City of Tribes

AN informal evening at filmmaker and fire-spinning instructor Janit Ganguly’s Bandra terrace witnessed the birth of this group. “Students at my fire-spinning workshops have little space to practise outside of class so I invited them over,” he recollects. But friends and acquaintances didn’t want to miss the wonderful spectacle. Soon,Ganguly opened the group up to whoever wanted to attend. His only condition: attendees put up a performance,irrespective of whether they spin fire. The group,which will have a Delhi chapter soon,now meets almost every Saturday and hosts musicians,dancers,singers and poets who take the centrestage when the spinners take a breather.

Gerrari Off-Roaders,Chandigarh

WHAT does a group of rally racing enthusiasts from the meticulously planned city of Chandigarh do for thrill? They take out their SUVs and put these mean machines through hell as they drive through waterbodies,muddy slopes and wild terrains on the outskirts of the city. “It’s our weekend thrill,” explains Jagmohan Singh Ghunman,a Chandigarh-based lawyer and a co-founder of the Gerrari Off-Roaders. The group was born about two years ago when a bunch of former rally racers realised that their cars were rusting in their garages. Not willing to let their men have all the fun alone,members’ wives or girlfriends accompany them too,concluding the trip at a picturesque location with beer and a barbeque.

Pet Pujaris,Mumbai

WHEN I moved back from Dubai,I realised that all my friends had moved on. I love food,but I was tired of going to lunches and dinners alone,” says Sushil Cherian,a brand

consultant. So he started Pet Pujaris to bring together food lovers who lack company to try out new restaurants. The group is promoted entirely on Facebook and hosts two meetings a month—a Fatka Foodie brunch in the beginning of the month because “that’s when most people have money” and a Kadka Foodie dinner in the last week of the month “when everyone tends to be broke”.

Pune Pencil Club,Pune

IF you have a pencil and the inclination to draw,but you don’t give in to it for the fear of being judged,you could reach out to the Pune Pencil Club. Open to all age groups,it is an initiative by e-learning entrepreneur Hasit Seth. The club holds meetings indoors and outdoors as well. For film editor Smita Phadke who used to get reprimanded for sketching during her math lectures in school,putting pencil to paper after a gap has been a refreshing experience. “I hardly find time to sketch and draw,which is why I love to attend the club’s meetings,” she says.

(With inputs from Amrita Jain)