‘Join us on the ‘terrace' over lunch and meet the life partner our son chose', says one invite.
‘We are doing a New Year dinner with all the residents of the locality on the terrace of Block ‘A', don't miss the games and live music,' reads another invite.
A sprawling terrace has been put to many uses. If in the olden times the women of the house enjoyed sun-drying vadiyalu and appadalu on the terrace, some couldn't help getting excited about the thought of sleeping under the blue sky at night to beat the summer heat indoors.
Fast forward to an era when everything from vadiyalu to dahi mirchi and magai to avakai is available across the counter and air conditioner and coolers cool our homes.
Can the terraces be left unattended? Can we let them turn into an open dumpyard? Naah. Terrace garden, terrace sit-out and hey how about a venue for private functions?
Sankranti and the fun of flying kites must have triggered this brilliant idea. Now residents of apartment building blocks don't think twice about booking a venue for their private events. Weddings, receptions, birthdays, anniversaries you name it and mostly every terrace has seen at least one such event.
“It saves a lot. Coupled with the thought that whatever we are celebrating we are doing at our home. The excitement of conducting functions at home is no match to doing the same at a hired venue. If the terrace is a huge one then there is no need to look for hired venues,” says Naidu, who performed his son's wedding and reception on the terrace of their apartment and the whole building turned into a wedding venue.
“Thankfully we have enough parking space in our locality,” he adds. Wedding planners and event managers too say that the terrace as a venue for events is getting very popular. “Especially birthday and cradle ceremonies. It saves the host a lot of trouble if such events are conducted in the vicinity of where they live. We have done theme decorations and seen lovely terraces that can accommodate of upto 200 guests,” says Suniel, whose birthday theme party décor for kids are a hit.
Financially too terraces are more pocket friendly. All that the hosts need to do is arrange for chairs and decoration and the guests have limited access to litter the place. “And with open air events becoming a hit, how can we not think of partying on the terrace. The terrace of our apartment has a lovely view. Situated on a hillock, it overlooks a dargah in the opposite hillock which is mostly lit. At night the view is breathtaking and the silence makes our guests fall in love with the eerie feeling,” says Sudheer, who organised a farewell party for his neighbour and friend.
But it is not just terrace of apartments that are put to use for parties. The Marurs recently organised a party for their friends where Pritam Chakravarthy performed and guests are still raving about it. Live music, good food and smiling hosts made their evening, they say. Some of the house owners have consciously kept the terrace as the permanent partying venue. “Nothing like having guests over at home,” says a house owner whose terrace has a mini bar, covered and uncovered seating arrangements and an option for a live kitchen as well. Adding another plus point of terrace party, Sanjana says: “It saves us from the hassle of explaining the venue when we say ‘ toh milenge terrace pe ,'” she giggles.
