Culture à la Social
If you’ve spent some time at either or all of Mumbai’s Social Cafés, you’ll find that in décor and otherwise, it stands apart from the rest of the city’s culture strong venues. From art exhibitions to music showcases and a ton of curated and monthly events Social welcomes you to make it your second home with its marked presence in the city’s most popular hubs namely Colaba, Todi Mill, Palladium, Khar and a soon to open Social at Andheri.
Sumit Vaswani is the man behind much of the reason why Mumbai’s culture is worth being a part of. As the Culture Manager for all of the city’s five Social Cafés, he’s in many ways shaping Mumbai lifestyle with never-seen-before awesomeness. I discover a part of what it’s like working at Social in conversation with him.
How does Social look at culture and how do you fit into all of it?
Essentially, we don’t cater to just one demographic; everyone likes going to Social, from corporates, to aunties, to youngsters. There’s no restrictions to who can come here. Social is heavily influencing the culture of the city by going out of our way to do things that help the city’s culture reach a mark.
Brands need to make sure that they are influencing art, music and all these independent sectors in their own way. That’s where the smart young generation is. Social is a brand that is heavy on culture, not many places promote culture like we do. I’m here to making sure the vibe of the place is up to the mark.
What’s the difference between a Social and an antiSOCIAL?
Social is a café. People can eat, drink, chill, work and play. While the food and bar at antiSOCIAL are the same, it’s a performance space. We’ve hosted events from art exhibitions to music showcases. We’ve hosted artists of various genres, from rock to hip-hop and techno. It’s different from a Social because more happens at a place like this. There’s fewer chairs and tables here, so the space is for pretty much everything else.
Besides music, we do a lot of stuff with art. For example, we organise events with The Bombay Drawing Room where anyone can come and paint. We’ve also had wood cutting workshops and monthly talk shows called Creative Mornings.
The bold rawness of this place is evident in the randomly placed elements of its décor. It in many ways reminds me of a comfortable patchwork quilt that knows how to throw an awesome party. What would you describe the décor of each of Social’s branches?
It’s a rugged space, we are not going for fine décor. We used upcycled household appliances and furniture to give it that patchwork look. The finesse is in the texture that the upcycling process gives it. We have worked with Ayaz Basral of Busride Designs as well as architects, Siddhesh Kadam, Samir Raut, Faizan Khatri of Studio Eight Twenty Three.
Can you name some of your best or favourite events at Social?
French Kiwi Juice came down to Todi Mill Social, that was one of my favourites. We did a back to school 90’s party with Homegrown recently. Farhan Akhtar did a surprise set at Todi Mill Social once. When Naezy, Divine and Gully Gang performed, we had a huge crowd turn out that was beyond our capacity actually.
From gigs to casual drinks, I think Social is a perfectly good idea for anyone who wants to experience Mumbai’s evolving culture. While staying above the rest through its wide range of events, Social’s branding, décor, architecture and an inherent openness to a diverse demographic perfectly captures what everyone looks for in a great experience.
If you’re looking for a place to work out of, read on:
At Todi Mill and Khar Social serves as work space from 9 to 6. It welcomes freelancers, creative minds, entrepreneurs that don’t need the four walls of an office to work. It is in a way the answer to the question, ‘How do you make work fun?’ For INR 5000 a month you can avail of all the required amenities to stay connected and efficient in this fast paced world. Not to mention benefits of food and drink worth the same amount.
So go ahead [#play #work #discover].
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6k9jR83TJwI
Photo Credits: Shobita Kadan
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