"Footfall easily crossed 4,000,” said Sambhu Mukherjee, club president. The “full-fledged food festival, stressing on bakery” is the most important event in the club’s calendar after the International Food Festival. Sixty food, jewellery and apparel stalls were set up on the club lawns as members and guests poured in from 11.30am till 11pm on Sunday.

The bakery contest at 3pm saw 25 members baking special dishes, judged by a five-star chef. “The scale of the carnival has increased five-fold,” said T.K. Pal, event manager, Calcutta Club and member for 34 years.

Everyone wanted their share of food and fun, including these two toddlers! Light bites from Subway and Piccadilly Square, kebabs from The Astor, Mughlai from Shiraz, dessert from Balaram’s and HHI, fizzies from Coca Cola… the menu was extensive.

From Santa to style, GeNext had a blast. Events included a kid’s fancy dress competition and a fashion show with the city’s top models. Despite the nip in the air, youngsters turned up in tank tops and short skirts. “It’s like a party. Over the years, the names have become bigger and the scale has grown,” said 21-year-old Angel Dutta, a carnival regular.

The list of carnival events was long. At 2pm, Rhyme ’N’ Jive with Ritika Sahni (in picture) saw the singer-performer quiz a bunch of giggly children. Later in the evening, vocalist Monali Thakur wooed the audience with a remix of mere sona re… “This is my favourite city since I’ve been born and brought up here,” smiled the Indian Idol 2 finalist.