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Msembers at the anniversary bash of Going Solo

What is it like to be single and lonely in a big, bad city? For a number of people in Mumbai, that question would be irrelevant. They are all members of Going Solo, a year-old club in one of the world?s busiest cultural hubs. An institution that ensures no one of its fraternity needs ever to feel solitary again ? unless he or she wants to.

Ranjit Rao is tense as he prepares for his first shot at the bowling alley. He digs his figures into the slots in the large crimson ball and throws it with all his strength. The ball knocks off a few of the skittles and Rao jumps in excitement and turns around to his friends with a big smile.

The T-shirt-and-jeans-clad, gum-chewing ?friends? respond to him with backslaps and high fives. The 37-year-old banker?s friends are at least 10 years younger than him, and he has met them for the first time just a few minutes ago. That?s the beauty of Going Solo.

Rao is a recent member of Going Solo, a singles club in Mumbai, and this is his first interaction with other members. Along with Rao, there are at least 120 people at this bowling alley in Andheri?s Lokhandwala Complex on this Sunday afternoon. They are here to celebrate the first anniversary of this club initiated by Go 92.5 FM, one of the four radio stations in Mumbai.

Around Rao are three other teams indulging in the excitement of bowling. Just across, others have already hit the dance floor, and are moving to Hindi remix numbers. Next to the dance floor, a group is playing table soccer. Malini Agarwal sips a drink and chats with her radio jockey colleagues.

Tall Mehernosh, a Going Solo member, who is the main organiser of the anniversary bash, is playing the perfect host by making everyone comfortable. ?The name Going Solo is actually a misnomer. This is not just a community of single men and women. It is a community of people who want to socialise, and make new friends,? says Agarwal, the radio jockey of Go 92.5 FM who initiated Going Solo as an off-shoot of her call-in radio programme.

?I am from Delhi, and work keeps me busy through the week. On weekends, I would like to go out and meet new people and chill out. I bounced the idea with some of the callers on my show and that is how it started. A year on, Going Solo has over 2,000 members,? says Agarwal, a former MTV jockey who now works as an on-air presenter and producer with Go 92.5 FM.

Going Solo started with nine members in February, 2004 when the group led by Agarwal went out to for a game of bowling at Bowling Company South Mumbai. They soon started meeting up for coffee on Sundays, or dinners on Saturdays. ?I learnt about a salsa class nearby, and so some of us learnt the dance,? she says.

Going Solo doesn?t have a formal membership. Anyone wishing to join the community can log on to the radio station website, and post a profile. They can click on any profile and post a message and interact with any member.

A community like Going Solo works wonders especially for outstation professionals who are work in Mumbai. Someone like 24-year-old Harshad Lahoti. Lahoti came to Mumbai from Pune to work with a leading engineering firm, and tuned in to the radio station. He joined the club in March last year, and is now one of the core group members who initiate new activities in the club.

?At GS, I have met people from diverse fields. So, now we celebrate each other?s birthdays, exchange music, go out for movies. It?s fun,? says Lahoti.

Going Solo has a decent percentage of young women. ?I would say 70 per cent of our members are men, while 30 per cent are women. Girls are obviously part of the group because they feel comfortable with the crowd. We ensure that they are looked after, and get dropped home whenever we have a late-night outing,? says Agarwal, who cut the anniversary cake.

Mehernosh, one of the youngest members (21), is also the most active of the lot. ?It?s very chilled out and casual. We don?t have any written rules. No matter who you are, you can meet people freely and have a good time. We are not a matrimonial club, but if you really meet someone like-minded, you sure can go ahead and have a relationship. Music is really our binding glue,? says the tall Parsi with signature long locks of hair. ?We also get a chance to be on air once a while. You know your two minutes of fame,? he winks.

Interested people can log on to: www.go925fm.com