This new year was special. It marked the end of a decade and the start of another. Filled with hope, anticipation and excitement we all came together at our club, The DI, to welcome the new year.

Members and guests arriving at DI to celebrate this momentous occasion,  received the DI special party accessories - hats for men, stylish eye masks for women and a packet filled with whistles and more.
The last few days have been freezing (We Kolkatans have a very different tolerance to temperature). On the last day of the last decade, everyone wore their party best, men in smart suits and the women in beautiful gowns and trendy partywear. Yellow and black balloons added to the festive feel. The shamiana looked bright in red and white, with white tables and red chairs.

There was a photo corner where selfies, groupfies and just plain pics were taken. It remained crowded through the night.

The ever popular Blue Mist was the chosen band for this very special night. Leslie was the perfect emcee for  the occasion. No DI party is complete without the innovative competitions, games and prizes given out and Leslie conducted these sessions beautifully engaging the crowd on the dance floor.

DI had organised another musical session by Kaushik Roy Chowdhury in Live@DI for our hindi music lovers. This exclusive session enabled members and guests to enjoy their kind of music by booking their own tables and chairs inside the warm interiors of the DI bar. The famous Kaushik belted out one superhit Hindi number after another.

The dance floor filled up as Abba's 'Dancing Queen' was sung. The first couple on the dance floor won a prize, inviting others to join. Sandeep and Anne Marie Sen picked up a bottle of wine. 

'Wake me up before you go go' had the guests and members dancing enthusiastically, warming up the dancers suitably on the chilly night.
A 'Lucky couple' - Schubert & Anindita Gonsalves - won a Whisky bottle through an innovative game. Josh, a young guest, was blindfolded and selected the Lucky couple based on random directions by Tanya our Entertainment Committee head. The Lucky Ticket gifted a bottle of whisky to Trent Gomes.  Who wouldn't want to be the lucky one on such a night?

'The Heat is on' certainly raised the temperatures, as we saw jackets and stoles being shrugged off. Soon Blue Mist took a much needed break which helped the enthusiastic dancers also cool down. Leslie asked the audience to find Blue Mist's Facebook page and the first person to do so (Dhruv) won a bottle of wine. Everyone had their phones in hand as they tried to find the Blue Mist FB page. This was the perfect welcome back for the band.

Popular numbers like 'Mysterious girl' and 'Staying alive' wooed the dancers back on to the floor. By the time they played 'Give me hope Johanna' and 'Mamma Mia' the dancefloor was full once again.
Leslie asked all to bring out their hats, hooters and masks as we drew nearer to midnight. The last song of 2019, 'That's the way I like it' was followed by the count down to 2020. By now the sitting areas were empty as everyone was on the dancefloor.  As the clock struck 12, the train of balloons tied up in a net, were released adding to the festive feel. Everyone wished and warmly hugged each other to the strains of Auld Lang Syne.

The band then led the grand march with the Birdie Dance, the Mexican Shuffle and the Hokey Pokey which was a tremendous hit.
After the turn of the decade, most could be seen texting, updating status digitally, making video calls as they wished their loved ones. Photos were clicked, digital status check-ins were made.

Soon it was time for another game. Leslie announced that those who had worn the theme colours,  black, silver and gold, would win a prize. The lady who won ran away with her wine so we didn't get her name!

'Despacito' had everyone moving back to the dancefloor.

Inside at Live@DI, the dancefloor was full as Kaushik belted out one populer number after another. 'Yeh dosti' and 'Tum jaise doston' had all swaying together in a sense of camaraderie.

As the celebrations for the night came to an end at 2 a.m., people were overheard planning for the next day. 'Are you going to the races?' was a common point of discussion. The New Year had begun beautifully at our very own DI.

Wishing all the members, staff and guests a very happy new year.

[Various people took the pictures in this article.  Thanks and credits to them all]