A spoonful of creativity and a hot cup of coffee

Over coffee and snacks, Caferati members read out their works of fiction and poetry to appreciative strangers

'Beautiful green patches, rain kissing the grounds and melodious poetry falling on your ears'. Sounds like paradise, but this is what happened in the Caferati club meet hosted in the US Club on the evening of June 29. The evening saw many talented, but unknown writers and poets showcase their work in front of an audience comprising Caferati members.

Caferati arose out of the need to meet, listen to each others works', be appreciated or get feedback. It was initially called the Bombay Writers Club (BWC), but renamed Caferati, about a year after its inception in 2004. John Matthew, a corporate communications person and a member of the forum for the last four years, says, "Writing is a lonely profession. There is a need to share it with like minded people. I have benefited greatly from the forum. It serves as an outlet for my creative works."

It gives people like John, who may not necessarily be professional writers, a chance to get in touch with their creative side. The writing not only includes poetry, but also haikus, short stories and prose of any genre. The read meet on Sunday was graced by poems on the rain as that was theme for the day; riveting humorous short stories; a story on love; one on the beauty of Marine Drive and also many Haikus.

Caferati serves as an excellent platform for unknown writers to showcase their talent. According to Manisha Lakhe, the moderator for the evening and a member of Caferati from the day it was born, unless you are a known writer, no one publishes your writing and no one reads it. So, Caferati conducted an online short stories contest and as a result published its own book of short stories called 'Stories At The Coffee Table'. Such attempts help give recognition to the deserved.

This forum, which has been associated with the Kala Ghoda festival for the last four years, was the first in the city to conduct a poetry slam where poets from all over the country contested with each other. It was also the first to start a flash fiction contest in India. "About six of us started Caferati, and now it has spread to different countries.

Today, read meets are conducted even in Singapore, Dubai and San Francisco", says Manisha Lakhe. From a humble beginning with 10 online members, Caferati has spread to 16 cities all over the world, and has more than 3,500 members who meet in their respective hometowns regularly.

This club has members ranging from the age of 18 to 60 and include people ad men, corporate trainers, management professionals and interior designers. Sixteen-year-old Ayesha T is the youngest member of the club in Mumbai. She joined it about two months ago and attended her first read meet on Sunday accompanied by her mother. Her poems received much-deserved appreciation by the audience. Talking of her experience she says jubilantly, "It was brilliant, an experience in the full sense of the word. I am definitely going to continue here and try to attend every read meet."

Laxmi Dhaul, a member of Caferati and the author of 'The Sufi Saint Of Ajmer', says, "I find sharing ideas and your work with others with the same interest very gratifying. It is difficult to get the same enthusiasm from your family. When I take my work to my children, the most common reply is, I'll read it later mum."

Lakhe adds: "The best part about having an online presence is that it is a way of communicating with people all over the world. It also guarantees anonymity as many people are shy or not confident of showcasing their work."

The journey for Caferati has not really been a smooth one though. But despite occasional snags, their determination to stay and bring to fore good writers remains strong. As the old adage goes: 'Great oaks grow from little acorns'.
s_surekha@dnaindia.net