The New Year?s eve party in full swing at Blue Mountain Country Club and Resorts in Siliguri on Saturday night. A Telegraph picture

Siliguri, Jan. 1: ?We are having a party.?

The words of Irish rock singer Rod Stewart would have best summed up the mood here on New Year?s eve, as residents of the growing city partied well past midnight.

Arguably, the ?most happening party? of the night was the one organised in association with The Telegraph at Blue Mountain Country Club and Resorts, off Hill Cart Road at Dagapur, about 10 km from the city centre. ?I have been attending New Year-eve party for the last three years here and I can tell you that this has been the most enjoyable and the most happening party that I have attended,? said Suden T. Bhutia, a young bureaucrat, as he sipped his preferred drink before joining his wife Namrata and their friends for a dance near the club?s swimming pool.

Their group and about 450 other revellers were kept on their toes throughout the night as DJs for the evening, Sohini and Priyanka, churned out foot-tapping music from a specially constructed console. The duo from Calcutta must have been inspired by the Stewart song too, as they kept ?the records flowing? with a mix of Hindi, English and, of course, Punjabi (read bhangra) hits. ?We are having a good time. The party scene has finally come to Siliguri,? said Nirmalya Acharya, as he and his friends munched on some delicacies at the club restaurant.

With the party scene just about taking roots in this otherwise not so happening city, there obviously is no Page 3 crowd yet, but if the spirit shown by revellers at Blue Mountain is anything to go by, that should change soon.

The owner of the club, quite understandably, was a happy man. ?This has been beyond my expectations. We had anticipated 400 people, but there are about 450 in here. Many more are waiting outside,? said Anand Prasad, as a man pleaded with him to let in a friend?s wife. A group of youngsters, obviously party-crashers, were seen arguing with the security staff at the gate as they were denied entry.

The 450-odd lucky ones, though, were having a whale of a time letting their hair down. As the clock struck 12, the entire arena erupted in joy, welcoming the new year, as fireworks illuminated the wintry sky. ?This is as good as being in Calcutta,? said Shiladitya Ghosh, a businessman from the state capital, who was attending the party with a school friend from Kurseong and his wife. Fitting last words to a fantastic party.

Elsewhere, most residents welcomed the new year with family get-togethers and para parties. Tripurari, additional superintendent of police, Siliguri, said the night had been peaceful with there being no untoward incident of any kind.