BENGALURU: Festivals are often imagined as occasions for family reunions, elaborate meals, and crowded homes. But for those living away from family, navigating separation or building independent lives, celebrations can also bring a sense of absence.Social media, filled with photographs of family gatherings and festive get-togethers, can make that feeling more pronounced.Yet being single does not necessarily mean spending the festive season alone. Across Bengaluru, individuals are finding new ways to experience festivals — through communities that offer companionship and a sense of belonging, friendships that become chosen families, and personal rituals that make celebrating alone equally meaningful.
Finding a festival family
Seeking to foster connections and ease festive-season loneliness, Singles Social, a community for singles and those seeking companionship, is hosting a Deepavali celebration in Bengaluru on Nov 14.Founder Harsh Vardhan Arya said the event will feature festive lights, food, and an opportunity for members to connect. People who are single, separated, or have lost spouses can take part in the celebration.“Singles Social seeks to create meaningful human connections in a world increasingly shaped by swipes and algorithms,” said Arya, adding the community has a dedicated chapter for single parents.The community does not charge a membership fee[cite: 1]. Participants share the cost of individual events[cite: 1]. “If the hotel charges Rs 2,500 per person, members will pay the same amount,” said Arya.The community currently has about 2,500 members across India, including more than 700 in Bengaluru.“Our gatherings are intended to provide a comfortable, non-judgmental setting, without the expectations associated with dating platforms, and offer members an extended support network, like a family,” said Arya, adding, “We also provide women with a space where being single is not seen as being available.After late gatherings, members accompany women travelling alone or drop them home.”Phoenix Family, a support group for single parents, hosted a Deepavali party last week.“Festivals like Deepavali are all about warmth and belonging. We offer a safe, welcoming space — especially for single mothers — to simply relax and feel part of a family again,” said Vignesh Balan, founder.Rather than formal gatherings, the community organises lively, child-inclusive celebrations, with games that bring parents and children together.“The idea is to ensure our members don’t just get through the holidays as singles, but genuinely celebrate them as a chosen family,” said Balan.Singles Club India, a community for people over 40, brings members together through festival gatherings and other social activities.The community, whose members include divorced, separated, widowed and never-married people, has organised festival get-togethers for three years.Co-admin Srobona Das, a single mother who co-parents a teenage daughter, recalled spending New Year’s Eve alone while her daughter was in Mumbai. She said meeting even one friend or joining a larger gathering could help.There is no membership or participation fee, although members cover their own costs when events are held at external venues.Events have ranged from vineyard visits to Sunday breakfasts and nights out. They are generally organised around themes and include food, music, icebreakers, games, and alcohol for those who choose to drink.Attendance is confirmed in advance before venues, decorations and small giveaways are arranged. Previous gifts included Deepavali cookies, candles, and cakes.For Koramangala café-bookstore owner Susan Timothy, 45, the experience of becoming a single parent changed the way her family celebrates Christmas.The gatherings are now quieter. She also invites her household staff, their children and other single women, bringing everyone together for meals, gifts, and time around the Christmas tree.
‘Better together’
Joy of celebrating on your own
Alone, however, does not always mean lonely. For many singles, festivals have become more personal and intentional. The celebrations may be smaller, but they can be deeply meaningful.Social media strategist Ishita Banerjee, 25, who hails from Dibrugarh in Assam, misses the familiar chaos of celebrating at home. However, she has come to enjoy creating her own traditions and finding comfort in quieter celebrations.Film director, screenwriter and lyricist Kavita Lankesh, a single parent, celebrates Deepavali with her daughter Esha and their pet dog, lighting a few diyas at home.Being single has not diminished Saleela Kappan’s festive celebrations. Living alone in Bengaluru, she remains closely connected to her family, friends, and neighbours.She decorates her apartment with lights, particularly during Deepavali, and spends time with her six cats[cite: 1]. When alone, she enjoys cooking a special meal, decorating her home or travelling.Hareeni Shetty, a single woman who works as a software engineer, lights one diya after finishing a late shift[cite: 1]. Shetty also cooks a festive meal using a family recipe while video-calling home.Her mother, an elderly widow, decorates her doorway every year, not for guests but because the ritual continues to give the day meaning.For some, the festive season means a crowded home and a table full of guests[cite: 1]. For others, it may be a meal with friends, a video call with family, a diya lit after work or simply an evening spent in their own company.As Bengaluru’s singles discover, the meaning of celebration does not have to depend on relationship status or the size of the gathering.
