How these meetups are making more Indians find comfort in strangers

One of Bunchh’s recent events was a Sunday brunch held at Kemps Corner

The most common piece of advice youngsters - mainly women - are given is, "Don't talk to strangers". But 20- and 30-somethings are now breaking that rule.

On a Saturday evening in Bandra, a few are huddling around a table at a bar. They have just met, but the chatter is already beginning to get animated thanks to cue cards, conversation starters, and a few games. Nobody is here with a friend, nor has anyone swiped right or left on some app. Everyone walked in alone, after simply registering via a digital form and revealing a few personality traits.

This is the new urban ritual: the strangers' meet.

Whether it's Timeleft or Bunchh, which host curated dinners and coffee meet-ups, or communities like Kaunversations, and Women In The Hood, which organise activities, the idea is simple. You show up, and you meet people you don't know.

Shivangi Adani (right) and Pearl Brahmbhatt of Bunchh

It's worth asking: why is a generation raised online suddenly craving face-to-face connection? After all, weren't we the ones who built friendships on MSN Messenger and Orkut, and spent our adolescence on Facebook?

Perhaps it's precisely because of being constantly connected that we are now feeling disconnected. A thousand followers don't necessarily translate into friends whom you can call when you are feeling down. The online world can start to feel transactional: likes for likes, comments for comments, and DMs that fizzle out.

A strangers' meet flips that script. For one evening, you put your phone down and talk to whoever is in front of you. As Pearl Brahmbhatt, co-founder of Bunchh, puts it, "You might have an active social life, but you would still want to meet new people. Sure, it's a good way to not feel lonely, but it's also a way to discover yourself."

Participants at Bhadass, a recent rant session in Delhi by Women in the Hood

It's also important to note how tailored these gatherings are for an urban, digital-first audience. Unlike formal clubs that require membership, or hobby groups that need long-term commitment, strangers' meets are more casual. You sign up on Instagram or WhatsApp, show up once, and decide if it's for you.

While book clubs or supper clubs offer structure, these meets thrive on flexibility. The goal is to discover people, converse without pressure… and if all goes well, leave as friends.

Meeting new people is the core reason why Brahmbhatt started Bunchh in April this year, along with her co-founder Shivangi Adani. It's why Bunchh hosts a group of five to six people only. Those who sign-up, fill a form with details that help the Bunchh team group people based on their personality. "We try to understand each person through their interests, hobbies. Every group is limited to five or six people; at times, we will go up to eight. It's a mix of people; no two people are from the same profession or industry, and we add introverts and extroverts to the mix," shares Brahmbhatt.

One simply has to choose between dinner and coffee and meet the group at the restaurant. Once you are at the table, games play a big role in getting the conversation going. "There will be questions that range from basics and go on to encourage deeper conversation or small, silly dares like ‘stare at the waiter for two minutes'. It's just a way to make the group bond better," explains Brahmbhatt.

The idea is similar with Timeleft, Kaunversations, and Women In The Hood. But everyone has their own twists.

Kaunversations has three experiences hosted across cities in India, all of which are designed around a feeling. The Picnic Rave is centred on joy, Dinner Klub - a women-only experience - focuses on vulnerability, and Nothing But Kaunversations is designed to foster belonging, offering a more intimate one-on-one experience. To attend any of their events, you have to be invited to join their community either by someone who is already a part of it or by writing to them on Instagram. Founder Saloni Shah admits that she never set out to do strangers' meets, but instead to build a community. Shah adds that each experience has specific card games that have been designed by her and her team, and ensures that you will leave after talking to at least 10 people.

After three years, Kaunversations has a diverse community of 25- to 40-year-olds from different professions (not more than two people are of the same profession) in Ahmedabad, Mumbai, and Bengaluru. Speaking about why people join in, she says, "You keep growing out of your social circle. Most people come for some sort of growth; dating or networking is not the aim."

Some might draw similarities to speed dating events or supper clubs that have mushroomed across cities. But strangers' meets are different. Sneha Gajendra, a fashion professor and content creator, attended a Kaunversations Dinner Klub. She points out that conversations at supper clubs are around general topics, and people come with a friend. "The first thing I noticed was that no one introduced themselves with their profession. It was more of a social event. I thought it would mostly include lonely people, but these were people who were just looking to do something different. There was no superficial conversation," shares Gajendra.

Veer Doshi, a managing consultant, too, went for one such dinner via Timeleft. "I wanted to break the monotony, meet people I wouldn't meet otherwise. You know, Mumbai tends to get monotonous," he says. Doshi was excited to try this out and went in thinking that if he didn't have a good time, he would simply leave and never have to see anyone from the group again (Timeleft resets the group each time). Instead, he left the dinner having made two new friends.

Doshi says the best part about these meet-ups is that there is no quick judgement. "These are not friendship or dating apps, and you don't get to show your personality beforehand. You don't even know who you are meeting. So, you're coming with no intentions or expectations," he says, adding that he's now looking forward to trying the app in different cities across the country.

You might hesitate meeting strangers because of that warning of ‘don't talk', but that's exactly why you have to undergo a vetting process. If you have no social media presence, it's tough to go to one of these as each of these communities asks for links to your Instagram or X (formerly Twitter) profile, and especially your LinkedIn profile, as one is likely not going to lie on a professional networking platform.

Although people with low intent to interact meaningfully rarely turn up. "It's why pre-registration is a must. If you pay, you end up showing up for yourself and others," says Sohini Mishra, founder of Women in the Hood.

Mishra's women-only community curates experiences for women to meet like-minded women. So, she organises Rant Sessions as well, because "Women always feel no one's listening." This session allows them to rant about anything and everything - politics, wet bathroom floors, or their house help - without any judgement.

But as these sessions often see vulnerability, Mishra ensures that moderators are either therapists, life coaches, or experts in similar fields to ensure a safe, comfortable environment. "There are no repercussions when you are speaking to a group of strangers," says Mishra, adding that women come out of loneliness as well.

That's another reason these events are resonating with Gen Z and millennials - loneliness. An Ipsos survey on Gen Z and millennials from 2021 states that 43 per cent of urban Indians reported feeling lonely. Experts pointed to a mix of reasons behind this, including excessive phone usage, fear of rejection, constant stress, and the anxiety of missing out. The pandemic only deepened this with remote work cutting people off from organic social interaction and making everyday communication feel mechanical. Mishra says that she has seen women coming back for sessions repeatedly. "Indian society has a lot of baggage. It's not cool to say that you are lonely. But if they have come to a meet-up, they have already crossed a major threshold. Besides, women tend to feel appreciated in the company of other women."

If dating off apps once felt risky, in 2025, it's loneliness that feels riskier. And that makes the idea of sitting across from strangers not just acceptable but refreshing.

What is happening here feels bigger than a fad. As Gajendra puts it, "It's probably going to be a revolution in how people interact and do social events."