The Hindu Business Line : Many happy returns

There are birthday parties, and more parties. Ones with streamers pinned inexpertly against the wall to form the words `happy birthday', candles that mysteriously fall sideways onto the cake, harassed adults running around after a fairly unorganised session of musical chairs; and some others with magic shows, fireworks and treasure hunts. And then there are parties organised by Tanya Kothari.

"I am 22 years old, have my own company, Kiddoscope, and organise thematic parties for children," Tanya explains confidently. Pulling out her state-of-the-art laptop, she shows pictures of some parties organised by her. And they are pretty impressive. The Harry Potter party, for example, involved a fire-eater, juggler, magic show, and even a game of Quidditch. "We had the décor done in gold and black, a kiddie disco, a 30 kg cake, and personalised mugs as presents for all the kids who attended," she says.

The décor for the Spiderman theme involved spider webs all over the hotel, a colour theme of red and blue, and creepers on trees for the kids to swing from; a football theme with a match for the kids, and a screen and projector which beamed games during the party. "I make sure that everybody is involved. In the Noddy party which we organised, for instance, we had games for one-and-a-half-year-olds right up to the grandparents — everybody participated."

"I organise my parties in as professional a manner as possible, outsourcing everything — from the décor, to the food, to the various counters, and the invitations; even the tag line (every party has a tag line) is given to an ad agency to do. My role is to speak to the child whose party it is, and find out what his or her interests are," she says.

After that she gives the parents a choice of three concepts, and when one is approved, she brainstorms and puts the party together. For example, when she found out that one kid was fond of trains, she organised a `Polar Express' party, where the décor had a Christmas feel about it. A 22-ft-long train adorned the drawing room, and the attendants were dressed like Santa's little helpers, and the invites were printed like railway tickets.

On another occasion she had to organise a naming ceremony, so she decided on a Krishna theme. This included rangoli on the floors, prints of peacock feathers, flutes across the walls and a 10-ft painting of Lord Krishna. `Tipu Sultan' drums (as she calls them) built up to a crescendo as the ritual reached its climax.

Says Tanya, "How extravagant the party is depends on the budget, but I try to be as innovative as possible, whatever the amount." She admits that she is expensive, but "I take all the hassles off your shoulders, and provide quality. All the parents have to do is appear fifteen minutes before the party begins."

And sometimes, she has to circumvent problems. Her `Strawberry Shortcake' party, for instance, was held at a hotel, where the management did not allow special décor. But that didn't prevent the party from being as extravagant as any other, with a special cake-cutting ceremony that saw four people holding sparklers as the knife sank into the strawberry shortcake.

"In college, I worked at an event management company called StudioWorks," which eventually expanded to organise weddings, birthdays and even had an ad agency. Tanya head of the section that oversaw brand building exercises and wedding events. "Once we organised six weddings in twelve days. It was crazy!" At one point she decided to become a partner, but when the company "fell through", she was depressed for three months.

"And then T.T. Rangarajan of Alma Mater suggested that I organise birthday parties." With support and encouragement from her parents, Kiddoscope was started with an initial investment of Rs 4,500, most of which went towards registering the company. Today she has two employees "and things are going really well."

In hindsight, her experience in corporate event management (for companies such as Club Mahindra, HDFC and Titan), stands her in good stead today, and helps her cope with most situations.

Tanya initially printed a hundred posters advertising Kiddoscope and pasted it on walls around town herself. Then she organised a few promos at schools, and today she is comfortably able to cover costs.

Picture by Bijoy Ghosh

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