Political and philosophical debates during the french revolution often unfolded in taverns, cafés and pubs. Alcohol consumption was central to social life, and these establishments became spaces where ideas were exchanged and debated. In bengaluru, where alcohol remains a familiar social lubricant, some bars and pubs are now serving a purpose beyond the weekend pub crawl.In a country where education is often associated with academic requirements, grades and cut-offs, a growing number of people are exploring learning for its own sake. Events such as ‘lectures over drinks’ offer an anti-utilitarian approach to education — the kind of learning pursued simply for the joy of discovering something new.
Third spaces for a busy city
“For a city like bengaluru, i think bars and parks are the only third spaces,” say the co-founders of pint of view, shruti sah and harsh sne hanshu, who also founded cubbon reads. “The city works almost around the clock, and a huge part of people’s remaining time is spent commuting between work and home. With the pressure of work and infrastructure that doesn’t always give you enough time or space for yourself, communities like pint of view can give you some time off from active participation.”Bengaluru is home to some of the country’s leading institutions in science, the arts and public policy. But the founders of pint of view believe there is a disconnect between these institutions and the wider public. “These institutions produce incredible work, but they can often feel quite gatekept. It can be difficult to simply walk into a lecture at an institution when you need an id card or have to be affiliated with it,” they say. Inspired by the us-based lectures on tap series — and tired of waiting for it to come to india — they decided to create their own version.
Learning beyond the ordinary
These are not the conventional classrooms where students once had to ask permission even to drink water during a lecture. Bars are strategic venues for such events: they are centrally located, close to where much of the working population spends time and convenient for those looking to unwind after work with a beer or a cosmopolitan while learning about artificial intelligence, geopolitics, the human brain or almost any subject imaginable.Ronit, an independent filmmaker who has attended lectures over drinks, says the events have helped him meet new people and build connections. “You can watch videos online about different topics that might interest or challenge you. But the offline experience is a whole lot better. You get to ask questions, the speakers respond, and that creates a kind of bond for the duration that you’re in the room,” he says.Another attendee, aditi, draws a distinction between these events and typical classroom lectures. “The speakers are also there because they want to be, not because a job compels them to. They know there’ll be questions from people with diverse backgrounds, so they’re ready for it,” she says.“At brydge, we wanted to go beyond the ordinary events that happen,” say siya pravin sarnaik and atharva atul rampure, the co-founders of brydge, which started intellect on ice.The duo were studying in the uk when they noticed people gathering around niche interests — from specific cuisines to books — something they felt was missing back home. Intellect on ice began in mumbai and has since expanded to bengaluru, delhi and pune. “We felt offline experiences had the potential to be more enriching and that people needed to come together in a more meaningful way. We wanted to create a space to get your thoughts going,” says siya. The events do not follow a fixed format. The team decides which topics to explore, conducts research and then reaches out to people with the expertise and ideas to share. “It’s not a very structured event, but that is the whole point. The experiential economy is booming, and it is in need of infrastructure,” she says.
A room where ideas can breathe
The contrarian debate club, co-founded by school friends sudarshan senthil kumar and srinthan hampi, has also taken intellectual pursuits to bengaluru’s bars and pubs, including woodside inn and big pitcher.The founders wanted to recreate the old british aesthetic of institutions such as the oxford union society. Sudarshan wanted to continue participating in debates after college, while srinthan had been involved in debates and model united nations conferences throughout his life. Together, they wanted to create a space where people could express their thoughts freely and engage in meaningful discussion.“One of the few rooms in bengaluru where no one is going to scream at you,” says sudarshan. He believes good ideas often emerge only after several bad ones have been aired. “To arrive at a good idea, you must go through six or seven bad ones,” he says.Participants are welcome to bring their ideas to the table, as long as they are willing to keep an open mind and listen to others.The club was initially meant to be a gathering of seven or eight friends. But the venue needed a larger crowd for the event to be viable. When the founders invited people on social media at short notice, the idea took off, attracting more than 100 entries.
Finding the right scale
For intellect on ice, one of the initial challenges was finding bars willing to allocate their entire space to a single organiser. Word of mouth, however, proved powerful. The first event, featuring a philosophy professor in a small mumbai bar, took off immediately.“Lectures on tap was also very visible on social media around the same time, so it was the right place at the right time,” says siya. The organisers are taking different approaches to scale.Pint of view plans to expand its lectures to audiences of between 100 and 300 people. It is also organising what it describes as asia’s first lecture festival, a two-day event at jayamahal palace grounds on dec 19 and 20, featuring a series of lectures and an expected audience of up to 5,000.Intellect on ice, on the other hand, plans to remain a more intimate gathering, with between 40 and 60 participants.There is also a shift in the way bars and pubs position themselves, now branching out into more than just drinks. Shane mannas, general manager, big pitcher indiranagar, says that for them, it is about marketing, and people getting to know about the brand. “After such events, we also get repeat guests, who later come with their families and friends as well,” says shane. “To make profits, especially on a usually busy time for us like weekends, we put a cover charge per head, giving the attendees a coupon they can redeem on food and drinks.” They hold a lot of other events as well, like kitty parties and corporate events.The ticket prices for these experiences range from early bird tickets starting at rs 599 that go live first, going up to rs 1,299. The attendees are mostly people from 25 to 40 years of age, including academics, working professionals, vcs, founders, doctors, lawyers, engineers and cas.
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