Anita Menon finds that romance is alive and well, and yes, the guys are in on the act!
Say the word ‘Romance’, and watch all the women sit up in their seats, while the guys groan. That’s what the clichés say, right? Well, that may have been the situation a few years ago, but happily enough, it seems to be changing.
For a lot of guys today, the Valentine’s Day-birthday-anniversary scenario is a breeze... They’ve got it under control. And these guys don’t walk around wearing their success like a badge of honour they actually don’t consider themselves romantic! All we can say is, some gals have all the luck, because there are still some of us who sigh with envy. FLY AWAY Funny-bone tickler Ash Chandler has me in splits when I call him for his take on being a romantic male. "I don’t think I’m a romantic guy", he says. "I think I would describe myself as a spontaneous and passionate person. Besides, I think romance is a greeting card company feeling".
But when pressed for details, he narrates an incident that we think puts him pretty high up the Romantic Male Scale.
"Well, Nethra had to leave for a show in Delhi on the 13th of Feb the day before Valentine’s Day. And on the 14th night, my mum was flying in to Mumbai from the US. But on the 14th morning, I flew up to Delhi, thinking I would surprise Nethra.
Now she doesn’t like ‘conventional’ flowers she likes stuff like baby’s breath which florists use as fillers. So I hunted around Delhi and finally found a guy with the flowers I wanted, but had to have pitched battle with him before he would sell me any he said he would need it for other bouquets!
Anyway, managed that one, and then headed to her hotel. I sat in her room and waited for longer than I expected as her make-up took a while then she came in and got the surprise of her life.
It was great but I had to do this ‘Hi-bye’ kind of thing, ‘coz I had to fly back to Mumbai, so I would be here to meet my mum when she arrived!" And this man doesn’t believe in romance. Ash baby, you’ve got our vote!
THE HUMAN TOUCH Then there are the guys who believe that every day is Romance Day. Marc Robinson believes that romance shouldn’t be confined to a particular day or occasion. "Sure, we do the dinners and the flowers stuff too, but it’s the small gestures throughout that really show you care.
It’s about letting someone know you value them a word of praise, a hug, a kiss when the person is not expecting it..." And what’s one of the ‘unexpected’ things he’s done?
"Well, once I went out early in the morning and got heart-shaped balloons and tied them to the bed for Waluscha to find when she woke up". Waluscha giggles and says she doesn’t think she can top that.
But Marc counters that, saying, "Well with Waluscha, it’s like, I come home from work, and she’s got these lovely aromatherapy candles going, there’s a great atmosphere in the house but it’s the hug she gives me that human contact that makes every evening so special.
Waluscha seems pretty overwhelmed by that. "Oh... I didn’t think that would be termed romantic", she says, with a pleased laugh.
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