Dastaan Sarâ is an idyll for people wanting to keep alive the art of storytelling in a digital age

There was a time when stories travelled easily between people. They moved across dining tables, through long chai sessions, across verandas on summer evenings, and inside homes where grandparents narrated tales while children listened with wide, curious eyes. Books passed from hand to hand, poems were remembered, and discussions stretched late into the night. Conversation itself was an art.

Somewhere along the way, that culture began to fade. Screens replaced books, scrolling replaced reflection, and conversations became shorter, often reduced to hurried exchanges. In Pakistan, where storytelling and literature were once deeply woven into everyday life, the habit of reading and gathering for meaningful dialogue has slowly become rare. Literary discussions feel distant. Reading has become solitary, and even solitude now competes with endless digital noise.

‘I’ve opened a café in Lahore, Pakistan’

Dastaan Sarâ was born from the ache of noticing this change.

Opening a café was never just about coffee or food. It was about responding to a personal and collective longing. A longing for spaces where people can sit without being rushed, where conversations can wander freely, where silence is comfortable, and where stories still matter. The idea came from asking a simple question. What if there was a place where people could come not only to eat or work, but to reconnect with culture, art, books, and each other?

‘Storytelling is one of the oldest human traditions’

The name itself carries intention. Dastaan Sarâ means storyteller, the one who narrates, the keeper and sharer of stories. Storytelling is one of the oldest human traditions. It is how communities form, how histories survive, and how emotions are passed on. This café hopes to become a modern space where storytelling continues in many forms. Through books, poetry, conversations, music, art, and personal experiences shared between strangers who slowly become familiar faces.

The journey of building this place was not simple. Opening a café in today’s world comes with practical challenges. Costs, logistics, uncertainties, and constant risks are part of the process. But the real challenge lay elsewhere. It lay in creating something that did not follow trends or mimic existing café culture. It required resisting the pressure to design a space purely for quick visits and social media appeal.

Instead, the aim was to create warmth.

Based around books and stories 

Dastaan Sarâ does not look like mainstream cafés. You will not find loud lighting or hurried seating arrangements meant to turn tables quickly. The space feels closer to someone’s living room than a commercial spot. Bookshelves invite browsing. Corners encourage long stays. The atmosphere gently asks visitors to slow down. The intention is simple. When someone walks in, they should feel like they have entered a familiar home rather than a business.

The inspiration also comes from another shared experience. Many people today live away from home. Students leave their cities, professionals move for work, travellers pass through unfamiliar places. In this constant movement, people often miss simple comforts. The smell of food from the kitchen. Familiar sounds. Conversations without formality. A sense of belonging without explanation.

Dastaan Sarâ hopes to offer a little of that feeling. A space for people who miss home, and for those who are still searching for it. A place where one can sit alone with a book without feeling out of place, or join a discussion and leave with new friends.

More than anything, the café aims to revive cultural engagement. Plans include book readings, storytelling evenings, poetry recitations, discussions on literature, art gatherings, and music sessions. Not as staged performances, but as shared experiences where anyone can participate. Visitors will be encouraged to read excerpts from their favourite books, share personal stories, or simply listen. Music will blend with conversations. Art will find its space on walls and in hearts.

In a society where creative spaces often feel limited, offering such a platform feels necessary. Culture survives when people gather around it. Books live when they are discussed. Ideas grow when people challenge and inspire one another. This café hopes to become one small step toward reviving that spirit.

Students, artists, writers, travellers, professionals, families and dreamers

There is also honesty in acknowledging reality. A book café is not the easiest venture to sustain. Reading culture is not as widespread as it once was, and creating interest takes patience. But every meaningful effort starts small. Even if a few people rediscover the joy of reading here, even if strangers connect over shared stories, even if someone finds comfort after a difficult day, the purpose feels fulfilled.

At its heart, Dastaan Sarâ is about people. It is about creating a welcoming environment regardless of background, profession, or age. Students, artists, writers, travellers, professionals, families, and dreamers all carry stories worth hearing. Here, everyone is welcome to simply be themselves.

DHA Phase 8, ex Park View, Lahore, Pakistan

Perhaps what we truly need today are spaces where conversations are not measured by time, where creativity is encouraged, and where silence is not awkward. Places where people can pause and remember the beauty of human connection. A small café cannot change everything, but it can offer a beginning.

Dastaan Sarâ is that beginning. A humble attempt to bring books back into daily life, to encourage rich conversations, and to provide comfort in a fast, demanding world. A reminder that culture lives when people nurture it together.

And sometimes, all it takes is one warm, welcoming place for stories to find their way back into people’s lives.

This little place of joy exists in DHA Phase 8, ex Park View, Lahore, Pakistan.