For residents
Aangan is free for residents, needs no account, and takes nothing from what you pay. Below is everything else people usually ask.
A directory of the people in and around your society who cook, teach, stitch, train and fix — home bakers, tuition teachers, tailors, technicians, dog walkers. Instead of scrolling back through months of society WhatsApp messages to find the number of the woman who makes good dhoklas, they are all in one list you can search.
No. Browsing and sending a request are free for residents, and always will be. There is no charge, no membership, and no fee added to what you pay the provider.
No. You can browse the whole directory and send a request without signing up for anything. There is no password to forget.
Aangan is running as a pilot in a small number of Pune societies, Mont Vert Pristine among them. You can filter the directory by society to see who is genuinely nearby.
Open the provider's page, write what you are looking for in the request box — be specific, it saves a round of messages — add your phone number and name, and send. You get a reference code straight away. That code is your record if you need to follow anything up.
It goes to the provider, who either accepts or declines it. If they accept, they get your number and contact you directly to sort out the details. Aangan does not sit in the middle relaying messages — after the introduction, the conversation is yours and theirs.
Most people reply the same day. These are neighbours running small businesses around the rest of their lives, not a call centre — if something is urgent, say so in the request, and consider sending it to two providers rather than waiting.
No. You pay the provider directly, by cash, UPI or whatever the two of you agree — exactly as you would if you had found them on WhatsApp. Aangan never handles the money and takes nothing from what you pay.
Just tell the provider once they contact you. A request is an enquiry, not a binding order, and nothing is charged to you at any stage.
There is a limit of five requests an hour from one phone number, which exists to stop the directory being spammed. If you have genuinely hit it while organising a party, wait an hour or tell an administrator and it will be sorted out.
Only the provider you wrote to, and only after they accept your request — plus the administrators, who can see enquiries in order to resolve disputes. It is never shown on the site, never visible to other residents, and never given to a provider you did not write to. This is enforced by the database itself, not just hidden in the interface.
Partly, and it is worth being clear about the limits. Every provider and every listing is checked by an administrator before it appears, so nothing goes public unseen. Some providers carry an 'ID verified' badge, which means an administrator has seen a government ID. What Aangan does not do is inspect anyone's kitchen, check their licences, or vouch for the quality of their work. Treat it as a trusted neighbourhood directory, not a certification.
Speak to the provider first. They fulfilled the order and they are almost always the fastest route to fixing it. If it does not get resolved, tell an administrator, quoting your reference code. Repeated complaints that a provider does not resolve affect whether they stay listed.
Reviews and ratings appear on provider pages. Genuine ones are not removed because a provider dislikes them. Being fair matters here more than on a big marketplace — this is someone who lives four buildings away.
Yes, completely. Once you have found someone, they are your baker or your tailor and the arrangement is entirely between you. There is no rule asking you to keep coming back through Aangan, and neither of you pays anything extra for dealing directly. The point of a directory is to be useful once, not to trap you.
Because you will want someone else. Most people come back when they need a category they have not needed before — a maths tutor in June, an AC technician in April. The 'Happening today' strip at the top is also worth a glance: it is where providers post the day's menu, a limited batch, or newly free slots.
Please do. Send them the 'List your work' link, or tell an administrator and they will be approached directly. The directory is only as good as who is in it, and the best additions come from residents who already use someone and rate them.
The administrators — Teena, and Tincy in Mont Vert Pristine. This is a resident-run pilot rather than a company, so you are talking to a neighbour, not a support line.
Listing is free, and you get a page of your own plus a QR code you can send to the customers you already have. It takes about two minutes.