This program is a unique and innovative approach to developing communication and leadership skills in teenagers. By encouraging them to have conversations and reach a consensus, they are learning important life skills that will serve them well in their personal and professional lives. The facilitators, Swati Mahima and Shankar Mridha, are providing guidance and support to help the teenagers navigate these important conversations and develop their skills. The safe space provided by Nukkad Cafe allows the participants to be open and honest with one another, fostering a sense of community and inclusiveness. 

The idea behind micro theatre is to bring theatre to the masses, making it accessible and affordable for everyone. The concept is that it is not necessary to have a big stage and expensive equipment to present a good play. By focusing on the script, the actors and their performances, and the basic elements of light and sound, the audience can experience the magic of theatre in a more intimate setting. The performance of "Love Hate Love Repeat" by Orange Reasons at Nukkad Café was a perfect example of this concept in action, showcasing the talent of two brilliant actors, Pooja Kshatriya and Sumedh Sarojini. Micro theatre allows audiences to connect with the characters and the story in a more personal and powerful way, making it an innovative and exciting form of entertainment.

First thing first, nothing is scrap and especially any space. It’s the way we look at it and what we do with it is what matters.

A few months ago, properties around Nukkad Cafe went under redevelopment, which made it difficult for the space to survive. Seeing that the redevelopment will take a long time, we moved on to another location in Viman Nagar, Pune itself.

The new space is structurally very different but has the same vibes. At the one end of Viman Nagar and in the midst of greenery, there is a quiet & peaceful space, made of corrugated sheets having lots of positive vibes. It may be smaller but has ample space to accommodate people who seek to spend time away from the day’s hustle & bustle and peacefully sip a masala chai or read a book or want to do an acoustic performance. The space is also filled with bright colours, which will definitely trigger your bright & creative side.

When we first saw this space, it was a shed surrounded by scrap but it did have happy vibes. So, instead of taking some regular space, we thought of working on this cute little muddle and beautifying it. We decided to reuse, recycle and add warmth and love to this sweet nothing.

We start our journey of life with a clean slate. And every day, we add different variables to it; variables to make our life better and joyful. To the best of our understanding, we start adding a perfect blend of skills, experiences,  knowledge, friends, peers and much more, so that we can sail through the ocean of life.

And similarly, the journey of preparing an Indian Chai also starts with a clean pan. Then there’s water, milk, chaipatti, sugar and all the masalas get added to enrich its flavour.

With all the variables (skills, knowledge, references etc.) in our kitty, we are ready to sail. The fire edges us into action. It leads all the dreams and flying hopes to something similar to ‘uphaan’ in the boiling process. Because of heat and pressure, water starts vaporising from the pan. It pushes all the strong concentrates like fats, proteins etc. to the surface. This traps vapour and the milk or mixture, in the pan, starts rising like a balloon. Uphaan is nothing but a mix of variables under pressure, having their own identity, trying to prove their presence and it’s not more than bubbles filled with air, making a lot of noise. Just like the heat & pressures of life start testing all the theories we have learnt and strong beliefs & mental models we have formed. The pressure keeps building up and vapours keep pushing our limits.

Then comes the break free point. The vapour finally manages to break the wall of fats, strong mental models and all the concentrates that are holding us back. This is the eureka moment, where it is realised that all the variables/ingredients can harmoniously blend in leading to something wonderful. And hence the uphaan starts settling down. Every next uphaan is less bubbly & noisy and is more content. The mix then starts boiling.

The entry-level of hardship has helped us understand our uniqueness. All our ingredients have started to blend and now it is to be refined. So we keep practising our skills & uniqueness by doing it again & again, like the mix in the pan, keeps boiling & boiling. While boiling keeps refining the blend. Note, it’s boiling and uphaan is hardly there. At the end of it, chai is ready to be relished.

Life experiences make us the person we are and it’s exactly what makes an Indian Chai, an Indian Chai. We add skills, knowledge & all the apt variables. Then we put it in action, take it through all the hardships and fight the odds with wits & fists, in both profession & personal life. And we keep doing it again & again and keep getting better & better. Chai goes through a similar process. And perhaps, unknowingly, this is what we relate to with every sip of chai. And maybe, the taste of chai gives us the taste of what we are going to become one day.

Remember, if you want to make an amazing cuppa, then you have to allow it to boil. Nukkad Café has already put together a blend of few ingredients in its pack of ChaySutra’s Masala Chai. You just have to use it and boil it with milk & water (add sugar as per taste). It’s the boiling that refines you & the chai and there is no shortcut to fulfilment.

Remember the mantra, “Ublega nahi, toh banega nahi”.

At some point in our lives, we all have felt that what has been going till now is not making sense anymore and it needs to move towards a new direction. Probably this is one of the strongest intuitions that lead one to think out-of-box, to innovate and be creative. So it was with F. N. Souza.

“I began to notice that JJ School of Arts turned out an awful number of bad artists year after year, and the Bombay Art Society showed awful crap in its Annual Exhibition… It then occurred to me to form a group to give ourselves an incentive. Ganging up in a collective ego is stronger than a single ego. It is easier for a mob to carry out a lynching; and in this case, we found it necessary to lynch the kind of art inculcated by the JJ School of Art and exhibited in the Bombay Art Society.” – F. N. Souza.

Isn’t this feel relatable? This feeling led F. N. Souza, S. N. Raza, K. H. Ara, M. F. Hussain, S. K. Bakre and H. A. Gade to form, Bombay Progressive Artists’ Group (PAG) in 1947.

1947, was the year of freedom.  A year to break the shackles, leave the past behind and move towards a better future. After partition, India chose the path of secularism. This fired up all the above six artists as PAG was, in every which way a visual representation of the Unity in Diversity, Secularism and taking the art scene in India towards Modern Indian Arts. PAG was a movement and one of the early ones to voice up for freedom of expression in art, to break the monotony in art by bringing in varied styles of expressing through art.

“We came together through a mysterious chemical reaction. We would be talking all the night. We use to go and sit at the Backbay and talk and talk… We use to talk what art should be and how it should be done…” – F. N. Souza.

Somewhere deep in their hearts, the six aspiring artists, in 1947, believed that it’s time that art needs creativity. All of them belonged to different social backgrounds and had unique artistic style and approach. The PAG members often blended the Indian theme with western artistic techniques such as European modernism, post-impressionism, cubism and expressionism and started bringing in a new approach in arts.

PAG in the coming year started organizing exhibitions of work done by the artists in the group. These exhibitions brought together different styles, different thinking and different artists under one roof. While K.H. Ara created striking watercolour and gouache paintings that resembled folk and native tribal art styles, F.N. Souza showcased an unconventional distortion of form and interestingly merged Goan folk art with western styles such as cubism. In contrast, H. A. Gade is considered among the first abstract painters of post-independent India, who often painted themes related to landscapes. The exhibition of these varied arts started showing a glimpse of what Modern Indian Art was going to be.

PAG, as a group, was short-lived but had shown India, what Modern Indian Art should be. Souza and Bakre departed for London, whereas Raza moved to Paris. Husain too began shuttling between Mumbai and Delhi. This lead to disbanding the group but the spirit of PAG was continuously seen in individual artist’s work. All of them went to become masters of their right and are looked upon as great artists, whose work continues to command respect today.

Bombay Progressive Artist’s Group is an exemplary example. A simple story that started with a feel from a nukkad somewhere in India and paved the way towards Modern Indian Arts. It also tells us that even creativity needs innovation. This is also seen every time, when we see a painting on the street walls or when an artist is performing, be it a standup comedian, poet, singer, musician or any artist. And every artist is innovating every time giving newness to his craft and moving ahead towards redefining it.

What these six artists felt for their field of work & passion is what we also feel in our respective lives, not necessarily related to arts. So if we have that feeling, then we need to start innovating. Reflect over the idea or talk about it with friends over a cup of masala chai. If you look around, at any nukkad, you will also find a relaxing place to talk & allow experimentation. All you need is to just put the intuition into action. The creativity will flow, adding more vibrancy to life.