This Bandra art cafe has transformed, and here's all you need to know about it

It mightrsquove happened to you it definitely happened to us The first time wersquod gone to Method Bandra a few years ago wersquod entered it expecting a fullfledged art gallery like the one at Kala Ghoda and instead found an art cafe Over the years the Bandra outpost has grown into a wellloved community space known for good coffee a chill vibe and a buzzing art and social scene from music performances to mixers to calls to action like fundraisers for those displaced in the Gaza strife Six years since its launch the gallerycafe confusion persisted thoughNot anymoreLast month Method Bandra shut its doors one final time Donrsquot worry the art cafe lives on mdash itrsquos far too precious to both foundercurator Sahil Arora and the band of regulars for whom it has become a second homeThe lightbox at cafeacutersquos entrance will feature artwork and haiku from different artists each month This monthrsquos featured artist is Kunel Gaur with his popular KUMI motif appearing on the front left and a haiku by him on the back rightAfter a brief hiatus for renovations it reopened last fortnight in a newish avatar as Haiku ldquoWe have decided to rebrand this outpost that is ldquomore than a caferdquo to avoid confusion between our art galleries located in Kala Ghoda and Delhirdquo says Arora ldquoAll too often people wind up at either gallery looking for coffee or at the cafe looking for a more expansive art space The name change is just a demarcation between the twordquoThe spirit of the Bandra space will remain the same vows Arora If anything the renovated interiors reflect it even more The benches that once lined the walls have been replaced with tables and armchairs encircling the room leaning into the ldquoliving roomrdquo vibe at the cafe Therersquos someone nursing their coffee while working on their laptop another person takes a break from scrolling on their phone to jump into a conversation with a third person at another table mdash it feels exactly like lounging in someonersquos drawing room with everyone free to do their own thing and tune in or out of conversations spanning across the roomBharath Purohit producerfounder of Bratman Films has been part of these conversations every day since 2022 ldquoI come here to work and chill This is a place for all the misfits all the people from media art and music come together here We hang out and sometimes end up working with each other like Sameer here got a project from someone he met hererdquo he says pointing across the room at Sameer Kulkarni who runs his own interior design studio Sameer Kulkarni DesignSahil Arora Ashwini Kulkarni and Swanand KirkireKulkarni who lives five minutes away quips ldquoIrsquom here more often than Sahil I come for at least an hour every day Therersquos a comfort here itrsquos like my second homerdquoAt another table Ashwini Kulkarni who heads dubbing at Netflixrsquos India operation and is also Kulkarnirsquos wife tells us how she cast a voice artiste in a show after hearing their song play in the cafe ldquoAnyone can connect to the cafersquos speakers we take turns playing music that we want to listen to One day the artiste played their own song I liked it and ended up casting themrdquo she recallsThese serendipitous encounters with other creative folks is a large part of the charm of Haiku And unlike the membershiponly clubs that offer similar creative networks in exchange for lakhs all it costs here is a cup of coffee Haiku has a membership programme too but itrsquos not mandatory and is only designed to reduce the burden on your wallet For R3600 a month membership promises a cup of coffee every day the banter is free For the regulars itrsquos the combination of both that makes this their daily stop Therersquos an outpouring of appreciation for the baristas mdash Jeetu Aakash Sonam Gopal mdash from the regularsldquoI like the ease of this place Walking into this place yoursquoll always see a smiling face at the counter The coffee is amazing We started coming for that and then started joining the community events toordquo says Ashwini ldquoThe community dinners are really fun we get to meet a lot of new people outside of the regularsrdquoWritersinger Swanand Kirkire too is a regular fixture at the cafeacute and can often be spotted working with a coffee by his laptop ldquoItrsquos one of those few places where you can get your coffee and also work or chat with other people Therersquos no rush to take your coffee and clear out I also appreciate the social causesthey support mdash I was here for the event held I support of Palestine earlier this year I also enjoy the art exhibitionsrdquoWhile the pressure of changing the exhibits every month is now off their shoulders Arora says art will very much remain an element at Haiku ldquoThere will also be curated art here just without the pressure of changing it every four to six weeks Itrsquoll draw more from my personal taste since we already have the galleries for wider curationrdquo he saysEvery month the cafeacute will also collaborate with an artist to create art on the lightbox marking the entrance The artist of the month is Kunel GaurBefore we begin our day we take a breather in the outside seating area sipping on a firstclass cup of coffee In an utterly magical moment a butterfly glides in and floats around our head flutters about the foliage and then returns to sit on our arm Once again it makes us think ldquoThis is a place where anything can happenrdquo