What is your Valentine?

You can list a hundred reasons for not finding that one special person you want to make your valentine and take out on a date on February 14. But if you haven’t found them yet or don’t believe in the fairytale concept of love, or are of the opinion that all of this is just so overrated, here’s a brilliant idea: Why not spend Valentine’s Day with the thing you love? What? How? Hold up. Read on as we find out how these singles are spending their Wednesday the Fourteenth. 

On a hot date with spicy food
All that Divya Katyal needs to brighten up her day is some spicy street food. “It can either be Pav Bhaji, some Chaat or Chinese food for that matter. I love Chinese food,” she says, adding, “The spicier, the better.”
Katyal doesn’t only love to gorge on spicy delicacies, she is also fond of cooking up new recipes herself. “Food is love for me. The purest form of love. When you’re happy, you can celebrate with food. When you’re sad, you can cheer yourself up by eating something you love; Chilli Chicken does the trick for me and it’s my valentine this year,” says the 28-year-old. 

Long ride on my bike
Willander Pereira spends all his waking hours at work, so the 34-year-old BPO employee jokingly calls himself a corporate slave. But on weekends he sets himself free by riding his cruise bike away from this crowded city. This year, his bike is his valentine. “I haven’t taken a holiday on Valentine’s Day to be able to go for a long ride, but I will be doing it over the weekend — a late celebration. On the weekend before Valentine’s Day, I already got proper servicing done. And next weekend, before I go on a long ride, I am planning to get some modifications done on my bike as well,” says Pereira. 

Ask him where he plans to go and he says, “Someplace where I don’t feel the weight of the world on my shoulders and the air in my lungs feels fresher than it is in the congested city. I will ride on the Ghats, let’s see where the roads take me.”

Saving all my time to read
Ruchi Shah is a book lover. Every time she gets a suggestion by one of her book-loving friends, she goes online, or drops in at the bookstore on her way home from work, to buy that awesome book she was told about. She’s been a big fan of stories since she was old enough to understand them. This 26-year-old content writer claims that she has no time to read, but also owns a stack of 10-12 new books. 

“My day is always so busy, and I’m always reading and researching as part of my job so once I am home, I just want to eat and sleep. Or maybe watch something on TV so that I don’t have to use my mind. But this Valentine’s Day, I’ve realised that my books are what I love the most. I’m going to start making it a point to spend some time with them every day, in fact I’ve already started reading Dan Brown’s Origin from the stack. I think it’s better to stay home and read rather than go out on a date where you might or might not have fun. I am the kind of person who gets very conscious when it comes to talking to people, so I’d rather be with my books,” says Shah. 

A dip in the ocean
Last year, Sumit Banerjee went scuba diving in Maldives, and needless to say, he fell in love with the underwater world. “This year, diving is my valentine. I am going to the Philippines since there is some trouble in Maldives. The experience leaves you mesmerised; I felt so calm and excited at the same time,” says Banerjee, a 30-year-old IT professional who is a trained and certified scuba diver. 

He adds, “I was introduced to scuba diving when I first watched Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara. I didn’t quite understand why Hrithik sobs on the boat after he goes for a dive. But it was only after I went for my first dive last year, that I realised the overwhelming feeling one has. You feel so insignificant, yet you are there witnessing the wonders of nature. You feel like no matter how smart you think you are, how informed and updated you are, there are so many things in this world that will make you wonder, that’s the kind of love I need in my life.”