Doon cafes serve as an ideal platform for budding artists

City cafes have always been a great launch pad for music bands who get an opportunity to showcase their talent. And now, it’s not just for the bands, cafes are also serving as the much-needed platforms for other artists too - be it tattoo artists, storytellers, beatboxers, poets or designers. This is allowing young artists to flaunt their talent and earn some extra bucks too.
Abha Masey, a certified storyteller, who has been practicing storytelling for the past three years across the country, has recently come back to Doon to perform at cafes in the city. She says, "Recently, I have started performing at various cafes in Doon. I cover different genres of storytelling to cater to different age groups. At cafes, we have amazing audiences who understand storytelling as an art form."
Abha adds, "Cafes are proving to be a great platform for artists like us as through them we are able to connect with different kinds of people. Our talent is getting recognized and appreciated by the people who come to these cafes. This is a great thing for us."
STORYTELLING- Having unique themes, cafes serves as ideal setup for storytellers
The Booknerds, a book club that organises sessions with authors from across the country in Doon, has organised book reading sessions in almost 30 cafes in the city so far. "Since the inception of our club, we have visited over 30 different cafes for our literary sessions and each place had something unique to offer in terms of experience. Cafes these days are coming up with innovative themes that are apt settings for our book reading sessions, " says Neha Raj, co-founder of the book group, adding that they select the cafe depending on the theme of the meet.
Ankit Chamoli, who has been a beatboxer for the past seven years, feels that he has finally started getting recognition in the city after performing at different cafes in Doon. He says, "Being a beatboxer, I create sounds of drums, trumpets and other instruments by using my vocal chords. I have been doing it professionally for the past seven years by collaborating with different singers and rappers but the recognition that I am now getting by performing in city cafes is incredible. Cafes are providing a platform for artists by organising musical nights, which have helped me get recognition and build contacts."
START-UPS, Cafes are best platforms for start-ups, looking to establish their business (BCCL/Taresh Dutta)
Simona, a resident of Haridwar Road, who often exhibits her products at cafes in the city, says, "We are a start-up and make eco-friendly clothes but do not have a store right now. So we often display our products at various cafes in the city. It helps us connect with a lot of people, especially the young crowd."

Jeet, 22, a tattoo artist from the city who studies in Delhi, often uses one of the city cafes as his tattoo studio. He says, "Currently, I am studying in Delhi and therefore it is not feasible for me to start a tattoo studio in Doon. But the market here is really expanding and there is a huge demand for tattoo artists. So whenever I am in Doon, I grab the opportunity to make money using my skills. City cafes are the best platform that budding artists like me can have to earn while honing their skills."

Not just a platform for artists, our visitors also love their work: Cafe owners
Many café owners like Apoorva Anand, who runs cafe Dehra Kettle, are artists themselves and coming forward to promote city artists because they share the same love for art. He says, "We often let different individual artists and groups display their products at the cafe because as an artist myself, I feel I have the responsibility to help and promote other artists from the city. We also see a lot of NGOs come up and display their products at the cafe. It not only helps artists to reach out to the people but also serves as a great medium for us to attract more customers."

Karan, owner of cafe Chicago Br, says, "From stand-up comedians, tattoo artists to painters, we have different kinds of artists coming to our cafe every weekend. Not only do these artists get a platform to showcase their skills, our visitors also enjoy their work."