The Dating Question

There is something about the concept of dating that fascinates me.

And i can never get enough of the social analysis, the fine intricate weaving... the silly things people do to keep it that way. The approaches people try, the outcomes and the game.

It is a Game, but not in this country.

Dating in the western world is a way different affair from the one here. See, in the western world, dating is a kind of acceptable social behaviour where the intention is to have fun, and if luck permits find THE guy or for that matter, THE girl for you.

But, Oh no... like Russell Peters will put it... No nono no no... it ain't that simple here. (Obviously i'm not referring to the affluent Bourgeois, they tend to rather be off the charts when it comes to societal behavior and cause more headaches in the overall analysis ... are a major pain in the actual statistics)

The Dating world in Urban India my dear Friends is Way, Way complicated and much More fun.

And what is my research? Spending a good part of two days on a dating Website, a facebook app call SpeedDate. Which pretty much surprised my friend(s). So in case you did get, umm... status updates refering to my activity on SpeedDate, ignore... this was what it was for. I didn't want to spoil the surprise.

Now, What is the Objective of Dating on the Indian Web? Girls are NOT looking for dates. Nope. Misconception there, what they are looking for are "Hunks" who they think will approach them, and get this..."They are of the 'same' type"...now exactly do i mean by type? i hope he is a "of the same religion" or if he is from around here... the typical stuff.

People set great store by your profile Picture, its what matters the most... So you've GOT to make sure it looks insanely nice. Of if you are like me... e.g. i'm to photogenic like the ice berg was to the Titanic. You better use insane amounts of photoshopping or use some crazy abstract art picture.

That for some reason, gives an aura that you're "Upwardly Mobile" DONT ask me! i have no freaking clue why thats so. And people pleasee yaar, dont put your goggles on and sit for photographs, makes you like jokers. This however is view i'm sure is shared by a lot of people... there might be a vast majority who actually do think its cool. Ambiguity here.

The second most important characteristic is your approach... how good is your english? if your english is good enough... we have a winner! This however is the case everywhere. i mean come on... you look good and you speak well. that IS the winning combination.

Anyway, Dating here... the online type atleast is a joke. I was actually surprised that it might work... but naa... they are Far Cry from anything real ever happening to you... and thats because of all the anonymity... though the anonymity gives everyone the freedom to do things as wacky as possible, it also screws with actual concept... a lack of actually knowing who you are talking to, because you can't actually see their profile or for that matter their friends, makes it very hard to even get "real".

All in all, its a sucky substitute. But was wholesome entertainment, as i had to come up with the most RIDICULOUS flirt lines ever. And i thoroughly made a fool of myself, i'm happy now that it really WAS anonymous. :)

Cheers! Till the Next post then.