A new kind of happy hour: Here is how city bars are turning into spaces for learning and conversation

A night out around town simply sipping craft cocktails and engaging in an average conversation has undergone an upgrade The cityrsquos publecture crews are bringing forth speakers that unpack the illusion of free will or the architecture of ants It sounds quirky but in Mumbai this mix of booze and brains is gaining serious tractionEveryone is hungry for meaning without pretension or a phone screen lately So this idea of one lecture one drink one new idea is smart You skip the auditorium go to a bar and walk away smarter or at least with an anecdote that beats ldquoso how was your dayrdquoIf the classroom looks like this who wouldnrsquot mind going back to school PICPINT OF VIEWThe big plus You now have access to professors from some of the best institutions across the country IITs included Plus you meet people you wouldnrsquot normally mdash fellow intellectuals eager to learn and discuss new ideas Pint of View Mumbai Society of Intellectuals and Brydge are the cityrsquos goto curators for these lecture series And each approaches the format with a slightly different flavourPint of View mdash Mumbai ChapterInspired by North Americarsquos lsquoLectures on Taprsquo the curators of Cubbon Reads in Bengaluru began curating lectures in bars as Pint of View Soon the Mumbai chapter launched as well Run by Diya Sengupta and Abhishek Shetty in Mumbai Pint of View is present across 10 cities in India and in London Soon enough they will launch in more cities globally as well Sengupta and Shetty invite professors and experts into bars dejargoning serious topics over a friendly drink You can catch lectures on STEM subjects philosophy literature or moreA recent lecture event organised by Pint of ViewPast sessions have covered topics like how neuroscience affects behaviour by Dr Rohit Manchanda a professor of computational neurophysiology at IIT Bombay Minaz Ansari a Professor at Rizvi College of Architecture has spoken about Mumbai through its architecture An upcoming session with Dr Suvodip Mukherjee an astrophysicist and faculty member at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research Mumbai will cover all you need to know about the cosmos and moreEach session is 45 minutes long and ends with a 15minute QampA at the end Ticket prices range anywhere between R499 to R1200 and include a beer or a mocktail Students can get a discount with their valid student ID Soon kids under 18 will also be allowed at some sessions with a parentSociety of IntellectualsThe Society of Intellectuals SOI doesnrsquot limit itself to bars and extends its lecture series to cafes in Mumbai too Their lectures promise insight into the mind with previous sessions on topics like how sound can heal anxiety conducted by a sound healing practitioner Riddhi Chhatbar another by Ankur Panchal a physics researcher on quantum entanglement And a lecture on human relationships with objects which was held by Dr Karman Khanna is an assistant professor at SP Jain Institute of Management and Research SPJIMR MumbaiApart from simply hosting lectures SOI encourages networking and conversations too Each session lasts 45 minutes and has a 15minute QampA But you get an additional one and a half to two hours to converse with fellow attendees to converse or network The ticket price covers nonalcoholic drinks only and the price usually goes up to Rs1399BrydgeTypically Brydge curates several different experiences for those who would like to meet new people in the city Their latest is their lsquoIntellect on Icersquo series which you guessed it hosts lectures in bars If you are curious about topics like cortisol and what it means for the way we live or the human psyche to understand what lies behind some of the darkest crimes Brydgersquos series is for you The previous session on cortisol has been hosted by Vidita Vaidya chairperson of the department of biological sciences at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research The upcoming one which decoded a serial killerrsquos mind will be hosted by Havovi Hyderbadwalla Consulting PsychologistMark yourself presentIntellect on Ice by Brydge November 9Beyond the Kill Decoding Serial KillersSpeaker Havovi Hyderabadwalla Consulting PsychologistTo Book Write to brydgepeople on InstagramPint of View Mumbai November 16Title Geometry Gone Wild Maths About MovementSpeaker Dr Ravi Banavar Professor IITBTo Book Urbanautapp