Foreigners at Red Road extravaganza wowed by ‘experience of a lifetime’

KOLKATA: New Zealand tourists Franc Rukmouse and Robb Taylor were on a tour of Agra and Fatehpur Sikri last Sunday when their guide told them about the Durga Puja carnival in Kolkata. The next day, they tweaked their plans and flew to Kolkata to attend the Red Road extravaganza. And they weren’t disappointed.

“We have been in India for the past two weeks and have been to Mumbai, Jaipur, Delhi and Agra. But the other places are nothing compared to this carnival. We wish we could have come a few days earlier to witness the Durga Puja in its full fervour,” said Rukmouse, who plans to fly back to Delhi on Wednesday and resume their trip.


The duo was among thousands of foreigners — including tourists, delegates, expats, diplomats, foreign missionary members, students and researchers —who turned up for the immersion carnival on Red Road. This was the highest turnout in the last three years. The guests were hosted by a slew of volunteers who escorted them to their designated seating area opposite the podium where chief minister Mamata Banerjee sat.

Sitting in the front row were one of the early birds to the carnival, German couple Christel Steigenberger and her husband Armin. “I have never seen something like this. We have travelled across the globe and this has been the experience of a lifetime for us,” said Christel, a Munich resident who works at an American non-profit organization.

Kenya resident Vincent Kiplimo attended the show dressed in a red kurta. The computer science student of an institute in Haringhata was enthralled with the reception he received. “Everything was amazing. I made a video call to my parents back home and showed them glimpses of the event.”

“I have never seen such a melange before in my life,” said Australian national Martin Smith who was entharalled by the “grandeur and synchronisation of various aspects” of the carnival.

Twenty-five ISKCON devotees from seven countries (Russia, USA, Brazil, Ukraine, Latvia, Australia and South Africa)performed a dance sequence to a composition by chief minister Mamata Banerjee as a tribute to Goddess Durga.

Also at the event was a group of nine American students who are on a threemonth educational trip to India. They had extended their stay in the city just so they could attend the carnival. “I liked the traditional dance forms, the drums, the show of lights and the huge idols moving in a queue. It was a great experience in itself,” said Sarah Kelly, a resident of Boston and a student of medicine at a university in Vancouver.