The heart and soul of Sunday Sante

“Sunday Soul Sante was originally Lakshmi’s idea. She is a full-time mother taking care of her young kids. She has seen this in Bengaluru and liked it. I am a partner in a marketing agency, and we conceptualised Mereddy Venturesto organise the first Sunday Soul Sante as a franchisee model.

It is a day-long event where one can shop, eat, listen to music, hang out at the bar, there is a kids’ zone, entertainment; in short a place where all age groups can chill and enjoy with friends and family,” shares Vaishnavi. 

One Sunday, December 23, Vaishnavi and Lakshmi organised the fifth edition of Soul Sante. Thousands of people from across various age-groups and backgrounds enjoyed the pre-Christmas celebrations at HITEX exhibition grounds. Over 200 stalls were put up selling a dazzling array of products including Kalamkari, leather paintings, handicrafts and hand-made products from across the length and breadth of the country.

Kids were more entertained at their exclusive zone that offered enjoyable options like Christmas tree decoration, Meet Santa and a play zone featuring Ball pool, Lego Building, Kinetic sand play, building blocks, art robotics and clay and pottery making.

Gourmet, finger food, street food was all there including the finest of cuisines like Continental, Mexican, Mongolian and Chinese. People relished eating BBQ grills, pizza, biryani. And then, there were live concerts by Euphony, Niraval, V5 Band, soul-stirring Bhuwin and Chowraasta Band. 

“We source vendors from across India. We have artisans and youngsters selling products that are not widely available in stores. They are small and medium size businesses exclusively chosen, with at least 60 per cent of them sourced locally.

The food stalls are a fine balance of restaurants and home makers. Even the music bands are chosen keeping in mind that the young artists must get a stage – Chowratsa is one such talented band that got a stage at Sunday Soul Sante.

The reason we did the pre-Christmas event is because we realised Hyderabad did not have a place where the entire family could go, enjoy and spend time. While the primary focus is on shopping the Sante offers a wide choice of entertainment options, especially music to suit all tastes,” relates Vaishnavi. The duo plans the next edition of their flea market in March.