For better and verse

Twenty odd years ago before social media blogging was picking up pace as a way of sharing stories and information The online diary was a way of digitally recording onersquos life for the world to read In the city poets writers and anyone who wanted to write and share their work could do so through platforms like Live Journal and BloggercomAgainst this backdrop Caferati was born It started as a collective called Bombay Writers Cafe for literary enthusiasts from around the city to share stories poems and thoughts online While many literature enthusiasts collectively ran it it was later on that writer and editor Peter Griffin writer Annie Zaidi and film critic Manisha Lakhe took over in 2004 adopting the name Caferati Initially it was hosted on Ryze a business networking platform and eventually migrated to Facebook in 2006 where it currently has over 16000 membersldquoThe beauty of being online was that you could interact with people at your own time and pacerdquo Griffin a Vashi resident tells us over a call ldquoSoon however there was a desire to meet in personrdquo The first meetup took place in Bandra in July 2004 on a rainy day at Bandstand Around 10 people showed up The name Caferati was chosen as a play on the words cafe and literatiAnnie Zaidi and Peter GriffinEnter Prithvi Theatre stage right ldquoThe very first open mic was part of Prithvi Theatrersquos 2008 Celebrating Poetry Festival a oneoff festival held that year Poet and author Sampurna Chattarji who was curating it invited usrdquo says Griffin who has been blogging since 2003 and has Zigzackly and the SouthEast Asia Tsunami amp Earthquake and Mumbai Help blogs to his credit ldquoIt was wonderful and chaotic and full of energy Indian theatre personality Sanjana Kapoor liked what she witnessed and asked us if wersquod like to do this once a month of course we said yesrdquo In 2009 the first CaferatiPrithvi took place with poet Ranjit Hoskote ldquoblessing the microphonerdquoIn 2017 they reached the 100 open mics milestone Numerous chapters in cities such as Pune Delhi Jaipur Kanpur Lucknow Bangalore Chennai Hyderabad and Goa were hosted now and then by members and internationally a few meets were held in Dubai Singapore and London Additionally Caferati runs a newsletter hosts paid workshops and even published a compilation Stories at the Coffee TableSoon Caferati gained repute as a space for reading poems and stories out for an informed and involved audience that responded with insight and feedback ldquoWe called them read meets We made poetry relevant in the cityrdquo says Manisha Lakhe who aside from being a poet and a film critic is also a columnist At that time English poetry was not viewed with as much respect and attention as its Hindi counterpart and she says Caferati became a space for writers who wrote majorly in English although now theyrsquove broadened their language scope ldquoIt was a meeting of mindsrdquo she punctuatesInitially 15 to 20 people showed up at the meets now there are 30 to 40 members There are rules Everyone has to read their own writing sing their own songs or tell their own stories Feedback is to be taken in the spirit of constructive criticismFeedback is a crucial part of the foundersrsquo work Whether itrsquos for the open mics or the online forum moderating the work put out is a challenge ldquoOne of the main challenges is finding a way to keep it equitable and open while adhering to our core purposemdashbecoming better writersrdquo says Annie Zaidi who has written the novel Prelude To A Riot and the poetry book Crush ldquoFeedback must be kind and not personal Many people want to share their work but are not ready for critical responses Others are not able to articulate literary critique without fear of offending Another major challenge is keeping people engaged in the long termrdquoLakhe who has been hosting the open mics every fourth Monday of the month at 7 pm at Prithvi cafe says that many interesting people and stories have bloomed in the space The best part is coming together to love literature without having to deal with the formalities of knowing the person beyond their work ldquoWe learned Punjabi because one of the boys used to write beautiful love poetryrdquo she laughs ldquoAnother person became a scriptwriter when a director noticed his versesrdquoAsk them why the open mics are not yet a profitable venture like larger platforms today and Lakhe says they have been reluctant to monetize art Griffin adds that they are also unsure of the type of business model to adoptWhile it may not have become a Kommune or a Kasa Kai Caferati Griffin says has pushed many people up literary ladders gaining jobs and recognition And itrsquos shaped the founders as well ldquoI have gained more than I have given not just in terms of perspective on my own writing or some name recognition but also in learning how to nurture community how to give for the sake of giving of building with no expectation of personal returnrdquo Griffin says While Zaidi is in the UK at present she says she loved the monthly meetups And for Lakhe itrsquos simply good fun