Over the past few months, Bengaluru has seen a surge in community groups — both online and offline — dedicated to topics spanning food and midlife crisis. They are especially popular among millennials. Metrolife lists out three such groups that are currently gaining popularity.
The Dastarkhwan Club
This new food community in the city aims to bring people together over elaborate meals on a budget. Akash Devaraju, who founded the club with friends Sumedha Uppal, Tarini Thakur, and Noopur Porwal, is surprised at the attention the group has received over the last few months.
The community was born out of an impromptu Iftar walk Akash hosted in April. Since its launch, the group has hosted six intimate meetups, exploring Sindhi and Mediterranean cuisines, and dishes from Dindigul. Each meetup is hosted either at a restaurant or a member’s home. “If the group gets bigger, the intimate nature of the meeting is lost. Ideally, we prefer to stick to a group of 12-15,” says Akash. A member pays between Rs 300 and Rs 800 for a meetup, and at least two meetups are hosted every month. Currently, the WhatsApp group has 55 members, with over 400 requests pending. “We vet the requests thoroughly. Every day we add about four to five new members,” he adds. In addition to exploring delectable food, these meetups also provide an avenue for members to discuss art and culture.
For details, visit @dastarkhwan.club on Instagram.
Permanently Exhausted Pigeons
A city-based fund manager, Harnidh Kaur, started Permanently Exhausted Pigeons (PEP) two months ago. The WhatsApp community is open to people in the age group 25 to 35. Currently, the group consists of 60% women and 40% men. “For migrants, Bengaluru can be very lonely. Plus, the transition phase from the 20s to 30s is not easy. The group is meant for people in this age group who find it difficult to have conversations with family and friends due to the fear of coming across as ungrateful or self-absorbed. It can be easier to have such conversations with strangers,” shares Harnidh. The group, with over 500 members, discusses everything from body image issues to relationships. Harnidh adds 50 new members to the group every week, from a waitlist of over 550 people.
While most conversations happen online, PEP members also meet in person occasionally.
For details, check @harnidhish on X.
Attis Insider
A popular WhatsApp community in Bengaluru and Delhi, Attis Insider focuses on health and fitness. The community was launched six months ago to “normalise healthy living”.
“Although there is a lot of information around healthcare, it can be divided into two broad groups. One comes from research papers or medical journals and isn’t easy to understand. The other comes from influencers — the genuineness of such information is often questionable. The group’s main aim is to stop misinformation,” shares Srijan Mahajan, cofounder. The group boasts 400 members — predominantly in the 28-32 age group. Srijan plans to create another group in the future. “We don’t want to add anymore members to the existing group. Adding new members to the same, could result in repetitions of conversations and topics discussed,” he says.
For details, visit insider.attis.in