“You know that feeling when something is so special that you are not able to articulate it and conveniently use the word ‘ineffable’? Yes, that is exactly what I am feeling.”
The seed for this idea was sown fairly early in my life. Stories, across formats, fascinated me. And some of them have left an indelible impression on my conscience.
I would be lying if I said that my reasons to start this initiative weren’t extremely personal and selfish. In retrospect, I would look at it as an attempt to expose myself to questions that I had limited answers to, and a means to form opinions on things that mattered (and provided some sense of social validation, of course).
The primary motivations for initiating this community were – an innate urge to unearth the essence of abstract concepts and a constant dearth of social circles to discuss them with.
After months of procrastination, I overcame my fear of conceptualising something that I might not exactly specialize in, and launched this platform.
An incessant fear that loomed over us was that of initial acceptance. And for that to happen, an effective communication mechanism to explain the quintessence of the concept became vital.
Constantly adapting to changes has been a primary feature and challenge for us, and fortunately we learnt the need to adapt since our infant stage itself.
What started off merely as a weekly discussion platform, has smoothly transitioned into a social community, a family. A family of extremely different people, who haven’t even met each other, but share a very strong bond!
Over these months, we have had over 500 people from different parts of India and abroad, ranging from the ages of 15 to 55, but all having a shared passion for literature, films and art in general.
Our primary aim is to expose people to an array of books, movies and other forms of art, and in turn help them develop an individualised approach to literature and film analysis.
Apart from the obvious sense of belongingness that a person achieves by joining us, they also develop sheer clarity of thought and improve on their articulation skills. Eventually, this helps them to become more confident individuals.
At a personal level, there hasn’t been a scarcity of learning. Everyday has presented itself as a new challenge. I have developed essential people skills, have improved on my patience and listening skills, and most importantly, understood the importance of staying original.
This write-up will end on an abrupt note. Primarily because a feeling of overwhelm blinds me and limits my ability to contemplate and summarise everything that I feel. You know that feeling when something is so special that you are not able to articulate it and conveniently use the word ‘ineffable’? Yes, that is exactly what I am feeling.
The future of The Abstract Room shines bright. There’s already a wide array of activities in our portfolio that we attempt to fully capitalise on. Apart from that, we would like to reach out to as many of you out there who wish to watch films, read books and grow together!
“A lot has been covered, and a lot more to come”
