Inside Mumbai's first crying club

The club seeks to create a safe space where adults can experience the catharsis of weeping with company

- Divya Naik

n a sticky Sunday evening in Khar, Mumbai's honking and chaos fade as you step into a softly lit café. Inside, the usual chatter of coffee drinkers is replaced by sniffles. Tissue boxes sit on each table, chamomile tea steams in ceramic mugs, and a playlist of piano notes floats through the room. A dozen strangers sit shoulder to shoulder, eyes brimming. For the next hour, they are here to do what many Indians have been taught to suppress: cry.

This is Mumbai's first "crying club", a concept inspired by Japan's ruikatsu, which means "tear-seeking" sessions, popular across Tokyo over the past decade. The premise is radical in its simplicity: create a safe, nonjudgmental environment for adults to weep in company.

The organisers at the Mumbai café begin by inviting participants to introduce themselves and share a bit about why they came—the entry fee is ₹500 and a group can vary from 10-15 people at a time. Conversation prompts are thrown in when things get quiet: questions like "When was the last time you really cried?" or "What's weighing on your heart?". There is no pressure or rigid technique.

To understand the draw of such a club, it helps to know why crying feels so oddly good. "Crying is the body's natural release valve," says Taylor Elizabeth, an emotional intelligence coach based in Dubai. "Cortisol levels drop, the rest-and-digest system activates, and people often feel lighter, freer, clearer after a good cry".

Neuroscience backs this. Emotional tears carry stress hormones like cortisol. Shedding them literally drains tension from the body. At the same time, oxytocin and endorphins, the same chemicals released after a hug, flood the system, easing both emotional and physical pain.