Celebs going sleepless in darjeeling

It had rained in the afternoon in Darjeeling and, so, the nip in the air was quite expected.

But, that couldn't dampen the spirit of the cast and crew of Anjan Dutt's " Ranjana Ami Ar Ashbona", who had come down to the Hills for the first-of-its-kind music launch of a Bengali movie in the mountains. Sunday evening was as romantic as it could get in the mountains. Good music, great food and adda sessions that continued till two in the morning — that was the itinerary, so to say, for anyone who cared to let their hair down a night before the music launch. Neel, who has scored the music for the film, strummed the guitar, while Arka belted one song after another. Not one to be left behind was Ushasie, who gave able vocal support to Arka. So, from "Musu musu hasi" to "Resham firiri", from "Nodi bhora dheu" to "Lal pahari deshe ja" and "Maya nodi kemne jabi pariya".

Goutam Ghose, who had come to Darjeeling to pen his film script, soon joined the motley crowd of revellers. "Incidentally, I wrote the whole of "Kaalbela" sitting in this hotel, where this party is being thrown. When Anjan came to know that I was here, he insisted that I drop by." More surprises were in store when the director joined Ushasie in an impromptu jig.

Meanwhile, there were discussions on how every band that performed in Kolkata till some years ago almost inevitably had a Darjeeling connect. As the night wore on, the party shifted to one of the quaint cottages on the premises. By the time many thought of retiring to bed, it was close to sunrise. So, a mad scamper to catch a view of the Kanchenjunga was a must-do before going to bed!

Around 10 in the morning, Arka, who frequently comes for trekking expeditions in and around Darjeeling, took his friends to a dilapidated palace that once belonged to the Maharaja of Burdwan. From a distance, it looked like a castle. But once inside, it seemed more like the sets of a horror movie, what with roofs threatening to cave in, walls peeling off, fern leaves growing on the floor of a verandah overlooking a tranquil lake and stories of a caretaker about how ghosts frequent the place every night and indulge in conversations in a mysterious language! The goosebumps were inevitable but by the time everyone returned to do the sound check for Monday evening's concert, Darjeeling had already cast a spell on them. Yet again, we mean.

                                                                     TOI