Love in the time of Corona has been rather tough over the past one year in the pandemic. The virus may require social distancing, yet, it has indeliberately confined people within the four walls of the house, which has come as a boon to many. Ahead of Valentine’s Day Asian Voice tried to explore the stories of and about love in the time of Corona.
LOCKDOWN VALENTINES
Cllr Pranav Bhanot told Asian Voice that he and his wife, Shefali, have been celebrating Valentine’s Day for over 10 years, and used the opportunity to spoil the other. “This year, Valentine’s Day will be different not least because we have a young baby (Veer) to share the day with but also in the midst of a Government Lockdown. The lockdown has been monotonous, and it is quite easy to get complacent in a relationship. Therefore, I am hoping to use Valentine’s Day as a good excuse to spoil Shefali perhaps by way of exercising my cooking skills by preparing a brunch and going on a winter walk,” Pranav said.
His wife, Shefali thinks that the lockdown has been a huge blessing for the family. “We have been able to savour and share key moments with each other, that may well have been in front of our extended families - first giggles, crawling and our son, Veer's first word. But it hasn't been all honky dory, with newborn night feedings to early morning rises my husband and I have had to really learn the art of teamwork and leaning on each other for support and company. The challenges have seen us both overworked and overtired with remote working impacting work life balance. Grateful to government guidelines, we have been able to create a support bubble in order to help us through life's events - a death in our family, childcare and a new job. With Valentine's Day around the corner, I intend to spend it with my little family, my husband, my son and I. It isn't about the gifts or big gestures - for me Valentine's Day is about really appreciating your partner and all the positives they bring to your life. We will of course centre this all around Veer's schedule to get some alone time,” Shefali told Asian Voice.
Conservative Cllr Ameet Jogia wishes to celebrate at home this year. He spoke to Asian Voice and said, “Valentine’s Day is always a special occasion to dine out, but this won’t be possible this year. It’s been a difficult year for so many, but it’s also made us appreciate what we have and the love we have for our friends and family. Therefore this Valentine’s Day will be even more special for us all!”
TO INFINITY AND BEYOND
Abihroop Sengupta and his wife Dia are parents to a one year old Abhyalaxmi, so this year's Valentine's Day will be celebrated at home. “I have recently taken up cooking and I intend to surprise my wife Dia. Her birthday is on the 11th, thus it will be a much grander celebration. I started the week by taking her for a Wine Tasting dinner, Abhiroop told Asian Voice.
LOVE WILL FIND A WAY
At the start of the pandemic, one brand/dating app that grabbed the opportunity to cash on the socially distant relationships and millions of singletons locked at home, was Bumble. So how does a brand sell itself and get people to sign up when they practically can’t see each other in person? Writer-Director Reema Sengupta directed an ad for Bumble last year on the theme ‘Love will find a way’. Speaking exclusively to Asian Voice, she said, “This heartwarming project that gave me the space to briefly focus on love and optimism during the isolation of the lockdown. I wanted to create a video-essay that felt like we’re trying to make sense of our changing reality together. I wanted the visual style to reflect how our worldview has become one massive collage of pixelated videos, memes, gifs, text, Instagram filters, abstract memories of what used to be and the quiet serenity of our immediate surroundings. So many little moments from my own long distance relationship found their way into the poetry. I loved that the brand was women forward and the project was women-led even from the ad agency and the client side. The film was executed 100% remotely and responsibly.”
SINGLETONS GET TOGETHER
Mani Hayre shared a video on Twitter during Valentine's week where she spoke about how singletons could celebrate the day. She told Asian Voice, “The idea came to me on Sunday evening. I hate Sundays so much, a whole day to fill and when you’re single and living alone, there aren’t enough walks in the world to make the day better. I was also planning my diary for the week and noticed Valentine’s Day coming up and on a Sunday, the cheek! So the idea came to me, why not organise an event, for my fellow singletons. If there were other singles who needed a distraction, when everyone else is showing off their lockdown love, then let’s get together and have a laugh.”
According to UK’s leading accommodation platform UniHomes, nearly a third of students find love at the university, with as many as a fifth of students also deciding to take the ultimate relationship stress test of moving in together. Students have had a better place and way to cope, but what about couples who are engaged to marry?
FACETIME YOUR VALENTINE
We’re all aware of the number of weddings that got postponed or interimly cancelled during the pandemic. It is difficult to imagine what these lovebirds in lockdown must have gone through. Tanveer Mann (who is about to marry soon) has chosen to be responsible during the pandemic in order to protect her family from the virus. Speaking to Asian Voice, Tanveer said, “Because of the pandemic, my fiance and I haven't been able to see each other for a couple of months as we're trying to keep our families safe. We're probably just going to celebrate over facetime unfortunately! Nothing very exciting.”
V-DAY BOX
Pritha Mukherjee of Posto has introduced a V-Day Box packed with tender loving care including candles, chocolates and unique dishes to tickle your taste buds. Speaking to Asian Voice, she said, “It’s a perfect gift to relish and romance together during lockdown.”
