Neetu's colourful hands

"I will be celebrating Holi in my hometown Patna, Bihar. Close to 100 guests will be coming to my place for a rocking Holi party," says actor Neetu Chandra.

Neetu is all raring to smear some colour and gorge on mutton curry and malpuas this weekend. "To hell with diets. I just want to binge this festive time," she declares. So, here's Neetu wishing CS readers a very Happy Holi!



Fun @home
Holi means a lot of colour, rituals, food and fun (winks), especially in Bihar. When I was a kid, the preparations would kickstart a week in advance, right from buying new clothes to short-listing the menu. The Holika Dahan would take place at midnight. The wild revelry would start in the mornings with cousins dunking one another in tubs filled with coloured water. I recollect crying after every dip in the tank (laughs).

The elders would play downing glasses of bhang. Then, we would get together for a grand lunch of puris, malpuas, pulao, mutton curry, kathal ki sabzi, dahi wada and so on. But washing our hands meant a couple of hours work.

All was used to get rid of the colouru00a0-- from strong detergents to every beauty soap to kerosene oil to sarson ka tel. But we'd still spot our puris turning red and the malpuas green. And in the evening, we'd don the new clothes and play with gulal with our elders.

Pyaar ke rang
Holi was also a time for some cute romance as boys and girls could mingle a little freely, away from the watching eyes of mummies, bhaiyyas, chachas, and buas. Though there wasn't any actual physical contact, isharon isharon mein baatein hoti thi.

And if a guy managed to put some colour on you, he would be labelled 'Jijaji' from next day. There was this guy who threw a bouquet of red roses over the boundary wall of my house on Holi, and another who sprinkled red colour on the street where I used to walk from school to home. But I was a shy teenager and dreaded the thought of my parents spotting some guy hanging around me.u00a0

Masti time
During my college days in New Delhi, my hostel friends mixed bhang in my thandai. I had it and was laughing uncontrollably for a few hours. In my intoxicated state, I marched to and fro from the hostel gate to the college gate, God knows how many times!

But in Mumbai, I've noticed that the Holi parties are more sober. But I plan to make up for a few years by partying hard with family and friends in Patna. I have told everyone to prepare my favourite dishes and buy gifts for me. So, Holi Hai!