Friendship Loveship Hateship

The world is presently battling a loneliness epidemic, but it’s the well-connected’ who are the loneliest. These days, they are looking to make connections at social meet-ups

- Rani Jana

IN a dimly lit, smokey lounge bar, Madhuri sat across from a gentleman on the couch. Their giggles were tuned out by the techno sounds playing as ambient music. She nervously twirled her hair, reciprocated by him rubbing his hands together. Their conversation flowed from her possibly designing an outfit for him to how she likes dancing in her room alone and her experience of her first-ever solo trip to Goa. Unless you joined them at their table, you would never know—they were both blindfolded with a crimson satin cloth.

At Dirty Rabbit in Kailash Colony Market, Delhi, they are attending a ‘Strangers Meet’—a trend that is catching up in metro cities where more and more people are finding themselves lonely despite being in an ocean full of people and possibilities. Such meet-ups bring together people who do not know each other but wish to socialise, make friends or build connections.

The 38-year-old fashion designer was attending the meetup for a third time. She and her childhood friends have now drifted apart, each busy with their family and careers. “There is nobody to talk to. I have come here to find some friends and build new relationships,” she says.

The tables adjacent to Madhuri’s were occupied by similar pairs, with eyes forced shut, they interacted with the stranger before them—or not. Across one table, sat two middle-aged men in absolute silence. The quiet was occasionally broken by them slurping on their blue-coloured minty lemonade. At another table, a man narrates to a young marketing executive, his recent trip to Prayagraj for Kumbh and yearly trips to Vaishno Devi. The timer goes off.

The hosts of the Strangers Meet announce to the participants their two minutes are up. They guide the blindfolded guests, carefully seating them in front of a new stranger. Somehow, amidst the shuffle, Madhuri’s turn to shift goes amiss.