Want to bond with strangers or like-minded souls over badminton, archery, cinema or anime? Or may be art, craft, work-outs, music or books? You have all these options in Thiruvananthapuram, thanks to the growing number of interest and hobby-based communities in the last couple of years. The total number might soon touch 50 and the variety is staggering.
They might have been born on social media but the groups come together offline, meeting regularly, at various spots in the city – cafes, restaurants, beach, open spaces etc.
The best example that explains the trend is Playfest Initiative, which has been building communities through offline games. “We have over 20 active communities; we have formed a few, the rest we are promoting. They fall into categories like table top games and gaming, fandom and pop culture, arts and entertainment, collectors and enthusiasts, sports and others,” says Anurag RS, one of the core members of Playfest Initiative. So there are communities for board games, Dungeons and Dragons, chess, trading card games, retro/console gaming, cinema, anime, F1 fans, die cast, automotives, RC cars, sports such as cricket, badminton, football, cycling, and table tennis, trekking, photography, mental health and plant enthusiasts. Find contacts and updates about each community on @playfestindia.
Seena Raghavan (left) and Dahlia Moraes, founders of FiTribe
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There is always a story, a personal one, behind the formation of most of the communities. As in the case of the women-led fitness community, FiTribe, founded by Dahlia Moreas and Seena Raghavan. “We met through our school-going children. Having lived abroad, we both were on the look out for a community that matched our vibe and didn’t find any. So we launched one, based around our shared interest in fitness. FiTribe (@fitribetvm) organises group events for fitness enthusiasts followed by a social. You don’t need alcohol to unwind! We bond over music, food and dance. Next we want to do something for the elderly,” says Dahlia, a travel consultant.
Incidentally, she is also a core member of another community, Technopark Koottam (@technoparkkoottam), which brings together strangers for get-togethers in spaces in and around Kazhakkoottam every Saturday.
F Fredy, founder of Technopark Koottam with Dahlia Moraes
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F Fredy, the founder and a Technopark employee, says, “Life was getting monotonous with just work and home. If at all I wanted to unwind on weekends, I had to travel from Kazhakkoottam to the city where all meet-ups and get-togethers were happening. That’s when I decided to form a community in Kazhakkoottam itself,” says Fredy.
In the case of Arun George, a film buff and film critic, forming The Verandah Collective (@theverandahcollective) with his wife, Priya Sebastian, was an avenue to hold healthy discourses about cinema.
Arun George and wife, Priya Sebastian, founders of The Verandah Collective
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“Online reviews had reached a saturation point with some even having threatening tone. Having lived in Bengaluru where there are a lot of film-based communities, I knew the format. Here we hold theme-based sessions, incorporating discussions, quiz and games on cinema. We also post sessions with veteran filmmakers on our page,” he adds. They have conducted sessions on themes such as food, memories, investigative films and movies based on books. Upcoming session is on travel-themed films and books (August 16 at The Reading Room).
They have also collaborated with communities such as Beyond Cinema Collective [under Playfest] and Technopark Koottam and has the next one based on craft and conversations (August 12, BLUMI’s Cafe) with Kadalaspookkal, a craft community run by three students of National Institute of Speech and Hearing (NISH) — Sneha Anil A, Moona Amina and Marva Nasnin Nasser.
“The three of us love craft. Once our entire class decided to make handmade gifts/cards for our respective Christmas friends and the creativity surprised us. In the mean time, a friend has been encouraging us to hold art/craft workshops. With so many open spaces available in the city, we decided to give it a go and held our first session at Museum. Although it was a long wait to get our first registration, it is now on track. Response is so huge that we are forced to turn away many because our seats are limited to 20,” says Sneha.
(From left) Marva Nasnin Nasser, Sneha Anil A and Moona Amina, founders of Kadalaspookkal
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“We don’t expect them to make perfect art work; it is about giving a try,” says Marva, who came up with name Kadalaspookkal (@kadalaspookkal.in). There are many regulars among the participants, like Benny Sam, an employee with KELTRON, who is also the first one to register for the community’s first programme. “I was not into craft making, but their post piqued my curiosity,” says Benny.
According to Thrissur-native Sachin Titus, who works with an IT company in the city, the community gave him the platform to socialise and also go back to his penchant for craft that he left behind after school. “It relaxes me and gives me a lot of satisfaction.”
Also check out
Reading communities such as Trivandrum Reads (@trivandrumreads) and Nerd Club Inc. (@nerdclub.inc); girls’ only community GIRLS COMMUNITY – Trivandrum (@girlsforgirls.tvm); Urban Sketchers (@urkthiruvananthapuram), who gather every weekend at a location to sketch; Live by ONC or Oru New Culture (@livebyonc), an initiative of students of Christ College to boost city’s entertainment and cultural scene
Strangers No More (@histrangersnomore) is also run by a student, Dhanush B Kumar, who is in his final year at Film and Television Institute of India, Pune. He decided to form the community to kill his weekend boredom, his inspiration being scores of communities he had come across in Pune and Mumbai.
Dhanush B Kumar, founder of Strangers No More
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“Meet new people and also learn something new. That is what they do and I wanted to bring that here,” says Dhanush, 24. Initially the community met for coffee or to eat out, besides learning a craft. Now they have an open air session called Good Company on Saturdays at Kanakakkunnu. A popular session has been painting by the beach. This week, they are meeting at St Andrew’s beach, along with a kite-making and flying session. And something special is coming up for Onam.
Among the niche communities is Archers Legion (@archers.legion), one for traditional archery launched by Pravin Ramachandran, with the support of Playfest Initiative.
Pravin Ramachandran giving instructions to a participant at a session of the traditional archery community, Archers Legion
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“I have been into traditional archery for over 15 years now. The spark, perhaps, came from listening to stories of the Mahabharata and the Ramayana from my grandmother, when I stayed with her during vacations from my boarding school,” says Pravin, 56, who trained in archery while working abroad and later from archers from various tribal communities. The Vice President of the Indo-Vedic Traditional Archery Association, Pravin says that when he organised Way of the Bow archery festival at Nedumangad, earlier this year, there were hardly any participants from Thiruvananthapuram. “I wanted that to change and that’s when Playfest evinced an interest in holding archery sessions. We were surprised that the slots filled up within 15 minutes of announcing the sessions,” says Pravin, who has held four sessions so far.
Amal SM, co-founder of The B’s Club for Badminton Buddies, a community for badminton enthusiasts
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When it comes to sports-based communities, professionals are also in the fray. Like badminton players Amal SM and Aneesh A, who run The B’s Club for Badminton Buddies (@badminton_buddies._). “We hold sessions on weekends at Kowdiar and Greenfield International Stadium, with a total of 160 slots. The sessions are beginner-friendly, incorporating fun challenges and games. Each participant gets to play against everyone attending that session. The slots are given in such a way that both regulars and new faces get the chance,” says Amal.
Participants at a session of The B’s Club for Badminton Buddies
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Besides the premises of Kanakakkunnu and Museum, the spaces that have hosted the communities include Eve’s Coffee, The Reading Room, TAC-The Artists’ Cafe, Huddles Cafe, Malibu Cafe, BLUMI’s, Fruitbae, Cafe Sarwaa, and Falooda Nation among others. TAC (@tac_the_artists_cafe) at Sreevaraham has hosted over a dozen communities so far and run its own communities, latest being a strangers’ meet-up with a karoke evening. “We opened this as a safe space for artistes and art lovers to enjoy and explore their love for art. The meet-up had a dynamic crowd of over 20 people from different professions,” says Sujay Sudarsan, one of the founders. They also have an open mic community and The Funnyside, a comedy club, run in association with The Ark (@the_ark_tvm), a community that provides space for artists, creators and art lovers to connect and collaborate through meet-ups, jams and events.
Most of the communities restrict the number of participants between 20 and 30 because of space constraints. Also, they charge a nominal rate, usually between ₹200-₹500 for the sessions.
