Pandemic steals sheen of Diwali parties

Party planners and caterers reveal that the number of queries for Diwali parties haven’t seen a major dip, but the size of gatherings have decreased, leading to low business

Soaked in the festive fervour, the run-up to Diwali is packed with lit parties and get-togethers with the loved ones. But this year, it’s no fun and games as the celebrations turn low-key, family affair with restricted gathering says prominent party people and planners in the city.

“Diwali is a tiring season. You’re doubling the invites, attending multiple parties in a night. But it will be a quieter affair this year, and I’m glad it will be this way. It was much needed to us to slow down but there will be some groups who will still go ahead with lavish parties,” says designer Rina Dhaka.

For regular party attendees, precautions and RSVP-ing have taken the centrestage this year. Model Sonalika Sahay shares, “I really don’t host big, lavish Diwali parties. For me, it is typically about family and friends. But when you’ve been invited to one, you really can’t ask so many questions. Hosts as well as attendees are being careful with safety protocols. The number of guest on the list are now specified, luckily everyone’s taking RSVP very seriously.”

Party planners and caterers reveal that the number of queries for Diwali parties haven’t seen a major dip, but the size of gatherings have decreased, leading to low business. Tania Nijhawan, founder of Fork ‘N’ Spoon, a catering company, says, “There have been queries for smaller groups like 15-20 people or 5-6 couples. It is nothing like last year’s business. Till last year, lot of food would be concentrated towards starters as it would be easy to eat while playing cards. But now, focus has shifted to main course. We’re doing delicacies which are laid out and hot. We are not serving cold snacks now and have also limited the number of servers to maintain hygiene standards.”

Vaishali Gupta, event planner and founder of La Pitara too echoes the same sentiment and recalls, “Last year, if approximately, I did 20 grandeur setups and parties for Diwali, the number is still the same this year but the venue is now the client’s house as opposed to lavish venues till last year.”

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