With rental spaces available for hosting diverse kinds of meet-ups, the intimate gathering scene has gained traction during the post-lockdown period. As people start moving out again after temporary curbs due to Omicron, organisers and facilitators talk about how the need for socialising has evolved in the past two years
People are preferring house parties with limited members because they are casual, convenient, do not involve too much planning and are safer. Image credit: Dishant Goenka
At a concert held in an empty space at Bandra's The Simple Brew last November, an artist broke down in the middle of the performance and the audience was with her, in tears. “That was the pure joy of connection. Some of them hadn't stepped out at all for events in the last two years. And a beautiful experience like that was just overwhelming,” says Shaik Sheeba, leader of the Mumbai chapter of House Concert Foundation, which curates and organises concerts in closed spaces where independent musicians and singers perform their original compositions.