An exciting arena for the youth

The City needs a space for the youth to hang
out, learn, understand and question without paying an exorbitant membership fee. To launch such a cafe and youth centre called Namma Adda, a street festival was held at Chamrajpet recently.

With an array of stalls with snacks, Channapatna wooden toys, cloth bags, kurtas, the place was decked up like a little mela. The programmes at the launch included street plays, dance and music performances, and saw an enthusiastic crowd as it was held on the streets.

About the launch of Namma Adda, Nithya Devaraj, organiser of the youth space, said that Namma Adda will be a youth community cafe and gallery space that will strive to create a common youth culture in the City. “This space will be open exclusively for the youth in the City. It will not only serve tea, coffee and coconut water but also engage the youth in themes like building resilience, communication, gender and skills training,” she said.

Nithya plans to conduct film screenings, informal interactions, workshops
and training programmes here.

Anthony Devaraj, who owns the space, is proud of his daughter Nithya, who expressed the desire to use the space for youth-related activities. “I worked as a deputy registrar for the Bangalore University and used to interact with the younger generation a lot.

There is a need to break barriers and get youngsters from different strata of society to interact with each other,” he said.

Others like George Deepak said that the City lacks a space for youngsters to voice themselves freely.

“I’ve never been to a place where I can express myself freely and where our talents will be used to help others around. This is a noble
concept,” he says.

Roshni, a young professional, was excited to be a part of the painting exercise that was held at the venue.

  “Painting on the wall and being a part of the beginning of a project like this is a
blessing. The City definitely needs a place apart from where one has to order
coffee or drinks for the youth to chill out. I feel very inspired by the concept,” voiced Roshni.

Supritha Sanjay, a freelancer film-maker who drew the graffiti on the wall, said that it was about a girl who is working for some change and the butterflies flying about are the change.

 “I think this artwork works best for a place where people from different walks of life can come together,” she said.

Narayana, one of the performers, said that it was a great experience to dance at the launch of such a great movement. “I danced to a Bollywood song and a song that had a social message. This space will be good to showcase our talents and I felt proud to be a part of the launch,” he said.