This youth-led initiative is redefining how Trivandrum engages with culture

A trip to Bengaluru in 2025 changed how we looked at a city’s cultural life. One evening, while browsing platforms like BookMyShow and District, we saw how many events were happening across music, art and nightlife. It felt like the city always had something to offer and that culture stayed with us. When we returned to Trivandrum and met at college, we realised how limited our options were here — mostly dinners, cafés, beach walks, movies or late-night chai. While those are special in their own way, there wasn’t a consistent event culture or a platform for emerging artists. That gap made us think about building something ourselves. That’s how the idea of LiveByONC came about.

We noticed that people in Trivandrum are very social and are looking for more intimate, community-driven experiences rather than just large-scale concerts or festivals. The main gap is consistency. Many communities start with good intent but stop after a few events. This makes it hard for people to trust or invest their time. With LiveByONC, our goal is to build something consistent and long-term. We want to create meaningful experiences while maintaining regularity. The response so far has been encouraging and shows there is a real need for such platforms.

Trivandrum is home for all of us, so it feels personal. As the city grows in tourism and economy, we believe its arts and culture should grow alongside it. We want to contribute to that growth in a meaningful way. Our aim is to promote the city’s cultural identity while also introducing new experiences. It’s about building a sustainable cultural space here.

We focus on small, intimate events because they allow for more meaningful and high-quality experiences. People can connect better in a safe and comfortable environment. We’ve seen that people in Trivandrum enjoy these kinds of spaces. Many attendees, even first-timers, have told us they prefer smaller gatherings where conversations happen naturally. Our community meet-up was a turning point. People who had never met before were comfortable and engaged, which showed us the value of this format. That said, we also plan to explore larger events in the future, while keeping the same sense of community.

Creating a safe and comfortable environment is a core priority for us. We want women to feel confident attending our events, whether with friends or alone. We carefully select venues based on safety, accessibility and comfort. This includes checking washrooms, crowd flow and overall space design. These are non-negotiable factors. Our team also includes women members on ground, so attendees always have someone approachable. We also design the event environment to feel welcoming and comfortable.

The response was much bigger than we expected. Even after it sold out, people kept reaching out for tickets and some even walked in asking if they could join. What surprised us most was the audience — nearly 95 percent were adult women. Many said they had seen crochet content online and were looking for an offline experience. The energy was very positive and we’re now planning a second edition.

It’s usually a mixed audience. We’ve had people from 18 to 45 and above, depending on the event. There’s always some unpredictability. For example, we expected a younger crowd for the crochet workshop, but it turned out to be mostly adults. What matters is that people feel comfortable and enjoy the space. In general, we attract people who prefer meaningful, community-driven experiences over large parties.

Being young helps us stay open and curious. We’re always meeting new people and trying new things and that reflects in our work. We’re genuinely interested in arts and culture and many of our ideas come from what we personally want to see in Trivandrum.

One major challenge is finding the right venues. There are limited spaces in Trivandrum that meet our standards for quality, accessibility and safety. Another challenge is the existing weekend culture. Many people still prefer dining plans and there isn’t yet a strong habit of exploring cultural events. We’re slowly trying to change that by showing people new ways to spend their time — through art, music and community gatherings.

We’re building multiple creative verticals under OruNewCulture. We’re also working on a new IP under ONC that will focus on larger, mainstream events while continuing our current format. We’re exploring curated cultural experiences for destination weddings as well. Beyond events, we want to contribute to the city through social initiatives like charity work and clean-up drives.