By Rashi Wadhera
Illustrations by Ujan Dutta
“I want to propose you”- to whom, may I ask? Although no one has proposed us yet, either to themselves or to a third party, we’re not letting that bring us down. After many years of sampling, celebrating and turning down fraaindships, proposals, rose day, propose day, Archie’s memorabilia and teddy bears that stop being cute after the 14th, we’ve decided, instead, to soak in Delhi’s display of love.
We proposed trusted and talented illustrator, Ujan Dutta, to help scour the city for Delhi’s most common loved-up pairs, and, to bring them to life! We’ve heart picked our favourite places, restaurants and neighbourhood jaunts for first-hand sightings of Delhi’s most romantic twosomes.
Ronald’s Den of Love | Sharing a soft-serve, or the new and improved version {the McFlurry}, Ronald McDonald has seen many a loved-up twosome sharing his bench, celebrating V-day. For the risqué - a photo op sitting on his carefully crafted lap.
Where: Our favourite picks are the Saket and Ansal Plaza outlets
The Florist Monopoly | Spoiling his sweetie with a grand bouquet of two flowers. Don’t be quick to judge; the value of the Rose sees a sudden spike come V-day. There are always the red-light ready bouquets for spendthrifts.
Where: Your local Ferns and Petals should deliver
Beauty and the Pecks | Spot the fresh out of the gym, muscle-teed, tight-jean-fastened-with-an-Hermes-belt clad eligible bachelor wooing his blonde-out-of-a-bottle better half over a fancy multi-course dinner.
Where: Try any 5 Star Hotel
Social Media Sweet-Nothings| #selfexplanatory
Where: www.instagram.com
Street-crossed Lovers | Parked on the corner of almost every residential street, almost always in front of the local Kirana ki dukaan, find girl perched on boy’s bike, flower in hand, too shy to look up. Boy looks happy. On some special street corners, they might be holding hands.
Where: Your neighborhood Mother Dairy/market place should suffice
Romeo and Zara | Boy spending V-day with the Zara cashier, interspersed with cameos of the Girl in different outfits, followed by unenthusiastic nods from boy barely looking up from his smart phone, culminating in boy paying bill.
Where: Every High street brand store
Pinky Tales | Men walking around holding their other half’s little finger is a fairly common sighting in Delhi, and although we’re yet to pick up on the nature of this expression, it’s definitely some rendition of love. We’re still very curious about why they only seem to want to hold the little finger.
Where: Common spaces in malls and crowded market places. Try Sarojini Nagar, Lajpat Nagar or Malviya Nagar
About the Illustrator | A Shri Ram School alumnus, Ujan is currently a graphic designer with Teamwork Arts. He is a self taught artist, and has been working on a series of illustrations based on mythology. Raised on a steady diet of superhero comics and fantasy art, Ujan has been drawing the superhuman and the extraordinary since he first could hold a pencil. After a highly successful show at the India Habitat Center in 2012, Ujan is currently working towards another show in 2014.
