It was my hip and trendy cousin Riya, fresh from a throbbing life in Mumbai who came out with a rather opinionated statement--"there's not much of nightlife in Kolkata". And there stood I, the sucker for the tastes and essences of Kolkata, glaring at her ignorance of the new avatar it has come up with. "Well", I grinned, "if City Center, the plush Shoppers' Stop or Metro Plaza has not taught you what a metamorphosis our city has gone through, you had better jived out at one of our discotheques to eat up what you uttered right now!".

In fact, what we wanted was an out-and-out experiential fun event. And in our quest, we landed up in "Tantra", the idyllic hotspot of lovers and pals, foot-tapping teenyboppers and lustful party-animals. The electrifying dance floor at Tantra was hot, reflecting enough of style, panache and oomph.

My cousin Riya was flattered to see the hippest crowd of Kolkata dance into the wee hours, which, in a way pampered her flamboyant lifestyle. Cherishing the coquetry and live music, I went on tapping my feet at the celebrated hub, the Mecca of the DJs and VJs performing at each weekend. Being in the media, I had already swallowed plenty of juicy scoops of how and why "Tantra" happens to be a plain titillating experience and a provoking "singles' corner" for umpteen members as well as non-members.

Some girls I knew keep harping on how lucky they have been to bump into their "prince charmings" at the dance floors. And there I was, tasting every bit of the bragging clubbing circuit of the City of Joy, wild party animals rocking the disc floors, DJs spinning the turnables, and last, but not the least, hot models creating a stir with their plunging tops tickling male fantasies. All these make for good scoop for the illustrious Page 3's, huh? And coupled with a glimpse of a hot celeb action, who can say, the next MMS story may originate right over here?.

Jokes apart, what I liked in particular that night at Tantra was an amazing ambience to replicate the abundance of fun and frolic existing in Kolkata, the proverbial City of Joy. Besides, there were the custom sound systems tailor-made to suit the required ambience in each area. With a superb dance floor perfect for some wild partying, it was great to see the go-go dancers add color and gaiety to the mélange of green and orange. We had gala time with a classic selection of wine and beer at the Onyx Bar, while I really regretted not being a member of the Bodhi Bar, which frequenters say, is simply exquisite.All said and done, we witnessed an upsurge of young souls, with a song on their minds, a spring in their steps, while some money was still there in our wallets. Swinging legs until four in the morning, I chuckled while my beautiful cousin ate up her words and acknowledged that this dance club attracts the city's hippest crowd.

"Kolkata has really grown up, you see", was all I said.

By: Lopa Bhattacharya