Conversations with strangers and hobby clubs

Hello! Flowers of all kinds are in bloom here in New York. People are sprawled out in parks soaking in as much warmth as they can. It was a hard and long winter, and it feels like we’re being rewarded with spurts of warm sunlight in between windy days. At the same time, life is going on as usual. AI is polarizing people worldwide, people continue to be cruel, the future is uncertain, but if one thing is certain, it is that if there is anything true and good, it will probably be found near a tree or by a flower and under the sun. I’m not exaggerating, this shit is beautiful.

🌊 Hi, I’m Sachi, and this is Currents, a newsletter about people, books, movies, and stories. If you want to unsubscribe, the link is at the bottom. If you like this, share it with someone or say hello. Do say hello, I live to yap.

📸 I’m Joining Clubs!

Joining clubs, why I did them, conversational lessons learned and what’s next.

I’m a fairly social person, I love people and I love yapping. After moving to New York, especially after graduating, I realized how many levels of social interactions I need for a satisfying social life. In addition to my core group and close friends, I like having plenty of casual friendships and acquaintances to hang and yap with. I underestimated how many conversations I had in a day with people in my neighborhood back in India and I decided to do something about it. To do this, I decided to find and attend hobby clubs.

I have always been curious about social circles and how people build their circles in new places. In November, I wrote about apps that plan chance encounters as ways to combat loneliness in cities and help people build relationships. I spoke to people to understand how they built new relationships in new places. Some people joined classes to find like minded people, some went to cultural events and others tapped into existing networks and befriended friends of friends. I wanted to find a budget friendly way to meet people and have a good time. Another reason why an affordable hobby based meet was ideal for that.

I’ve always watched high school shows in which students participate in various clubs with some envy. I never had that opportunity in school or college and always craved spending time with people who shared an interest with me. Who wouldn’t want to hang out with people who love the same thing? In Mumbai and in New York, I frequently attended design related events with the intention to learn and meet interesting people. While I do meet some people at these things, there is an underlying energy of networking which I don’t love. Design events lay at the intersection between work and agenda-free interests but strongly leaning towards work. I feel a pressure to perform, and ultimately it feels like a chore. It doesn’t scratch the itch.

Creative Mornings (an initiative that hosts talks and events for people in the creative industry) launched Clubs in New York last year and despite knowing about it for a while, I finally got myself to attend a club for the first time in April. The clubs don’t carry the professional air of Creative Mornings. I attended a 20th century film club. As a lover of films and a big enthusiast of discussing films after watching them, it felt like an easy point of entry. It exceeded all expectations. Five people showed up with snacks in hand, ready to watch something we hadn’t seen before. We watched Ernst Lubitsch’s movie  ‘Trouble in Paradise’ released in 1932. I loved my first ever club meeting. The attendees and host were all lovely and so was the discussion afterwards. I learned a lot about Hollywood movies before the enforcement of the Hays Code and how directors used subtle metaphors to imply things they couldn’t say out loud. Simply being there made me happy. This is a monthly club and the thought of having to wait for another month for a similar experience made me sad. Hungry for more interactions like this, at the recommendation of someone I met at the film club,  I attended a fortnightly photo walk club a week after. After enjoying every minute at the photo walk, I signed up for a club for idealists. (The event itself was okay but the conversations I had afterwards made the visit worth it) I signed up for an essay club and another photo walk in the upcoming weeks.

There is something lovely about hobby clubs for adults. The spark of people doing what they enjoy, with varying levels of seriousness, is rejuvenating for me. There’s zero judgment if you’re new to it and no expectations to make something worthy of an award. The barrier to entry is low and the environment warm and welcoming. I got to know so many people in such a short period. I got sorbet, brunch, and bagel recommendations. I learned about different neighborhoods in the city and what draws people to them. I learned about the city itself and saw it through a new lens.

***

I realized recently how much I despise starting a conversation with the lethal duo of ‘What do you do? What do you like about your job?’ (I endure and participate in this awful conversation at design events) At none of these club meets did any conversation linger for too long on what I or the other folks did for work. I saw people navigate the conversational dance very well. I met someone called Jason at the photowalk and the club for idealists who is exceptionally good at getting people to open up about what they love. He has a way of coming with friendly curiosity and shows genuine enthusiasm when you share your interests. He has done many things for work and is a generally cool dude and he gets people to reveal the twists and turns of their lives and careers too. His excitement to get to know you is contagious. 

I also learned the value of loosening up, both at a personal level and allowing others to loosen up around you. I shine the most when I feel like I’m not being evaluated and when there’s no real benefit of performing a certain role. There is no hidden agenda to network. I enjoy being there purely for the vibes and the activity itself. The lack of pressure does wonders for me. I observed how the hosts at these clubs came with zero judgment and made it a safe space for all kinds of people.

Talking to new people got easier with every meet. It’s easy to forget that social skills are skills and require practice like any other skill. Being with all kinds of people in a shared space can be so much fun if done well. It also reminded me that people are their own entities and contain multitudes that are beyond my understanding. Being very online flattens people and makes judging them easy, whereas being with people IRL, reminds you of the opposite. 

I’m taking notes on expanding one’s social circle and will hopefully boil that down into a coherent essay soon. This experience has been meaningful on so many levels. I made my anime club activity dream come true (I plan on becoming a regular at the film and photowalk club). There are people at these clubs that I have gotten to know and genuinely like. I’m learning how to be a better host and hopefully a better person to hang out with. All in all, great outcomes. Highly recommend attending a hobby club near you or hosting one.

More updates to come.

Some essays I’ve enjoyed reading about community building and making friends -

1. How to build a village by Rosie Spinks

2. Keep coming back by Rosie Spinks

3. Stoop Coffee: How a Simple Idea Transformed My Neighborhood by Patty Smith

4. Deeply Human Guide to Social Circles That Make You Feel Alive Again by Ella Augustia

5. Sometimes the reason you can’t find people you resonate with is because you misread the ones you meet by Henrik Karlsson

💿 Albums

SABLE, fABLE by Bon Iver - trying to put into words why I liked it as much

The Crux by DJo - It felt like all my favorite bands were being referenced thoughtfully and playfully. It felt nostalgic and current in the best possible way. 

💻 Shows

Frieren: Beyond Journey's End (Netflix, Prime & Crunchyroll)

This is undoubtedly the best thing I have watched in 2025. Currently writing an essay about it. It has excellent worldbuilding, complex characters, STUNNING animation, great soundtrack, and the story itself is poignant and emotionally rich. The pace is a little slow at the beginning but I didn’t mind it as much. It talks about love, camaraderie, adventure, time, immortality, legacy, peace, and so much more. 

Please watch it for me. And let me know what you think when you do.

📚 Books

Intermezzo by Sally Rooney - Despite not having enjoyed some of her previous work, I really loved how Intermezzo unfolded. I love the tenderness and honesty with which Rooney explores love in all shapes and forms. The book is about two brothers, Peter and Ivan, their lives, their grief and love in particular, after their father passes away. People have openly disliked the experimental style in Peter’s chapters and have called the writing as self-indulgent and under-edited but personally, it’s been working out for me. I can imagine not liking it had I been in a different mood or a different place in life. I’m feeling all the feels.

Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang - I didn’t love ALL stories in this book but most of them were bangers. Chiang’s notes in the end confirmed my theory that he picks something that catches his interest and builds a story around it to understand it better, which is so cool when you think about it. The movie Arrival was based on Chiang's short story titled ‘Story of Your Life’. This story was interesting for a number of reasons, the biggest being perception of time. In the story inquisitive aliens arrive on earth to observe humans. Dr. Louise Banks is tasked with understanding their language in a hope to communicate. In an attempt to understand their writing, Dr. Banks begins to perceive time as they do. I couldn’t stop thinking of possibilities of what this kind of perception could feel like.