In Bengaluru, pubs serve up science to the masses
What if Bengaluru's pubs, usually buzzing with nightlife, transformed into laboratories where scientists discussed their research? The city recently hosted Pint of Science, a global festival widely known for bringing science into pubs, where large groups of people gathered to talk, learn, and discuss various scientific topics.
'When I was in France, I was invited to an unusual party – science talks in a pub, but not to other scientists, just to regular people. I was mesmerised, and when I moved back to India, the idea struck me to bring the global festival to our country,' says Debarati Chatterjee, director of the festival in India.
'To burst misinformations, this event felt urgent'
'In today's time, when scientific misinformation floods the internet, people are exposed to all kinds of 'science' through random social media forwards without tools to discern what's credible,' states Debarati.
'Events like this provide necessary direct access: they hear from scientists, ask questions, clarify doubts, and witness how science truly operates,' she adds.
Being able to enjoy science without the pressure of memorising it for tests is fun in itself. Add a bar setting with food and drinks, plus enthusiastic people, that's a recipe for a mind-tickling experience
Aditya Tambi, a software engineer in Bengaluru
'Who'd come to listen to science talks on a night out? many, it turns out'
'Introducing this new concept in India was a huge challenge. Finding venues was tough, as pubs were skeptical, asking, 'Who would come to listen to science talks on a weeknight?' But after the first event, they saw a great turnout and immaculate energy.
People were ordering drinks, having fun, and were also immersed in talks about neuroscience or quantum physics,' Debarati shares.
'The idea was to communicate science in everyday language'
'The core idea is to make research more approachable. Speakers were trained to communicate without jargon, to explain things using analogies, stories, and everyday language. It wasn't about dumbing it down, it was about meeting people where they are,' says Debarati.
This approach resonated. 'Usually, science talks are full of technical terms that fly over my head. Here, it felt like the speaker was telling a story.
I could follow along without feeling lost,' shared Anjali, a graphic designer in Bengaluru.
When people start seeing science not as a 'difficult subject' but as something that's all around us, it becomes approachable
Jalak Mehta, city coordinator, Bengaluru for the event
'There are a variety of careers in science, beyond medicine and engineering'
'Science spans across diverse domains, and highlighting research in a wide range of topics also provides information to the next generation to make informed decisions about future career paths, beyond IT and medicine. This is crucial as currently many science disciplines are neglected as career options in universities due to their lower popularity,' says Debarati.
Check out our list of the
latest Hindi
,
English
,
Tamil
,
Telugu
,
Malayalam
, and
Kannada movies
. Don't miss our picks for the
best Hindi movies
,
best Tamil movies,
and
best Telugu films
.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
6 days ago
- Time of India
In Bengaluru, pubs serve up science to the masses
What if Bengaluru's pubs, usually buzzing with nightlife, transformed into laboratories where scientists discussed their research? The city recently hosted Pint of Science, a global festival widely known for bringing science into pubs, where large groups of people gathered to talk, learn, and discuss various scientific topics. 'When I was in France, I was invited to an unusual party – science talks in a pub, but not to other scientists, just to regular people. I was mesmerised, and when I moved back to India, the idea struck me to bring the global festival to our country,' says Debarati Chatterjee, director of the festival in India. 'To burst misinformations, this event felt urgent' 'In today's time, when scientific misinformation floods the internet, people are exposed to all kinds of 'science' through random social media forwards without tools to discern what's credible,' states Debarati. 'Events like this provide necessary direct access: they hear from scientists, ask questions, clarify doubts, and witness how science truly operates,' she adds. Being able to enjoy science without the pressure of memorising it for tests is fun in itself. Add a bar setting with food and drinks, plus enthusiastic people, that's a recipe for a mind-tickling experience Aditya Tambi, a software engineer in Bengaluru 'Who'd come to listen to science talks on a night out? many, it turns out' 'Introducing this new concept in India was a huge challenge. Finding venues was tough, as pubs were skeptical, asking, 'Who would come to listen to science talks on a weeknight?' But after the first event, they saw a great turnout and immaculate energy. People were ordering drinks, having fun, and were also immersed in talks about neuroscience or quantum physics,' Debarati shares. 'The idea was to communicate science in everyday language' 'The core idea is to make research more approachable. Speakers were trained to communicate without jargon, to explain things using analogies, stories, and everyday language. It wasn't about dumbing it down, it was about meeting people where they are,' says Debarati. This approach resonated. 'Usually, science talks are full of technical terms that fly over my head. Here, it felt like the speaker was telling a story. I could follow along without feeling lost,' shared Anjali, a graphic designer in Bengaluru. When people start seeing science not as a 'difficult subject' but as something that's all around us, it becomes approachable Jalak Mehta, city coordinator, Bengaluru for the event 'There are a variety of careers in science, beyond medicine and engineering' 'Science spans across diverse domains, and highlighting research in a wide range of topics also provides information to the next generation to make informed decisions about future career paths, beyond IT and medicine. This is crucial as currently many science disciplines are neglected as career options in universities due to their lower popularity,' says Debarati. Check out our list of the latest Hindi , English , Tamil , Telugu , Malayalam , and Kannada movies . Don't miss our picks for the best Hindi movies , best Tamil movies, and best Telugu films .
India Today
22-05-2025
- India Today
Pint of Science Festival makes lively India debut across three cities
The world-renowned Pint of Science festival made its much-anticipated India debut from May 19 to 21, 2025, captivating audiences in New Delhi, Bengaluru, and from diverse fields of science traded their lab coats for microphones, sharing the latest breakthroughs in health, technology, and the cosmos with the public in the relaxed settings of local cafes and in the UK in 2013, Pint of Science has grown into a global movement, now spanning over 500 cities in 27 countries. Its mission: to break down barriers between researchers and society by making science accessible, engaging, and—above all— The Indian edition featured two venues each across three cities, and all events sold out in festival's opening night in Delhi spotlighted advances in cancer care and the mysteries of metastasis, while Bengaluru and Pune hosted talks on ecology, immunology, and the power of two delved into artificial intelligence, urban development, and the science of complexity, with speakers from IIT Delhi, JNU, and IIIT-Delhi demystifying topics like neuromorphic computing and computational wonders and sustainability took center stage on the final day, with presentations on dark matter, pulsars, and galactic on the positive role of radiation in medicine and agriculture, as well as strategies to combat invasive plant species, highlighted science's impact on society and the encouraged speakers to use visuals, memes, games, and storytelling, turning complex research into lively discussions and interactive Q&A was truly wonderful to see people of all age groups come together—not just to enjoy the food and drinks, but to engage with science, ask questions, and have fun with ideas that shape our world,' said Vishaka Ranjan, Delhi Coordinator for Pint of Science its resounding success, Pint of Science India plans to expand to more cities in 2026, allowing more researchers to step into the public sphere and making science a part of everyday conversation
Indian Express
20-05-2025
- Indian Express
First time in India, science breaks down walls between researchers, ordinary people
As with every good talk, this one began with an anecdote that was also a joke. It involved a scientist, a frog trained to jump on command, a cruel experiment that is repeated on many other frogs and a final, eye-opening conclusion — that frogs without legs are deaf. Shraddha Bhurkunde from IISER Pune was quick to clarify to a packed house at the Orange Art and Book Cafe in Aundh that this was a fictional narrative. What came next, however, were true stories, as far as science knows, about real-life events that led to the end of dinosaurs. Dinosaur doomsday unfolded through games, storytelling, banter, humour and scientific sleuthing. Bhurkunde's session inaugurated a one-of-a-kind event, Pint of Science festival, on a thundering, rainy Monday in Pune. Pint of Science is a concept that breaks down the wall between the people of science, such as researchers, and the rest of the population. The event is the concept of Dr Michael Motskin and Dr Praveen Paul, research scientists at the Imperial College London. In 2012, they invited people affected by Parkinson's and Alzheimer's, among others, into their labs to tell them about their research. A year later, the first Pint of Science festival opened in a pub, creating an informal space for some of the biggest names in science to 'explain their ground-breaking work to lovers of science and beer'. In the past 10 years, it has reached 27 countries. Now, for the first time, it is in India, with Pune, Delhi and Bengaluru being the selected cities. In Pune, the second venue is Doolally Taproom in KOPA Mall. The force behind bringing Pint of Science to India is Debarati Chatterjee, a theoretical astrophysicist at IUCCA who is an expert on analytical and numerical description of compact stars (neutron stars and white dwarfs). 'We have a wide spectrum, covering everything from astrophysics to neuroscience to AI to astrobiology and chemistry. I was really happy to get in touch with very well-known speakers in so many disciplines and came to know so much breakthrough work that is happening. I was really happy that there are so many women scientists who have come forward to support this outreach which will inspire a lot of young people,' says Chatterjee. Hamsa Padmanabhan from the University of Geneva took the audience, which included several Class VI students, through 'Lessons from the Earth's deadliest extinctions'. 'During its 4.5 billion-year-old history, our planet has been witness to at least five major extinctions. Of these, the most destructive one was called the Permian Triassic Mass Extinction, which took place around 252 million years ago and destroyed about 96 per cent of all marine and 70 per cent of all terrestrial species. But how did such a large-scale wipeout take place?' she said. As she spoke about how 'a sharp rise in carbon dioxide levels in the millennia leading up to the extinction, possibly triggered a global warming runaway and made conditions hostile for life', it was only a matter of time before it became evident that humans had learned nothing from the past. Sneha Rode went from Earth to Mars and back and forth and carried the audience along with captivating data, images and quizzes. Earth vs. Mars: The landform showdown changed ideas and challenged preconceptions about the similarities and differences between the blue and red planets. There were valleys and craters and a deep scar on the face of Mars and the fascinating Olympus Mont, the largest volcano in the solar system, which makes Earth's Everest look like a baby. Though it was late and raining, people still gathered around Rode as the venue buzzed with geology.
