Mumbai Lets It All Out: City Tops India's Metro Cry Club Trend As Residents Pay For Sobbing Sessions

Mumbai: Mumbaikars are now paying to cry their hearts out by participating in cry clubs being organised across the city every weekend. Moreover, Mumbaikars have turned out to be the most enthusiastic to join such cry clubs in comparison to other Tier-1 cities across the country.

In the heart of India's bustling metro cities, a new kind of wellness movement is emerging which offers a rare urban luxury of allowing people to be vulnerable and break down into tears. These ‘cry clubs’ have become a safe, judgement-free space for emotional detox where people shed their emotional burden, one tear at a time.

Safe Spaces Inspired by Japan’s ‘RuiKatsu’ Movement

These cry clubs have taken inspiration from ‘ruikatsu’, Japan’s tear-seeking gatherings, which provide a judgement-free environment for emotional release. Small World, a Bengaluru-based event curating organisation has been organising these cry clubs across India. Over the past two months, these cry clubs have been quietly popping up in India's metro cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Pune, Kolkata and Chennai.

Mumbaikars participate in cry club sessions for emotional release at venues across the city

Breaking Stigma Around Mental Health Expression

The idea is simple but radical in a country where mental health has long carried stigma and emotional expression, especially crying which is often seen as a sign of weakness. While the major portion of the attendees include millennials and Gen Z adults, it has also been seeing participation across age groups as well as professions.

People have been paying around Rs 499 for every hourly crying session, where the host sets the tone of the event and allows a chance to everyone, turn by turn, to rant about the issues in their lives.

The rise of these cry clubs reflect deeper social shifts in the post-Covid-19 world where mental health has become a mainstream conversation. Simultaneously, the loneliness of urban living, amplified by digital dependence and nuclear family structures, has also created a craving for human connection.

Talking to The Free Press Journal, Saurav Arya, the founder of Small World, said, “Our post-Covid community events made us realise that we need to create a space which allows people to open their hearts out and be vulnerable to share things without any judgements. These cry clubs are a safe space for people to come and rant anonymously because they need it. There are a lot of sufferings that people are unable to share with friends or family and can comfortably share with strangers.”

Mumbaikars Lead the Trend Among Indian Metro Cities

Notably, the data shows that Mumbaikars have been the most enthusiastic to pay for a good crying session. According to Small World, the cry clubs have received the best response in Mumbai among all the other metro cities. Responding to the response, the organisers have been hosting cry club sessions at four different venues across the city in Lower Parel, Khar, Saki Naka and Goregaon.

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“Mumbai is the biggest metropolitan city in India where we have people from across the country and they are happy to try new things. Most of them live away from their families, which I think is the reason that they are comfortable being around strangers. On the other hand, a city like Chennai did not see as much adoption as I believe most of the people there live with their families and have a strong cultural connect,” added Arya.