On weekdays, a quaint studio in Andheri transforms into a workspace where Upasana Nattoji Roy and her husband, Saurav, work on individual animation and design assignments as part of their firms. However, on a Friday of every month, the duo transforms the workspace into an intimate, informal meeting studio where diverse professionals are invited to present their process, share insights and passions that drive them. These invite-only interactive talks and workshops, open to 35 guests, are presented by their platform, Half Fry.
"As designers, we realise the significance of collaboration and multi-disciplinary work projects. So, the platform helps facilitate an exchange of ideas," says Upasana. Launched early this year, the previous sessions have included Zameer Basrai of The Busride Design Studio, filmmaker Anirban Dutta Gupta, and chef Gresham Fernandes, who shared his love for music and food.
Guests at a Half Fry session
This Friday, attend a workshop with Neha Bahuguna, a storyteller and poet, who writes in her mother tongue, Hindi. Hailing from Rudraprayag and a resident of Mumbai for six years, Bahuguna is a design graduate from National Institute of Design in Ahmedabad. "I've grown up reading poetry by writers Sumitranandan Pant and Subhadra Kumari Chauhan. When I shifted to Mumbai, I would attend poetry slams and that sparked my desire to write," says the 29-year-old, who uses satire in her form of expression, inspired from her childhood spent in the majestic mountains of Uttarakhand. She also brings folklores and myths in her creations.
Neha Bahuguna
At the workshop, she will read a few of her poems and guide guests through the process that goes into writing poetry. "What I learnt [at NID] was design and visual thinking. I will help guests to apply the same to writing poetry. For instance, how to brainstorm, how to channel your emotions into poetry and creating the structure of a poem."