Sonai Mangal Karyalay

We are located at 16 Chinchwad, and if you’re from around here, you probably know the spot. It’s a hall where people come to celebrate things like weddings or small family functions. It’s a big, open space that can get quite loud when the drums start playing. We spend most of our mornings sweeping the floor and getting the chairs lined up just right. There’s always a bit of dust because of the construction nearby, but we do what we can. The kitchen area is big enough for the cooks to bring in their huge pots. It’s not a modern building with glass walls or anything. It’s more of a traditional setup that’s been used by families in Chinchwad for years. We have some lights that we string up for the evening events to make it look a bit more festive. Sometimes the power goes out and we have to mess with the generator, but that’s just part of life here. We don't have a staff in uniforms; it's mostly just us and a few helpers from the area. We like seeing the families come together, even if it means we have to stay up late cleaning up the mess afterward. It’s a lot of hard work, but it’s what we do. It’s just a plain community hall for local folks.