When Anup Nair left his corporate job to open Fictionary in Bandra, the plan was far simpler: build a cosy bookstore-café dedicated entirely to fiction. Community events were always on the agenda, events designed for singles to meet and mingle, and WhatsApp groups filled with strangers-turned-friends weren’t.

Today, however, Fictionary has become one of Mumbai’s most talked-about third spaces. On weekdays, readers nurse coffees between towering bookshelves. Saturday mornings begin with two hours of silent reading. And every few weekends, the same shelves play host to singles looking for something dating apps have struggled to offer: genuine conversation.