Conversations in a Cafe

“The cafe will visit various cities,create community spaces,initiate conversations and connect with people,” says Rajesh Meher,co-founder of Purple Mangoes,a facilitators’ collective that creates co-learning spaces for people and organisations. The cafe is an initiative by six friends from Delhi and Chandigarh,all in their 20s,who love to travel,meet new people and share stories with them. “Deep down,all of us want to build a cafe and Cafe Bean Here Bean There is a collective dream,’’ says Nivedita Soni,partner and facilitator at Purple Mangoes.

In Chandigarh,where the trip began on September 15,an eager crowd gathered around the car that has been modified with shelves and crockery units to serve as a cafe. “For our first trip,we have chosen cities we are familiar with,where we know people and have some kind of support. As this will be an all-India initiative,we will use this trip’s experiences to venture into unknown territories next year,’’ says Sukhmani Kohli,who will be conducting clowning workshops during the journey.

The cafe will function on the concept of “gift economy” or pay as you may. For logistical support,the team is relying on a network of friends,social media and acquaintances who believe in the concept. Once they have attracted a sizeable crowd,the group will begin activities to initiate conversations among people. Apart from storytelling and performances,the list of activities includes inviting people to write letters to strangers in the next city,putting up huge maps where people can mark spaces in the city they want to talk about,and creating community kitchens. At the end of the first leg of the journey (October 12),the team plans to publish a guide of each city they have visited. “We will highlight spaces and things to do that one usually doesn’t find in tour guides,’’ says Soni.