Evens & Celebrations

House of Hiranandani is home to us. A fusion of cultural diversity, ethnicity and traditions, all under one umbrella, HOH.

‘Vasudaiva kutumbakam’ in its truest sense.

With the rapid pace of life leaving no time for social interactions, a variety of events bring the residents together. Thanks to the committed volunteers who drive these cultural initiatives without whom we may not be able to enjoy these cultural extravaganza. The pandemic was a time when we missed most of the events but the passion was rekindled in 2022.

At Hira, we witness a lot of moving population, which means not all of us might be aware of the celebrations hosted across the community. This is a small attempt to put together a compilation of all events in Hira.

Hira Harvest festival

This is one of the most looked upon celebrations in the community, the event is an effort towards bringing the essence of the various harvest festivals through Pongal. Cultural songs, music and dance performances, display of indigenous games and folk dances like Poikaal kutharai, Tharai thappattam, Karagattam, Mayilattam, Puli Vesham, Pot making, Rangoli competitions, Cooking competition and many more are the attractions for the day. 2023 is all set to witness yet another lively harvest festival in Jan.

Hira Lohri

Lohri is the harvest festival of Punjab and is celebrated in Hira on Jan 13^th every year. The event is for registered families who receive a goody bag with the authentic Punjabi delicacies gachak, till ladoos, rewari etc. The event gives us a feel of how Lohri is celebrated in Punjab. The jalebis are something to look forward to on this day. In case you are unaware, the registrations for this year’s Lohri is underway. Please do write to us for registrations.

Rath Yatra

I have not watched the Hira Rath Yatra but have heard a lot about it. It was celebrated in 2019 in collab with Iskon Chennai. In the month of June or July, this festival is celebrated with a Lord Jaganath Puri taken for a religious yatra across the streets of Hira, on the chariots. The Jaganath will roll inside Hira hopefully this year.

Women’s Day

Hira events are always driven by the women of the community☺, so is the women’s day. It is celebrated to show appreciation towards all the incredible women out here. Every year the various achievements of the Hira womenfolk are recognized and celebrated. Last year we had our very own Dr. Kalai from Seawood who stole the show, for all her contributions during the pandemic and otherwise.

Independence Day –

15^th Aug is a day which the entire country celebrates and so do we. Hira celebrates this occasion by recognizing some of the key achievers among our resident community cutting across professions. Our society is rich with people from various occupations and hence we never fall short of worthiness. Last year we had the teachers and the pilots grace the occasion and host our National flag. Excited kids, parents and everyone joins the event to remember its importance.

Dandiya Night –

Do you like to dance? then this is an event for you☺. The dandiya night during Navratri is one of its kind celebrations. Women practice Garba for days together, to perform on this day. The coordination and the energy on this day is something worth looking forward to. It doesn’t matter if you know to dance or not, just enjoy the fervor of the music, dance and DJ.

Hira Ganesha Celebrations –

Ganesha is very close to my heart, for various reasons, every year a new reason is born as to why I love him more. If you have not witnessed the Hira Ganesha festival yet, you are missing a great deal. A 10 days celebration starts with welcoming Ganesha with Dhol, Tasha – The cosmic energy is mesmerizing. Daily aartis at the pandal, with lip smacking prasad for 10 days. Events, culturals, and visarjan would take our breath away.

Hira Holi –

This year when I asked my son what his favorite festival is, he said Holi, I was pleasantly surprised and I never realized that he enjoyed it so much. The Hira Holi has left a mark on his tiny heart☺, he said that he enjoys the day of color and music. Witnessing hundreds of residents coming together to play the colorful holi with DJ music and dance, is a sight to behold. While it is an arduous process to remove the colors at the end of the day, the sheer joy of playing Holi makes us come back every year!.

Christmas Carnival –

Christmas carols, good food and music and a lot of shopping, what else do we look upon on Christmas☺? Beautiful decors at each tower, and a winter carnival for all. Celebrated on the eve of Christmas, it is fun to see so many kids singing carols, some donning Santa Claus costumes and distributing Santa’s goodies.

Hira Diwali Festival –

Hira gets lit up with lights and lanterns. The entire community comes alive. This is one of a kind. This event is turning out to be larger every year. Not limited to only the in-house community folks, the event witnesses people across the city to come and click some of the best photographs here. For HoH, this is a signature event.

Hira Run

From joggers and walkers, from buzzing badminton courts to busy gym, we have fitness freaks in Hira. Hira Run hosts, with marathons, Zumba and many fitness events planned on the day. The streets are filled with marathoners trying to push themselves to the finish line, with age being no bar. My daughter was so proud to do her first 2.5 Km run last year.

Kids Carnival –

Every parent’s dream is to uplift the passion of their child, be it baking, art, cooking or being a good sales person. The uniqueness of this event is mind-blowing. Instilling the spirit of entrepreneurship among

the kids is something unique in this event. Kudos to the brains behind this event.Buzzing stalls, with kids decked up to make as many sales as possible in their sweet voice, stealing the show with their innocence is a day to look upto.

The Most Important Team

I won’t be doing justice without mentioning about HIRA’S GREEN WARRIORS a.k.a. HIRA GREEN TEAM. Celebrating alone is not sufficient, the level of preparedness before and after every event is something we as residents are mindful about. The Green Team is a group of volunteers who help us ensure we keep Hira clean. They train us, they educate the organizers and ensure every event gets wrapped up neatly and with less garbage and mess.

The Green team has had an eventful year too with many initiatives keeping the human factor alive in all of us. Be it the Reduce, Reuse, Recycle Drive that collected over 2700+ kg of reusable material , or the Jeans Drive supporting a noble cause of making sleeping bags for the homeless through Nirvaan's Initiative, they are making us understand the trueness of making a difference. If you would like to be part of this group, please let us know. More hands, the merrier it is.