Want to unwind? Attend this social mixer that helps you just have fun

Participants play a card game at the event

Why did the physiotherapist don a cowboy hat and start slinging guns? If you're at improv artiste Nasir Engineer's social mixer events, this could be one of his quirky prompts that gets the conversations going. If it's your lucky day, it could be something that actually unfolds right before your eyes. In this case, it did. "When the physiotherapist arrived at our event, she was shy and reserved, likely aware that most of the participants were much younger than her. She opened up gradually through the session, but when she went for the props and broke into a gun-slinging act, it caught us all off guard," Engineer laughs.

Participants line up for an improv game at the social mixer

Conceptualised to bring people together across extroversion, introversion, ambiversion, and all other versions in between, the artiste explains that the aim of his workshops and events are, well, to have no aim at all. "These are not events where you come looking for a companion or a soulmate," he warns us. That being said, if Cupid decides to crash the party, Engineer won't stand in the way. "I only nudge the group to help spark a conversation and keep things interesting. How it pans out from there is completely up to them," he adds.

A usual session will witness Engineer pull out a fun game out of his hat to break the ice. "At a previous event, I handed out cards with different questions, and paired people up randomly. Their challenge was to explain the plot of a film based on the title that formed when their answers were combined. When you brainstorm with a stranger, it automatically pushes you to let your guard down," Engineer explains. Momo's Garage is one such film that, unfortunately, will never see the light of day.

Nasir Engineer

Much like the physiotherapist gone rogue, the artiste has undergone a metamorphosis of his own. "I was once a shy and reserved person for a large part of my life. I understand what it feels like to be left out. That's why I make it a point to welcome participants and strike up a conversation to understand how to place them in a room filled with diverse voices and ensure they feel as included as everyone else," he concludes. Now that's one kind of social Engineer-ing we can truly get behind.

ON January 11; 19, and 26
AT Doolally Taproom, Khar West; Anaahat, JVPD Scheme, Andheri West.
LOG ON TO flutr.co.in
ENTRY Rs 1,000 onwards