10 Types of People who come to meetups

Ever since I started my meetup groups on meetup.com – meetup.com/talking-books-in-delhi and meetup.com/delhicartoonists I have come across several breeds of people and have been secretly judging them and smiling to myself like a moron. It is about to time that I shared the data with you all so that we can all smile to ourselves like morons-

---

 

1. ‘I don’t read books but…’ type 

Now these are the clueless ones. They see a cool thing on the internet and they have to go all clickety-click. Once they are at the venue, they ask the fellow members what the meetup is about. Sometimes they even interview the organizer- ‘So, since it is my first time, do you mind telling what the meetup is about and what are we going to discuss about?’

Erm… you read the description and RSVPed yes and then called me and then reached the venue, I thought you knew where you were headed.

Once you introduce the group to them, they grow slightly quiet. And you feel sorry for not being able to entertain them.

2. Super serious type

Now, literary discussions are usually charged. It is always imperative that some wisecracks are made in between and sometimes it is encouraged that we digress from the main topic. This offends them. Also they keep a track of who was given more time to speak and who wasn’t allowed to voice his opinion on this very important public forum. They usually take long pauses in between their sentences and if someone tries to speak in those pauses, they begin plotting for revenge.

3. The ‘I will be coming’ type

These just send a cryptic whatsapp message or text to the organizer and the text reads- ‘I will be coming!’ It reads more like a threat.

‘I am coming for you!’

They do not mention their name or profile or anything that can identify them because obviously they are either-

a) Super secret RAW agents and cannot divulge much information.

b) Are super famous celebrities and it should be your duty to look them up and find out who they are.

 

4. The braggers

They come to the meetup to brag. It is not true. Scratch what I just said. Bragging just occurs to them because they are pushed to a corner. When the round of introductions begins, they assume that it would obviously not reach them. So, they are unprepared with an introduction.

And then bam! The organizer points to them! How rude! So they lean back on their chair and think of all their childhood achievements and then list them out. Of course they do it all in a fake American accent to sound polite.

5. The young businessmen

Now this really isn’t a type. It is a profession. Except that they aren’t really young entrepreneurs. They are just guys with too much family money. Some identifiers are- a repeated mention of the fact that they are convent educated. (My Konwant Aijucation), large biceps (or hair streaks in case of women), oversized sunglasses (worn indoors of course) and an aversion to smiling too much.

So when they are bored of sitting at home, they come to grace the meetups and instead of hello, begin their sentences with- ‘Give me your phone number, I will call you.’

6. The ‘Here to meet ladies’ type

When the group is busy in heavy discussion, the plan is put to action. The guy leans to the girl sitting right next to him and asks, ‘So do you like to read too? Give me your number and we shall meet over coffee and discuss books.’

The girl is obviously creeped out and deflects the proposal with natural ease. The desperation of the guy reeks through his dark circles. He leans to the other girl and repeats the proposal. The room goes quiet as everyone is looking at him.

He leaves after a while become something important has come up.

7. The bloggers

Now there are two type of bloggers. People who like to plug their blog and people who don’t. Why would be talk about the later type so, let’s talk about the former ones.

They lean to the person sitting next to them and pretend to whisper although they are pretty loud. They mostly are either are helping the other person open their blog page on their phone and are making sure that they got the spelling of their URL right.

8. The one with the visiting cards.

These are just in the meetup for a personal plug. It is necessary to identify such people and quieten them. If the round of introduction reaches them, they begin with a quick introduction about themselves and then start talking about their business. Too late! The conversation is now hijacked and before you know it, you are signing consent forms for agreeing to sign up on their website.

9. ‘This isn’t my genre’

Sure, they read books but they walk into any meetup after having read just two books of the self-help genre. So when in the Jane Austen meetup, they are the only one who give two hoots about mystery and thriller novels, they begin talking about how awesome is Preeti Shenoy.

The members awkwardly listen to their rants with their heads down. It is a storm that passes in five minutes but oh! those five minutes!

 

10. RSVPed Yes

This is the last type which is sort of pointless. They are regular names on the RSVP list but never show up in the meetups. They are so regular with RSVPing that the organizer remembers their names. It is amazing because when they eventually do show up, they are given a red carpet welcome and are considered senior members of the group- you know the veterans, the old timers.

PS- Of course the above types are caricatures of the actual people who show up. I am blessed to have only awesome people show up at my meetups. Apologies if they hurt any sentiments. They are written just for the sake of good/ tasteless humour. Love to all.

A good commercial novel

This post is in anticipation of the upcoming meetup at Talking Books

To RSVP, go here- Ingredients of a good commercial novel

There are two aspects to this discussion. One is about the goodness of a book. Now good is subjective but, there are some basic qualities it needs to have for it to be readable at least. There is the need for accuracy, good grammar, imagination, creativity and smart use of words.

Coming to the commercial part, the book has to be easy to read and should be accessible to a larger audience. It should not contain any technical jargon or boring plot details. These points make it commercial. Now, is there such a thing as a non-commercial novel?

What do you think? As we get more thoughts around it, we will build the debate. Feel free to cite examples too.

Valentine’s Day Notes: Bhawna Khattar, Rajashree VS and Dhara

So, remember our Valentine’s Day meetup? We had people telling us their favourite characters they’d like to date on V-day. We begin with Bhawna’s list. More to come. Stay tuned

Development!

Book Review- Premchand’s Nirmala

Nirmala by Munshi Premchand
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

You cannot read this book with the feminist ideals of today. The writer Premchand was a pioneer of his times and social messages had a prominent role in his works. But even then, this novel doesn’t really contain a revolutionary idea. The central plot is pretty tame and has conformist elements along with the idea of addressing the plight of women in the Indian society of those times.

Nirmala (the pure one) is the protagonist and life keeps handing her lemons. It is a tragic tale so, there is no lemonade here. I guess, from the story point of view, the author didn’t really plan the whole thing. The plot has too many sudden deaths and the writer seems to be writing with breaks. There is a lack continuity in certain facts. The age of Nirmala’s ‘aged’ husband keeps changing throughout the novel and also, the characters have sudden heart changes which aren’t explained explicitly.

Now, this doesn’t take anything away from the realism contained in these 160 pages of Hindi literature. The language is also quite good and keeps you engaged. The novel reads very smoothly and there was no point where it got tedious or boring.

The best part about the book is that it is not preachy and it doesn’t demonize or glorify anyone. It is a woman-centric novel but it is not a feminist novel. Not in my opinion. It doesn’t really emphasize how Nirmala’s life was governed by oppressive men and society. It is more about poverty and people being selfish at certain points. At one point, even Nirmala falls. She is the quintessential vamp for a few pages.

Premchand has given every character his or her own reasons and that has led to a beautiful storyline. I did some Wikipedia research and found out that the story was indeed written with breaks in the forms of episodes for a magazine. That kind of explains a lot.

I would still rate the book 4 stars for its literary genius. The author abstains from painting characters black or white and that’s what makes the book a unique piece of work.

View all my reviews

The Pug Zone

A poem by one of our members

Nobody taught me to speak,
hence I can’t mince words –

Hey Dad! Meet my Mom

About the Author:    Sandeep Sharma and Leepi Agarwal

After going through the book, one gets a feeling that this is probably not the first book from the author. Reason is simple: wonderful usage of language and right quantity and quality of twists and turns. This can probably be explained by the fact that he is known reviewer. An absolutely different storyline, which could have been a risk, if not penned properly.  However, the author, does a commendable job.

Weekly Prompt- Odd Even- Entry by Abhyudaya Shrivastava

Stiffness

 

Even though it felt odd, Mr. Saxena continued to sit uncomfortably and wait for his tea. It was evening supper time and walking past the Malhotra’s bungalow without getting spotted by Mr. Malhotra and being dragged for ‘a small cup’ was quite rare.

Writing Prompt- Even Odd- Entry by Gursheel Sahni

CHAI- WALLAH

 

Even though it was extremely odd to find the picture missing, Madhav wasn’t sure how to react to the anomaly. At least not on the outside. He ordered his usual cup of tea with a fan to go alongside. The chai-wallah greeted him amicably, as usual. This daily ritual began almost three months ago when Madhav enrolled for a course to prepare for MBA entrance examinations while still completing his engineering degree, which, like so many of his generation, wasn’t exactly his cup of tea. An MBA would be his way out, he thought.