Schoolchildren play Holi at Tender Hearts InternationalPictures by Ranjeet Kumar Dey and Deepak Kumar

Patna, March 6: The festival of colours got a tangy twist today as couples smeared tomatoes on each other instead of colour at a La Tomatina-style party in a city resort.

The famous Spanish fest — in which participants take part in a tomato fight for fun in the Mediterranean town of Bunol — caught the imagination of the people last year, after the Hrithik Roshan and Katrina Kaif-starrer Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara depicted it. Efforts were made to organise a La Tomatina in Bangalore last year but the plans were shelved in face of protests.

Patna residents, however, had unbridled fun today at Ghar Aangan, where the party was hosted ahead of Holi. They daubed each other with smashed tomatoes and danced to the tune of popular Bollywood numbers like Kahe halke halke, yeh rang chhalke chhalke … from Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara and Kangna tera ni sanu kare ishaare… from the soon-to-be-released Chaar Din ki Chandni.

“I really enjoyed taking part in the tomato fight. It is so exciting. I never thought I would get to take part in such an event. I have only seen such things in films,” said Aishwarya Kumari, a student of Patna Women’s College, who came to the party today.

The fun was not the only reason she enjoyed the party so much. The student said: “This is the ideal way to celebrate Holi, as no artificial colours are used. We smeared each other only with the natural colours of tomato. It will not harm our skin and hair.”

Asked why he decided to organise a tomato fight for Holi celebrations, Ghar Aangan general manager Sanjeev Jha said: “We thought of organising such a party in the city inspired by the song (Kahe halke halke, yeh rang chhalke chhalke) in Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, where Hrithik and his friends enjoyed so much. As the colour of tomato is red, we thought it would be perfect for Holi. This is the first time that such an event has been organised, and couples are enjoying it very much.”

He added: “We have also arranged for a disc jockey and rain dance to make the tomato fight more enjoyable.”

The price for pleasure was not too much. The revellers had to pay Rs 250 as entry fee to the fun-filled party.

“The entry fee was quite reasonable. I would love to play Holi like this everyday. Who gets to take part in a La Tomatina for just Rs 250? You need to spend a lot of money to go to Spain,” said Sachin Kumar, an MBA student from Mumbai.

Fun fight over, revellers had quite a few gourmet dishes lined up to satiate their palate. They could dip into Chinese, Italian and Continental delicacies that the organisers had lined up. Even as they continued to dance, they could munch on snacks or cool down with canned beer.

“Such events should be organised more often. It is a completely new concept and I am having great fun. Holi is the festival of colours and I am getting the same feeling here,” said Patliputra Colony resident Annu Priya.