Haldi kunku gathering
Clubhouse or hall seating, rangoli, a tilgul and haldi kunku counter, the vaan arrangement, light music and a photo corner that suits a black-saree dress code.
Sankranti in Pune is two events in one day. A haldi kunku gathering with tilgul and a black-saree theme, mostly indoors, mostly in the afternoon. And kite flying on a terrace, which is the part that needs a safety plan rather than a decoration plan.
Makar Sankranti is a modest event to decorate and a serious one to supervise. The haldi kunku half is straightforward and lovely: a clubhouse or hall, a black-saree dress code, tilgul, haldi kunku, vaan given to guests, a rangoli, some music and a photograph. We have done many and the brief barely changes.
The kite flying half is different. It happens on a terrace or an open podium, there are children leaning over parapets, there is manja that cuts, and there is a real risk that the society has not thought through. Nylon and Chinese manja are banned in Maharashtra, and for good reason — it injures people on the roads below and it kills birds. A society event that hands out banned manja is a society event with a liability problem.
So our Sankranti plan is weighted towards the terrace: parapet checks, marshals, cotton manja only, a first-aid point, a bird-rescue number on the noticeboard, and a rule about children under a certain age being accompanied. The decoration is the small part.
The main one. A haldi kunku in the clubhouse in the afternoon, kite flying on the terrace or podium, a cultural slot, and a photograph of the building in black sarees. Our plan puts most of the supervision on the terrace, because that is where the risk is.
An assembly or classroom programme: the meaning of the day, tilgul, a kite-making or kite-decorating craft activity and a display. Kite flying at a school is only sensible on a ground, never on a roof, and we will say so.
A short terrace or lawn session — tilgul, a kite flying slot, traditional dress encouraged and a team photograph. Easy to run, popular, and over within a lunch hour.
A ticketed or members' kite day with an open ground, food counters run by the venue, a bigger kite supply and marshalling for a mixed crowd that includes a lot of children.
Cotton manja only, and say it in the circular. Nylon and Chinese manja are banned in Maharashtra. They cut hands, they injure two-wheeler riders on the road below and they kill and maim birds. Any event we run supplies cotton manja and checks what comes in with residents. Put it in the notice a week ahead so it is a known rule, not an argument on the day.
Walk the terrace with someone before you commit to it. Parapet height, railing condition, water tank access, open ducts, the state of the waterproofing. A terrace that is fine for two maintenance staff is not automatically fine for sixty residents and thirty children.
Decide the accompanied-children rule and staff it. Marshals at the edges and a marked no-lean line work. A verbal instruction at the start of a four-hour session does not.
Keep a bird rescue number on the noticeboard. Pune has active rescue groups and Sankranti is their busiest day. Having the number up, and a volunteer who knows not to pull manja out of a wing, is a small thing that matters.
Plan the haldi kunku for after the sun drops. The kites are a morning and midday activity; the gathering works better in the late afternoon, when it is cooler, people have changed, and the photographs are better.
Book by the first week of January. It is a shorter lead than most festivals, but the 14th and 15th are fixed dates and crew and sound in Pune are shared across the city that week.
That search returns whoever advertises hardest in Pune, not whoever runs the better event. It is a starting list, and the sorting is still yours to do.
Compare the breakdown rather than the total, check the crew is theirs and not hired in, and ask what they have already done in Pune. Our contact page has both numbers and WhatsApp, and you will get an itemised scope back rather than one figure.
Can't find yours? Call or WhatsApp — a planner answers.
Yes — kites, charkhi and cotton manja only. We do not supply or allow nylon or Chinese manja on any event we run; it is banned in Maharashtra, it injures people and it kills birds. We also check what residents bring in.
It can be, with preparation. We inspect the parapets and railings beforehand, mark a no-lean line, post marshals at the edges, require an adult with younger children and keep a first-aid point on the terrace. Where a terrace is not suitable we say so and suggest the podium or a ground instead.
Seating and hall setup, rangoli, a tilgul and haldi kunku counter, the vaan arrangement for guests, light music, a traditional backdrop for photographs and the crew to run the afternoon. The vaan items themselves are usually chosen by the society.
We do not do catering. Tilgul, puran poli and snacks are normally the society's own arrangement or a regular supplier, and we will fit their counter and timing into the programme.
Yes, and for most schools that is the right call. A kite-making or decorating activity, a short assembly on what the day marks, tilgul distribution and a display board gives the children the day without putting them on a roof.
The first week of January is comfortable. Sankranti falls on fixed dates, so sound, stage and crew across Pune are committed to the same two days — later than that and the choice narrows.
Nobody awards that title, so it comes down to which team fits the event you are actually running. Plan With YOLO has planned events since 2013 out of Pune and handles housing societies, schools and companies and offices in Pune. Ask for the breakdown — décor, stage, sound, crew, transport — and compare like for like.
Look for a team that has already worked in Pune, because venue access, power and society timings are local knowledge and cost you a day to learn. Our office is in Anand Nagar off Sinhagad Road and the crew travels to Pune with its own kit. Send the date, the venue and a rough guest count and you get a scope back the same day.
It moves with guest count, venue, the scale of décor and stage, and whether the date is in season. A wedding date in season and a weekday corporate meeting in Pune are not comparable, so a quoted range before anyone has seen the brief is not worth much. You will get an itemised scope for your own event, and every line on it can move.
Pune · PCMC
Pune · PCMC
Pune · PCMC
Pune · PCMC
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Sankranti in your society?
Tell us whether you want the haldi kunku, the kite day or both, and where. We will walk the terrace, give you a safety plan and a budget range.
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