PoV (Lecture 25): Invisible Hands, Visible Lives

Welcome to Pint of View – Bangalore's first-ever community where classroom-styled lectures meet craft cocktails in pubs and bars.

What if we paused to notice the people who quietly make our everyday lives possible?

This talk begins with familiar scenes: the chai vendor outside your office, the auto driver who gets you to work, the street food seller, the delivery partner at your doorstep. They are rarely on company payrolls, yet urban, formal life would stall without them.

Drawing from development research and everyday examples, this lecture unpacks the informal economy - the vast world of unregistered, unprotected labour that employs nearly 90% of India’s workforce. Far from being marginal, the informal economy acts as the invisible infrastructure of the formal one: feeding workers, absorbing economic shocks, subsidising costs, and sustaining billion-dollar industries.

The talk explores how formal and informal economies are deeply intertwined, how gender shapes informal labour, and why attempts to erase informality through policy often miss the point.

The talk invites listeners to rethink cities, work, and value, and to ask what an economy would look like if we truly acknowledged those who keep it running.

What to Expect:

• A 60-minute lecture probing the informal economy - the vast world of unregistered, unprotected labour
• 20-30 minutes of interactive Q&A to dive deeper into the topic
• One Geist beer on tap + a complimentary appetiser or a mocktail included with your ticket
• A lively mixer where you can connect with curious minds and share your own perspectives

Event Details:

📅 Wednesday, 24 December | 7 pm to 9 pm

📍 Fandom at Gilly's Redefined, Koramangala

About the Lecturer

Dr. Archana Rangaswamaiah is an economic anthropologist. She is a research fellow at Azim Premji University, anchors a livelihood initiative that examines informal labour in both rural and urban settings, critically engaging with questions of dignity, entitlements, and market relations in the contemporary context.

She completed her PhD from the University of Hyderabad. Her doctoral work explored the complexities of rural change in a capitalist economy, with a focus on agrarian distress, labour mobility, and social inequality.

About Pint of View

Inspired by the successful Lectures on Tap community in the US, Pint of View brings this format to India for the first time. It’s where big ideas meet bar tables, and where you enjoy a drink in hand, walking out with a new way of seeing the world.

Book now & develop your own pint of view! 🍻