An interesting cocktail mixology event was held in Chandigarh by a community of like-minded individuals who got together to have some fun over the weekend. The community ‘Beyond 9 to 5’ was kickstarted by city dwellers and entrepreneurs, Shivankit Arora and Rajat Garg. Excited to know more? Here is our Q n A session with co-founder of ‘Beyond 9 to 5’ Shivankit Arora:
Tell us about Beyond 9 to 5. How did this community come into being?
My co-founder, Rajat, and I often discussed about ‘things to do in Chandigarh’ other than food and drinks.We had similar passion for learning new art forms, exploring travel, and engaging in unconventional activities.
We decided to pen down the list of ideas that people would enjoy doing and eventually created a WhatsApp group between the two of us. It’s good to see that we have 30 members now after our first event.
What is your vision for ‘Beyond 9 to 5’ ?
We are trying to create a community of like-minded people who are open to finer things and new experiences in Chandigarh Tricity. The aim is to get passionate people on board and enrich the community with different skills and experiences.
To put things in perspective, here are some events we have thought of
🍷Mixology/Cocktail workshops
🥢Trying new cuisines
💃Intro classes to new dance forms
⭐ Adventure Trip/Activites
🏇 Horse riding
How has the response been so far? What are people looking forward to as a part of ‘Beyond 9 to 5’?
The response was great. After our first event, we have over 30 members now who come from a variety of interesting backgrounds.
People are looking to explore more art forms and ‘skills’ based activities moving forward.
How did the event go? When is the next one scheduled for and what are you planning to do?
We had about 15 members come through for the first cocktail mixology event.
People had a great time, made some interesting cocktails, and enjoyed LIVE music.
We also had an ice-breaker session where everyone introduced themselves and suggested ideas for the next event. It helped members know each other better and collaborate on things where they had common interests.
Our community is quite gender-balanced with equal participation from both genders. The next one is not decided yet but probably be in January/February 2023. We’ve received requests for dance workshops so we might just do that
Can you tell us about yourself and your business partner?
Rajat and I are both engineers who became entrepreneurs in different industries later.
We both love Chandigarh and met each other at a gym. After hanging out for a few months, we realized we had similar interests and decided to go ahead with Beyond 9 to 5.
How does one join ‘Beyond 9 to 5’?
It would be best if someone can reach out to me or Rajat through Instagram and give a basic introduction of themselves along with their interests.
IG : shivankit.arora
IG : rajat1194
