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.‘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.‘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.