Bengaluru: Theme-based birthday parties have hit a new high in Bengaluru. At one such birthday celebrated in Bengaluru on Sunday, an outdoor adventure session was organised. The occasion was the 12th birthday of Smaran, a student of DPS South. Nearly 30 kids enjoyed the adventure activities that were especially planned for them.
The children did zoomering, slack-line walking, zip line, target shooting with air guns and archery during the party which was organised at a school ground in J P Nagar. Shruthi Rathan, mother of Smaran and an educator, was looking for something different for her son’s birthday.
“Celebrating birthdays with music, songs and pizzas was kind of getting monotonous. Hence we were planned to get children outdoors to celebrate the birthday. We decided to organise outdoor activities and it was a grand success. This also helps in getting children away from their television and their gadgets,” she says.
Adventure Instructor, Mr Dev Balaji, who organised the event, said that the new theme could be popularised if there were enough playgrounds available. “Mixing adventure activities with get-together functions is the best way to celebrate the day. There have been queries from parents for organising some kind of adventure activity at birthdays, but we have had to turn them down due to lack of open spaces. On Sunday the party organisers had rented a nearby ground where we could organise the activities for the children.”
Mr Balaji adds that wellness tourism along with adventure activities will get more takers in the future. “Today tourists are looking for a mix of things such as water sports, trekking, jungle safari and bird-watching walks. This indicates that the sector is now changing for the needs of the new traveller. There are a number of IT companies which have been organising adventure sports for their employees for quite some time in Bengaluru. Organising such activities at a birthday party is the latest and it is a welcome trend,” Mr Balaji adds.
The adventure industry experts caution that safety must be prioritised. “One small accident can have a lifelong effect on a child. It’s important that the organisations must adhere to safety rules so that untoward incidents involving children do not take place,” said an expert.
