When single women date in the winters

Winters in Delhi have a different charm to themselves. While the rest of the country discusses and debates the goods and bads of winters, if you’re a single woman living in Delhi, you end up concentrating on only one aspect of the season. Its power to caress, coax, cajole you into falling in love. At least into beginning to date, if not dive whole hog into the game. And if you’re a single woman in Delhi, who is slowly slipping off to the so-thought-scarier side of the fat-slim line, dating during winters is but the thing to do. You can cover yourself up in layers and layers of warm clothes, and still feel quite flab-ulous; the flab be damned.

For somewhat-fat women, summers in Delhi must be right at the top of the list of scary things. The general weather apart, just the thought of not being able to hide your love handles and problem areas – thanks to the almost-flimsy clothes that the weather makes mandatory – sends an un-summer-ly chill down many a spine. So, you need to make a conscious, extremely difficult choice – either risk baring those heavy arms, or die inside the three-quarts’-sleeved top. Winters, however, are when we rule.

The nine-month hibernation over, the best part of the wardrobe gets its turn to be out and about. There are heavy coats and boots and mufflers and hats. And there are knitwear and cardigans and heeled booties and scarves. And the fear of not being able to wear clothes, which might make you look fat on a date, vanishes into thin air. And takes along with it the unwillingness to go out on dates.

Watch: Should Indians say no to pre-marital sex?

It’s not just the dates that get pretty with the Delhi-calendar inching towards the last two months of the year. You are generally happy. While the other months make you bluntly aware of the amount of weight you’re putting on – thanks to the stubborn extra-adipose reserves that refuse to melt away, and stick out like a sore thumb from under that body-hugging top – the last season is a lot more understanding. The mirror doesn’t look disappointed at the tummy bulging out from beneath the clothes; it is safely hidden away from view, under the overcoat or the oversized cardigan. And there’s always the happiness of adding a few extra inches – vertically – by steeping into the comfortably high, wedge-heeled boots. Result: Look thin without having to starve yourself.

Falling in love – or beginning the treacherous journey of falling in love – is purely a matter of convenience during winters. Thanks to the dropping temperatures around you, everything appears awash in a wintry glow. Even the guy, whose date-request you might have steadily turned down earlier, suddenly seems somewhat better. Thank the weather.

In a city like Delhi, winters have a special meaning altogether. Especially if you belong to a much warmer place. We wouldn’t have minded the snow, either; but then, beggars cannot be choosers. So, we make do with the falling mercury and wait expectantly for the days which will see near-zero temperatures. For now – for the next four months – life is good.