Shantiniketan, in the Birbhum district, is intimately associated with the memories of Rabindranath Tagore. So, in a suitably poetic mode, the townobserves Holi as the Spring Festival or Basanta Utsav, where the focus is more oncultural performances. Hugely popular in Bengal, Shantiniketan becomes crowded with tourists from Kolkata around this time. If you want to get the cultural feel without the crowds, Bangla Natak's (banglanatak.com) tourism wing TourEast, has something for you. It is organisingtwo programmes in rural Bengal, one in Nimdih in Purulia district and the other in Tepantar in Birbhum district. In 2017, Holi fallson March 12. At both places, similar programmes will run from March 11 to 13. ASanthal dance performance on March 11 inaugurates the festival,followed by other cultural performances. Visitors can enjoy playing with colours on the morning of March 12 and folk songs and dances in the evening. In Nimdih, accommodation offered by TourEast are from 2,200 in tents and 3,500 per head in cottages. In Tepantar, the charges are 3,000 per person for accommodation in a 12-bed dorm or 10,000 for a double-bed cottage. All costs include stay, food and entry to the festivals.