Debris lies on Park Street after the blast at McDonald’s. Picture by Amit Datta

9.20am: Any given Sunday morning on Park Street. An air of languor. The breakfast crowd fills up Flurys and T3. Magazine-sellers set up stalls, paanwallahs raise shutters.

9.34am: Less than half-an-hour to go for McDonald’s to open. An explosion shatters the idyll. The iron shutters and glass windows of McDonald’s are blown across Park Street. There is blood on the street, shock all around. 9.45am: Police take charge. This part of Park Street is cordoned off.

10.20am: A crowd gathers on the pavement in front of Flurys, which has been evacuated and shut. MusicWorld does not open. Cameras and cops everywhere.

11.35am: Cars are allowed back on Park Street, with a portion in front of McDonald’s barricaded. Outside Flurys, staff members sweep glass shards off the pavement. Enough to fill three buckets.

12.35pm: Calcutta’s fun corridor starts limping back to life. KFC, Sourav’s, Peter Cat, One Step Up and Cafe Coffee Day open doors. Bar-B-Q and Flurys remain shut. Patrons are turned away from MusicWorld. “When I saw this, I thought ‘is it a bomb blast or what?’ I come to Flurys every Sunday after service at Assembly of God Church. Today, I have lost my appetite,” said G. Gomes, 45.

1.35pm: The flow of traffic increases. Every car passing the shattered frontage of McDonald’s slows down for a closer look. Every pedestrian tries to inch as close to the site as possible.

2.35pm: The rain comes down and the crowd disperses. A crane pulls away one of the cars damaged in the explosion. One Step Up downs shutters suddenly. Posters on the doors of Bar-B-Q and One Step Up announce the death of their owner S.S. Kothari. It’s a sad day for Calcutta’s food street.

4.35pm: A semblance of normalcy returns to Park Street, as the young make their way to their favourite haunts on International Youth Day.

Yes, MusicWorld and Flurys have opened. But everyone steals a glance at what was Big Mac till the morning.