Large apartment complexes are hubs of cultural action | Bengaluru News

In Western societies, apartment living is often seen as isolated living, with many not knowing who their neighbours are, never seeing them. It’s increasingly quite the opposite in cities like Bengaluru.

As apartment complexes in the city become bigger and bigger, they are also becoming hubs of cultural and sporting action. Almost every complex has a cultural secretary and committee. Every major community in these complexes have their own committees. Every festival is celebrated together. All of this becomes easier when there are thousands of people living together – there are always individuals who are willing to take on the responsibilities of organising. No wonder, as a recent NoBroker study found, the share of real estate projects launched with over 500 units grew from 9% in 2024 to 17% in 2025. Buyers also seem to want to stay in these massive complexes – partly because they offer a massive range of services, and because they are lively stages and sports arenas, where residents of all ages step up to perform and compete.

In today’s story, we talk to a number of those who have helped organise events, and we capture some of the funniest, most endearing and heartwarming anecdotes from celebrations.When resourcefulness came to the rescue during Pongal celebrations Amidst the festive spirit of Pongal, residents in a Sobha apartment complex in Bellandur came together to celebrate the festival. Ankita Ravi, a resident, volunteered to conduct a few games, along with a friend. “We planned a couple of games, which required sugarcane sticks, a spin wheel and earthen pots. We were all set, assuming this was a fool-proof plan. What we didn’t foresee is the unavailability of the above things, especially the sugarcane sticks.

Since our event was planned a week before the actual festival, it was difficult for us to get the sticks,” she says. But we live in times of extreme convenience! Browsing all the available instant delivery apps, they did manage to find sugarcane sticks but their quality was not great and couldn’t be used in the game, which was a sugarcane eating contest. “So out came our thinking hats and ChatGPT to the rescue. The game changed from eating sugarcane to a sugarcane relay race, where the participants pass the sticks with their elbows without dropping them.

And the game was a huge hit! But no one knew that wasn’t what was planned,” Ankita laughs. Pongal that boiled over years of togetherness At Salarpuria Symphony in Electronics City, Pongal morning began with frenzied activity – volunteers running around with checklists, someone asking where the extra pots were kept, and children chasing each other between the rangoli patterns that the women had drawn at dawn. Families from different blocks came down to the common area with their earthen pots, firewood, and the enthusiasm that only harvest festivals seem to bring out.

By ten o’clock, the sun was already making its presence felt. “Most people had found spots under the shamiana or near the trees. But one elderly couple – they must have been in their 70s – had set up pot right in the open. No shade, no complaints,” says Jaffershah Jahangeer, a resident. The husband was arranging the bricks around the fire. The wife was cleaning the rice, picking out stones with fingers that had clearly done this a hundred times before.

They worked without talking much. “When you’ve made Pongal together for fifty-odd years, words become optional,” Jaffershah smiles. Some residents offered them help, but they politely refused. This was their work, their offering. The fire took time to catch properly. The milk took longer to boil. The sun climbed higher. The couple didn’t shift to shade. They just watched the pot like it contained something precious.

Of course, it did. When the milk finally rose and spilled over the edges – that auspicious moment every Pongal waits for – the crowd cheered “Pongalo Pongal.” The wife added the rice. The husband adjusted the flame. And they just exchanged a quick look, satisfied.Voice Box Ours is an army residential community.

We celebrated Uttarayan festival on Jan 13, with colour, warmth and camaraderie. The spirit of celebration began days earlier with pot painting and rangoli-making, strengthening community bonds.

Preparations were filled with laughter – especially during Gidda dance practice, when some ladies wore parandas (false hair) so convincingly that their “long hair” drew admiration, until one paranda slipped mid-practice, triggering boisterous laughter from onlookers and the dancers themselves.

Preeti Gupta, RESIDENT, VASANT VIHAR Saraswati Puja celebrations in our association witnessed unexpected moments of mirth last year.

During Saraswati Vandana, the background track suddenly started playing fast.

The young singer adapted instantly and completed what many jokingly called the “Express Vandana.” Even Maa Saraswati idol seemed calm and smiling, as if blessing the effort more than the accuracy. Rudrashis, MEMBER, WHITEFIELD CULTURAL ASSOCIATION We celebrated Lohri in our complex on Jan 10. A particularly memorable highlight was the participation of a few non-Punjabi residents who surprised everyone by donning turbans traditionally worn by Sikhs.

They even grew beards to be authentic, and looked exactly like sardarjis. Maj Thomas Panicker (Retd), SANDEEP VIHAR ARMY APARTMENT COMPLEX, WHITEFIELD During the 2024 Onam celebrations, our community organised a tug-of-war featuring exciting matchups: boys vs girls, and mothers & sons vs fathers & daughters.

When the girls won the first event, the boys wanted a rematch. The girls agreed. The boys lost again. The girls started jumping and screaming, while the boys slipped away quietly. That became the talk of the community for a few days.

And an abiding memory. Subhash Panicker, PRESIDENT, SOBHA CHRYSANTHEMUM APARTMENT OWNERS ASSOCIATION The Sugarcane Relay Race that we invented during Pongal celebrations in our apartment was so exciting that we had to conduct multiple rounds with more men, women and kids.

There was also a Matka game for the ladies, where earthen pots were filled with water and the ladies had to walk, carrying the pots on their hips, without spilling water, until the finish line. Toddlers walked the ramp, showcasing costumes and props from various harvest festivals from across India. Ankita Ravi, RESIDENT, SOBHA, BELLANDUR