Is your marriage in trouble? Well, we’re not going to convince you to stay together. You’ve probably thought it all through. Got a divorce attorney, yes? Now all you need is the purple room.

If you stop thinking about that Alibaug alimony home and focus for a second, we can explain. Two years ago, artist Shenaz Haveliwala started Sobo Hub, a rent-by-the-day conference room in Fort. Considering the number of cramped law offices in the neighbourhood, most business came from lawyers who were settling out of court, particularly divorce lawyers. It is not uncommon then, for Shenaz to see couples leave her 15-seater conference room in tears, sometimes of joy thanks to recent acquisition of fat alimony cheques. Meet and greet, indeed!

But in the recent past, Sobo Hub’s clientele has changed – freelancers looking to have meetings; NRIs visiting from out of town; art teachers who want to hold day-long workshops; even publications whose conference room have been vandalised. “We once hosted a Times of India workshop at the last minute, because their conference centre had been wrecked by political goons,” Shenaz says, adding that she has no idea how they found about Sobo Hub, situated on the third floor of an unassuming office building.

New Year’s Projections

So abandoning-spouse or not, you can still rent out Sobo Hub at Rs 2,500 for three hours or Rs 3,500 from 11 am to 6 pm. The room is pretty basic, equipped with a conference table and fifteen chairs, a projector on request, plus “plenty of peace and quiet”. There’s also free tea from Phillips Tea Center, masala dosas from Udipi and vada pav from A New Special, down the street.

The next time someone invites you to a purple room at Fort, just remember, it’s not you, it’s them.

Getting there: Sobo Connect, Conference Center, third floor, Bonacasa, opposite Kashmir Emporium, PM Road, Fort, call 9820563342, Rs 2,500 for three hours.