Immerse in a global science festival while unwinding this summer in Mumbai

In the late 1960s if yoursquod wandered into the notorious Giannonirsquos in California you would have stumbled into Richard Feynman working by a secluded bar table It was Feynmanrsquos favoured workspace On May 18 the city will play host to the international community of Pint of Science as they make their debut with a threeday event at Khar trying to replicate Feynmanrsquos experience with a fun twistWhile there has been a growing trend of pubs playing host to complex conversations Debarati Chatterjee director Pint of Science India assures us that this is different The theoretical astrophysicist professor at Inter University Centre of Astronomy and Physics IUCAA Pune first encountered this phenomenon in France during her research years ldquoThe festival began in 2012 when two neuroscientists Dr Praveen Paul and Dr Michael Motskin from the Imperial College of London attempted to bridge the gap between patients and researchers I was a speaker at the festival for two years and later volunteered as wellrdquo she revealsParticipants interact at the United Kingdom edition Pics CourtesyPint of Science India Representation picIstockThe festival debuted in India in 2025 across several venues in Pune Bengaluru and Delhi This year Mumbai and Guwahati were added to the map The decision to host it on weekdays also sets it apart ldquoAcross the world the weekends are usually crowded times for pubs so weekdays are preferablerdquo Chatterjee explainsDebarati ChatterjeeThus conversations from astrobiology and canine behaviour to marine evolution and black hole theory make the list Chatterjee suggests that the conversations are simplified but not simplistic Starting September the organisers worked with the speakers over several months to declutter the topic by reducing jargon and adding familiar elementsA moment from the Pune edition of the series in 2025It is a new experience to many though Dr Ankita Parab admits that speaking at a pub is unlike a session at an astrobiologistsrsquo conference ldquoI am nervous about it I have the experience of presenting in conferences but here I am only talking to a general audience who are not all from the scientific communityrdquo Shaunak Modi director Coastal Conservation Foundation adds ldquoWith any form of research outreach or conservation there tends to be an echo chamber We keep talking to the same people I am glad I would be speaking to an audience I would otherwise not reachrdquoAn interactive graphic used by Dr Ankita Parab to explain astrobiologyChatterjee promises an evening of fun ldquoWe donrsquot want to bring people to a bar and bore them There will be no equations or jargons I promise But it is a chance to have fun chill out and yet meet scientistsrdquo she saysFROM May 18 to 20 6 pm to 9 pmAT Shah Millar House Raj Kutir near Khar railway station Khar WestLOG ON TO pintofsciencein to register full itineraryENTRY Rs 413 per sessionOur fave events to catchgtgt From anxiety to agency Responsible AI operationalisation by Parveen GoribindhurON May 18gtgt Peeping into the daily lives of street dogs by Professor Anindita BhadraON May 18gtgt Tigers trees and billions by Vishal RasalON May 19gtgt Mumbai marines mammals and man by Shaunak ModiOn May 19gtgt Growing life beyond earth by Dr Ankita ParabON May 20