around MG Road in Camp had bustling roadside vendors, Christmas processions and crowds of people enjoying the festive bliss.
Camp area is home to many Christian institutions and churches of different diocese, where Christmas is a gala affair. On the day of Christmas it witnessed citizens dressed up in their festive best, thronging the churches, offering prayers, clicking pictures and walking in the bylanes of the quaint streets in Camp.
Siyona Sawarna, who lives in Nanded City, who was enjoying the festive fervour in East Street, Camp, said, “For all other occasions, I love to shop from Laxmi Road market but for Christmas, I prefer to shop only from the market on East Street. These shops in this area are more than a decade old and are well aware of the Christmas theme.”
“The Cantonment area is very beautiful as the entire market is lit up and people enjoying the festivities is a delight to watch,” she added.
Talking about the Christmas crowd, Kailash Nagre who works in Kayani Bakery said, “During Christmas, this road is completely blocked because of the people who turn out in large numbers. At Kayani, we are selling Christmas cakes since December 21 and our shop was packed to capacity on Christmas Eve.”
Ajay Kharvi, a roadside vendor, said, “There will be a procession on MG Road and everyone will roam around.” He felt in Camp area, there are lots of churches and many restaurants, due to which people prefer celebrating Christmas there.
Anish Kadam, a resident of Camp, said, “The roadside vendors selling accessories, Santa Claus distributing sweets and candies, and the festive food items available for my greedy taste buds just helps me get into the festive mood.”
Bushra Sheikh, also a resident of Camp, said, “My favourite part has to be Christmas sales in shops and little babies dressed as Santa Clauses.”
