Gone are the days when events and parties were restricted to the weekends. Come Friday and everyone could be seen busy planning what to sport and where to head out to vent their week’s frustration. But now, an increasing number of pubs and restaurants in the City have events being held on Thursdays too. Bengalureans who are a part of these or attend these frequently say that this fad is here to stay.

Areas like Koramangala, Indiranagar and MG Road boasts of places which provide respite to people, before the weekend is here. Sidra Rizvi, a project manager, says that Thursdays are when she unwinds with friends and meets her former collegemates at the ‘Ladies Night & Karaoke Night with KJ Martin D’Souza’ at Happy Brew, Koramangala. “It’s just like a get-together with friends and like-minded people. It is the perfect time to let the child in you out. Since, we all have different work timings, Thursday is often the day we meet up.” Sidra says that the ambience adds to the experience too. “It is a lot of fun to break off from the conventional party night patterns and just relax.”

KJ Martin who hosts the Thursday events, says that he has always seen a lively crowd then, though its a weekday. “This is a recent trend. There has been an increasing number of events across the City on Thursdays. People have started stepping out apart from the primary party nights. This has a lot to do with work stress and the continuous deadlines that one faces at their workplace. Being out and singing with friends is the perfect stress-buster. Thankfully, Bengaluru has a lot of places that can cater to this now.” KJ Martin who also performs at other venues on other days, says that people are now increasingly responsible and have learnt to balance their schedules with night-outs.

Some like DJ Kelly Gabrielle who hosts ‘Karaoke Night with Kelly’ at Hoppipola, Indiranagar, says that the crowd consists of people who are just looking for some quality fun-time and don’t want to wait till the weekend. “On Fridays most people are there to just get drunk and continue drinking till Saturday. But Thursdays are more about people who want to come in, sing a few songs and just unwind. It’s a very chilled out crowd.” She believes that since Bengaluru has one of the best music scene in the country, such a concept has helped many artistes too. “People have also now realised that it’s alright to unwind even during the weekend. This has helped popularise many artistes and provided a platform.”

Most events in the City include EDM and hip-hop, and that is where DJ Vipul Khurana’s ‘I Love Bollywood’ event at Loveshack, Domlur, stands apart. “This event is a night of Bollywood tunes and Punjabi music. The best part about Bengaluru on weekdays is that events end much earlier. This is why we came up with a safe option for people to unwind yet be relaxed enough to work on Friday.” Vipul says that since Bollywood music is still to pick up with the Bengaluru crowd, this is how the format came into being. He says, “It’s an excuse to meet over music and relax.”

Cynthia Gonsalves who works as a senior buyer for an e-commerce site, frequents the events at Easy Tiger, Church Street and says the ‘Dress Down Drink Up Thursday’ event is one of her favourites. “Since I work with the fashion industry, it is a compulsion to be dressed well. I feel my age at the venue and the event which will have an artiste or band perform every week, is also the perfect spot to let loose.” She says that not having to dress up for the occasion is the best part. “There have been times when I’ve just stepped out, wearing a tee and shorts. This is exactly what one needs, in the middle of the week — to just be yourself!”