Tolly beauties share their fave Secret Santa stories

It’s Christmas Eve and the city is all decked up in beautiful lights, Xmas trees and decorations. While the pandemic dampened the festive spirit last year, there is some respite this time around as we can be with our loved ones on this special occasion. To celebrate the Yuletide spirit, Tollywood actors Susmita Chatterjee, Sandipta Sen and Swastika Dutta got into Santa mode for an exclusive shoot with CT.In a chat, the trio also revealed their most memorable Secret Santa stories to us. Read on…

Played Secret Santa as a student; evokes nostalgia
Secret Santa is a part of my growing-up years and evokes a sense of nostalgia. I used to play it with my friends in school and college. We would always buy each other exciting gifts. I remember, in 2018, I received an enormously expensive gift – a very high-end smartphone. It came via post, and the note said, ‘Your beloved Secret Santa’. We all tried to track down the sender but in vain. I even called up the courier company office, but they refused to reveal the sender’s identity. Then I took to my social media account to get some information, but the generous Santa remains anonymous to date. Finally, I decided not to use the phone as I was sceptical – what if it was tampered with to get access to my personal data?
– Susmita Chatterjee

A Secret Santa once gifted me all my favourite things
No matter how old I get, I always expect a fancy present on Christmas. On one such Christmas, I woke up to my doorbell ringing. As I peeped through the eyehole, I couldn’t see anyone. When I opened the door, there was a gift lying outside. I looked around and hesitantly picked it up. The gift was a coat that I had been eyeing for a long time. As I happily started walking towards my room, the doorbell rang again. There was another gift box with my favourite muffins inside. Every time I started walking back to my room, the bell rang, and there was something or the other from my wishlist. It was a lovely gesture, and I was excited to have received some of my favourite things. However, I have no idea who was behind all this. This Secret Santa is one big mystery.
– Sandipta Sen

My Secret Santa freaked me out
One of my Secret Santas still remains a big mystery. It was during my second year in college when I had just started working. I was barely popular back then. On one fine Christmas morning, I received a gift via courier. It was weird because I couldn’t think of anyone who would send me a courier on Christmas. To my surprise, I found a head massager in the box that came with a note saying, ‘Santa’s gonna give you a lovely head massage’. To be honest, I found it creepy and the incident kind of freaked me out. So, I never used the massager. Now when I look back, I laugh it off.
– Swastika Dutta
PIX: Kaustav Saikia