conversations with strangers – Tales of an Urban Nomad

Disclaimer: This is not a paid post.

Have you ever imagined attending a house party with strangers? No, right? Neither did I!

So when I read about Beatmap – a start-up, organising house parties in homes of regular people like you and me – I was intrigued. I immediately sent a DM to the team and voila, I got selected for one of their house parties.

The party was being hosted by three roommates in Marol (Andheri East). The fact that I literally had to make a weekend getaway plan from far end of Navi Mumbai to reach the venue made me hope all the more that the party is worth all the travel.

I reached Marol metro station only to find another attendee waiting for an auto rickshaw. It felt awesome to start making friends even before reaching the venue. What was more amazing was that I entered the house and found yellow lights on the wall and who doesn’t love yellow lights?

Picture courtesy: Sanchi Kalani

I took a comfy seat in one of the corners of the room and that’s when Hari, the founder of Beatmap, like all our teachers in school, separated all the groups of friends who had come together. It was the beginning of real fun!

Picture Courtesy: Sanchi Kalani

I had conversations with 16 year olds to 30 year olds, from aspiring filmmakers, musicians, founders of start-up to corporate slaves like me. Our topics of discussions ranged from talking about serious topics like facing sexism at work to sharing our funny memories (and somehow most of the funny stories involved alcohol :P)

While it was fun to talk with young adults about their dreams and aspirations and encourage them to pursue the same, I found solace talking with someone older than me about my dreams and aspirations. Turns out this time I needed the dose of encouragement and that little pat on the back saying you are doing great.

Just when I began to feel this is it. Hari announced that Ilina and Rohan will perform their gigs for us. That is when things became magical! Have a look yourself..

Picture Courtesy: Sanchi Kalani

I ended up staying long after I had imagined I would. And it was all worth the trouble of travelling so much.

SO..

Get out of your comfort zone and try out something different. I would totally recommend an evening full of art and interesting conversations with strangers.

HOW DOES IT WORK?

All you have to do is fill a form (Link here) and the Beatmap team will get in touch with you. Once selected, you will have to pay an entry fee of Rs 500.

You can bring in your own food and beverages. In case, you don’t. You can always order in.

If you want to host a party then you can sign up here

AND WHAT’S MORE?

They will be soon hosting parties in PUNE and BANGALORE as well.

P.S. A special thanks to Atharva for selecting my name out of the hundreds of applications he receives and for making sure there are no cats in the house. A big shout out to the cool hosts (Rishi, Ayush and Tejas) and Hari, the life of the party.