On a chilly Saturday morning at Rabindra Sarobar, the city is just waking up. Office bags are swapped for running shoes, sleepy faces for shy smiles, and a loose circle of twenty-somethings begins to jog around the lake. By the time they are done, lungs are burning, legs are sore and plans for breakfast and relay races are already being made.
This is the Weekend Activity Club, better known to its 300-plus members as WAC, a Kolkata community built by five friends who were tired of weekends that revolved around screens.
“It started with a very simple observation,” says founder Raunak Tater, 23, an MBA aspirant who also juggles theatre and production work. “People in the city wanted to be active, explore new things, meet new friends. They just did not have a natural way to do it. WAC became a way to break that barrier.”
Raunak founded the club with Munazir Hossain, 23, who works in business and process development at Dewar’s Garage, and co-founder Khushi Khanna, 23, an assistant fashion designer at minimal menswear label Minimal Club. Their core team is completed by the other two co-founders — Ibrahim Gani and Abhay (Abby) Das — both in their early 20s.
How a breakfast table became a community
Core committee members (L-R) Abhay Das, Munazir Hossain, Khushi Khanna, Raunak Tater and Ibrahim Gani
The idea did not arrive at a meeting. It arrived over idlis.
“We were at afters, just a big breakfast table of 30 or 35 people after a run,” recalls Khushi. “Everyone kept saying, we like your energy, we like the time we spend together, you guys should organise something.”
For Munazir, the push had come even earlier. After one run with another club, nearly 50 people followed him to a café. On the way, they confessed they were not really enjoying the group they were part of.
“They told me, you are not even putting in effort and still people are following you,” he laughs. “They said, you should start something of your own. At first I did not want to, because some of the founders of that club were my friends. But more and more people kept saying the same thing.”
That morning at breakfast, Raunak stopped thinking and acted. “Out of nowhere he just created an Instagram account,” says Khushi. “We used ChatGPT to rough out a logo, put the QR code on the coffee table and told people, if you really want this, follow us. By the end of breakfast we had around 150 followers.”
Within two days, WAC had its first event. Within three months, there were about 500 Instagram followers, 300 to 350 people on the WhatsApp community and a steady headcount of 60 to 70 at almost every event.
Runs, relays, paintball and potlucks
The Weekend Activity Club at Sportsplex for a game of paintball
Most weekends still start with the same ritual.
“On Saturdays we meet at 6.30am at Rabindra Sarobar,” says Raunak, “We run five to six kilometres in about half an hour. Then we gather at what we call the activity point. We do relay races, push ups, different games, then go for breakfast together.”
The rest of the calendar, too, is anything but repetitive. There have been pickleball mornings, football games, paintball sessions, jamming evenings in cafés, a Diwali party, a Halloween party, an art-and-craft day, a picnic at the Maidan and a heritage walk through Kumartuli during Durga Puja to watch the idols being created.
“We do not want to copy whatever is already happening, like only runs or only supper clubs,” says Khushi. “At the same time, we cannot go totally out of the box every time because the group is big. We pick things that feel neutral and comfortable for most people, then mix in new ideas like movie nights, karaoke, Christmas walks on Park Street...”
Money is handled with the same care. Runs and most jamming sessions are free. For paid events, the founders work backwards from what their college-going members can afford.
“For paintball we negotiated with the venue,” says Khushi. “We told them, we are bringing so many people, meet us halfway. They cut the price by almost 50 per cent and we reduced the number of shots.”
The Halloween party became their test case in budgeting. “We brought in food, soft drinks, everything,” says Raunak. “We charged Rs 500 for people who only wanted food and soft drinks. For those who wanted alcohol as well, it was Rs 1,000 in total. It was basically break even. We are not trying to make a profit, just cover costs.”
Platonic at heart, open to love
Right before Durga Puja, the community went on a walk around Kumartuli looking at artisans bringing idols to life
Ask them if WAC is also a sneaky way to find dates, and the founders laugh.
“Officially, our focus is platonic,” says Raunak. “We want friendships and a sense of community. But we also know of three or four couples who started dating after meeting at WAC. You cannot stop people from developing feelings.”
For Khushi, who has been dating Munazir for four years, watching new relationships unfold has been unexpectedly sweet. “If people find love here, we are more than happy,” she smiles. “We joke that some of their weddings will also be WAC events.”
There is a line though. “We do not want situationship drama spilling into the group,” she says. “If something is budding, it is nice. If it becomes messy, we make it clear that the group comes first.”
Safety is non-negotiable. There is no formal vetting, but there is close observation.
“On a call or text anyone can seem nice,” says Munazir. “What matters is how they behave at events. If someone makes another person uncomfortable, I speak to them privately. I tell them clearly, this is how your behaviour is making the other person feel. If they do not change, I ask them to skip events. The ones who come back usually apologise and behave differently. The idea is that everybody feels safe.”
A stress buster for working 20-somethings
The Weekend Activity Club’s Diwali party
For Adrika Shaw, 23, an account executive at Genesis Advertising, WAC has become the reset button her week needs.
“I was introduced by my friends Khushi and Munazir,” she says. “My first event was a walk through Kumartuli followed by a jamming session. Exploring art, culture and then music together felt refreshing and deeply connecting.”
What keeps her coming back is the atmosphere. “The community has everything you could ask for — good people, good vibes and genuinely fun sessions,” she says. “In this age of social media, it feels rare that people take out time to meet in real life and do meaningful, joyful activities.”
Her favourite event so far has been Art Day. “I ended up drawing after ages,” she smiles. “It made me realise this community brings out a creative side I had almost forgotten.”
A second home for a student away from home
The pandal-hopping group of WAC saw about 60 members turn up and cover a majority of south Kolkata’s pandals on foot
When Tenzing Loden, 23, a third-year medical student from Darjeeling, first arrived in Kolkata, her world was mostly college and hostel. That changed after she stumbled upon a run and heard about the WAC.
Her first proper event was the Kumartuli heritage walk. “I had heard of Kumartuli, but had never been there,” she says. “Walking through those lanes with people my age, talking to them, seeing the idols being made, it was all very new. I did not know Kolkata had these kinds of people.”
Since then she has attended a Diwali party, the Halloween night and her first-ever paintball game. “I never had such a big group to play these games with,” she says. “Now I tell my friends that my weekends are sorted. I do not have to plan anything. WAC plans it for us, we just show up and have fun.”
She has even pulled in her own circle. “I got a school friend to join. She really enjoyed it and now she is a regular too. We go to almost every event together.”
An introvert finds her people
The jamming sessions have become a hot favourite among the community
Law student Aishi Das, 20, describes herself as introverted, but you would not guess that from how regularly she turns up.
“I joined during Durga Puja through a friend,” she says. “From the very first day the vibe felt different. Everyone was warm and welcoming and genuinely excited to be there.”
Her first outing was pandal hopping and a jamming session. Since then she has tried almost everything, from picnics to art sessions. “My weekends used to feel repetitive,” she admits. “Now I look forward to them. WAC has made me more active, more social and overall happier. It feels like a group of friends rather than a club.”
What success looks like at WAC
The Halloween party saw the community turn up in their scariest best
For all five organisers, success is measured less in numbers and more in how people feel when they walk away from an event.
“I want to create a safe space where anybody, even a newcomer, feels welcome,” says Raunak. “If people have friends in the city and something fun and productive to do on weekends instead of just sleeping at home, that is success for us.”
Munazir agrees. “It does not matter if 10 people come or 100,” he says. “If we can give them a quality experience, they will do the talking for us. The growth will happen on its own.”
Khushi keeps her pitch simple for anyone who has never heard of WAC, but wants to socialise more. “Most of our events are free,” she says. “You just have to show up. Once you come, you will not want to leave.”