Me, Myself and I
DON’T HAVE A PARTNER TO SPEND VALENTINE’S DAY WITH? SIMPLY GUJARATI SUGGESTS YOU FALL IN LOVE WITH YOURSELF
SIMPLY GUJARATI lists ways to make February a month to love yourself.
CUDDLE TIME
The best way to beat the blues, they say, is by being with your best buddies. If your all-time-best-friends are those soft, cuddly soft toys, then Valentine’s Day is the perfect time to bring them out of your closet. If you’re one of those who haven’t grown out of your teddy bears, dogs and Winnie the Poohs, then let these be your Valentine. While for many they could be a piece of adornment in their rooms, but for many others they are a part of their childhood. They eat with them, share their stories with them and hug them tight while sleeping at night. For Yana Shah, soft toys help
her overcome her loneliness. “I am the only child and at times I miss having a sibling. My teddy bear, which is nearly half my height, is my great buddy. And every year, when I celebrate my birthday or Valentine’s Day, he is my best buddy.” And if you don’t have those stuffed toys in your closet anymore, then head out and buy your favourite ones which might just give you the much needed cheer on Valentine’s Day.
RELAX AND REJUVENATE
Pampering can cheer almost everyone up. And what a better way to indulge on Valentine’s Day than spending time in a spa? Just the thought of lying down on a cosy bed in a soothing ambience with soft music playing in the background and gentle fingers working on your body to relieve all those aches and pains could perhaps bring a smile to your face. You could take your pick from the plethora of indulgent spa therapies available. Stones, black mud, healing oils or wines could do the trick. And if this doesn’t sound indulgent enough, you could go for caviar or gold treatments. To opt for something exciting, sign up for a fish spa for the feet. Not only does it de-stress your mind, but it also helps revive cracked feet, giving a new life to dry skin. You could even plan a singles spa party at one of the spa’s in the city. Your gang of girls or boys could chit-chat, eat and make merry while your bodies are treated to some lovely therapies.
SHOP TILL YOU DROP
Clothes, accessories, toileteries—a woman’s or a man’s shopping list never ends. So loosen your pockets this Valentine’s Day and head out for a shopping spree. Shopping is the best exercise for the feet as you get to walk long stretches of a mall and for your face muscles as you get to smile each time a favourite thing is bought and for your hands that can build up some muscles by picking up different sizes and shapes of bags. “Shop-till-you-drop is my mantra every year on Valentine’s Day. All malls and shops have huge discounts this time of the year and it is the best time to grab the best brands that you always wanted but could not. I have always indulged myself with this therapy and I am never alone. My single friends too join in, sometimes even
those who are married or are seeing someone leave their partners and come. After all, everyone needs a break to love their themselves first and then the rest of the world,” says Nisha Shah. So, all you lovely ladies out there, fill up your wallets, wear your sports shoes and get ready for a shopping marathon on Valentine’s Day.
BOOK YOURSELF
A seven-day job could keep you away from a lot of fun movies in a theatre. But you could help beat this awful feeling on Valentine’s Day by renting out DVDs of the films you missed and watch them in the comfort of your home with popcorns and your favourite beverage. And if you’re feeling lonely, invite your best buddy over. The two of you could have a great day watching movies and munching on your favourite food. But if there’s no one free that day, a great idea could be to buy your favourite books and spend the day reading them. For engineer Gitanjali Mehta, 32, these are the best ways to beat the lonely feeling. She says, “I have been alone for many years, by choice. But I do sometimes feel left out when friends my age are either out on a date or have got hitched and are therefore enjoying with their new found love. Movies and books have always given me company and on this particular day. I ensure I catch up on movies I have missed due to hectic work schedules. The first half of my day is spent reading short stories either by Rabindranath Tagore or my other favourite authors. The second half of the day is spent sitting on my sofa with a snack bowl, watching movies.
WORLD OF WORDS
Mahatma Gandhi wrote letters to a lot of his followers and Barack Obama writes letters to his daughters. Ever wondered what it is like writing a letter to yourself and reading it on V-Day? This Valentine’s Day, try this crazy idea. Write a few lines of love or self-appreciation on a piece of paper and seal it in an envelope. Post it to yourself a few days prior to February 14. The one thing that sure comes on your face is a big, wide smile when you receive this letter on Valentine’s Day, just like many others do.
A SINGLES GIFT PARTY
So what if you don’t have a boyfriend or a girlfriend to make you feel special? Your friends are always there to cheer you up. A fun trend catching up around town is a singles gift party. You party with your favourite food and drinks with your other single friends and also surprise each other by giving thoughtful gifts to make their day. A hardcore Amdavadi, Sajan Shah will party with his friends at Vadodara, which he claims is a happening city. He said, “My friends and I are going to celebrate Valentine’s Day in Vadodara, which is hardly a twohour ride from Ahmedabad where I live. We are going on bikes and each one of us has planned a
surprise for the other. So, it’s six of us with six surprises, something on the lines of the movie Zindagi na
Milegi Dobara,” he says.
LOVE THY FOOD
Grandma’s recipes always come handy when feeling low. They can spruce up your mood on a day when love is really not your cup of tea. A chocolate lava cake or Bolognese spaghetti is on the offering at various restaurants, but maa ki daal with steaming hot jeera rice or meat balls with a secret ingredient-based tomato sauce or stuffed mushrooms with prawns and cheese in brown sauce can only be found in the cook books of grandmothers or mothers. Take time out from office schedule, wear your chef hat and apron, and indulge in soulful cooking that will pep up your taste buds as well as revive your dull, boring day with spices. You could invite a few friends over or even cook for your parents. So even as the ladles, spoons and pans are busy at work in your kitchen, forget calories or the vaccum of a partner and bring out some mouth watering specialities from the kitchen.
SELFIE-INDULGENT
The selfie craze has caught everyone and if you love yourself then what’s better than clicking a selfie and for your social network website? “I love myself and post my pictures on various social networking websites. So what better day than Valentine’s Day to click my selfie, club it along with my close friend’s selfie and put it together in an animated frame and upload it. In fact, I will also be gifting my friend a selfie framed in a rather unique manner,” says an excited Dhruvi Shah. She and her friend Mahima Solanki will be celebrating Valentine’s Day with their friends. This, they say, will also rake in a lot of compliments from people in their social networks.