Navigating the world of dating in the 2020s is not as easy breezy as it used to be back in the day. Dating trends and patterns are constantly changing. Here is what it is like for most intrepid daters now-a-days. Step 1: Find a person you can connect with, one that ticks almost all the boxes. Step 2: Look out for red flags and make sure you are not being ghosted, breadcrumbed, benched... phew the list is exhausting. Step 3: Go on dates.
Koox | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
While we cannot help you with Step 1 and 2, except for wishing you the best, we, however, do have suggestions for Step 3. We spoke to a few people for ideas on where to go for an unusual, memorable date.
Ananya Shankar, dancer and entrepreneur
My partner and I have been together for the last seven years. We try to do everything on a budget because we are artistes (laughs). We fix a budget before we go out. So, if it is ₹1,000, we go for starters to one place, for the main course to another and dessert elsewhere. This makes it exciting and we are on the move all the time.
Chennai, Tamilnadu, 22/06/2023: For Metro Plus: Tholkappiya Ecological park in Adyar which has been gaining some attention lately. Photo: Athullyea Padmanabhan- Intern | Photo Credit: Athullyea Padmanabhan
Together, we also love to explore parks and public spaces. We try to look for new and unknown parks, where we then go for long walks, and chill. Among our favourites are the Secretariat Park on Rajaji Salai, Senganthal Poonga in Gopalapuram, and lots of kutty kutty area parks.
My partner loves trees and birds and I love people watching. Parks are perfect as we get to witness all of that here. It is fun to watch people doing multiple things like dancing or studying. Just sitting there feels like a community activity. In comparison, sitting in restaurants feels isolated. The routine is to go to a park, watch a movie and go home.
Chennai , 30/09/2023 : A view of the Senganthal Poonga on Avvai Shanmugam Salai in Chennai. Photo : Raghunathan SR / The Hindu | Photo Credit: RAGHUNATHAN SR
We frequent the beaches as well, especially in Palavakkam, Kottivakkam, and Akkarai. Then we go to the small tea kadais and drink chai. Close to Palavakkam beach, there is this beach view tea kadai which we go to very often. The akka who runs it knows our order: two masala chais, one Maggi, and one bread omelette and it costs only ₹120. This way we can spend hours without spending a lot of money.
Priyadarshini Paitandy, journalist
In my 20s, going on a date meant plastering my face with makeup and spending the evening talking over drinks and dinner at a bar. A decade later, and things have changed. Chennai is evolving, maybe not as rapidly as its other counterparts like Delhi and Mumbai but it surely is.
Today, we have more options than we did five years ago — one can go sailing and spend time on a yacht, paint in the dark, try out pottery, watch movies on the beach under a canopy of stars... While I still do the whole ‘let us get dressed and check out a new dining place’, the journalist in me is more curious to explore the latest experiences and activities that the city offers.
Pickleball in Chennai | Photo Credit: AND
So, a friendly battle (my partner is highly competitive; as for me, let us say I giggle more than I return shots) over a game of badminton on Saturday night, or pickleball at one of the many mushrooming courts is the norm. On other weeks, we head to board game cafes and plot how to overthrow each other’s empires or build a civilisation of our own. The loser then takes the winner for a Japanese meal or dosas (depending on when our salary was credited) followed by a glass of iced Milo at Kosmo.
On days we feel like working as a team, we go to one of the escape rooms in the city. The latest was A Night in Bhangarh at Mystery Rooms, where we cracked codes, shrieked when creepy objects caught us unawares and crawled and slid through vents to finish the game. The next plan is to go surfing, a water sport that Chennai takes great pride in given how many top notch surfers the neighbouring coastal towns of Kovalam and Mamallapuram have produced.
Chennai, Tamil Nadu, 13th August 2024: (ONLINE QUALITY ONLY) Covelong surfing competition, in Chennai, on Monday. Photo: Johan Sathya Das | Photo Credit: Johan Sathyadas
Doing these activities help us bond and understand each others’ temperament. And what we learnt is: I am definitely not the calm one.
Arva Kadi, PR professional
My husband and I are teetotallers. We are not the partying or dancing type either. But what we enjoy is going on walks and treks to places near Chennai. Trying to find locations nearby and brainstorming about the next adventure is great fun. The bonding exercise starts with that even before we set out on the drive to the destination. We recently explored a couple of waterfalls a short drive away from Chennai.
CHENNAI,TAMIL NADU,20/07/2022: The Tiger Cave is a rock-cut Hindu temple complex located in Mamallapuram on Monday.Photo: Velankanni Raj B/The Hindu | Photo Credit: VELANKANNI RAJ
We enjoy simple things. Before we got married, my husband took me to Tiger Cave on ECR. We were there for two hours and that is where I said yes to him. We have gone back to the cave on recent dates.
We also drive to Gingee fort., which is three-and-a-half hours away. Once there we trek up the fort. There is quite a bit of climbing, but the view is breathtaking. There is so much greenery. We carry food from home and it is like a picnic.
VILLUPURAM, TAMIL NADU, 03 Aug. 2022: For TN in focus: A view of the sprawling Gingee fort in Villupuram district. Photo: Kumar SS / The Hindu | Photo Credit: KUMAR SS
We also look for walking trails. We live in Gandhinagar that has a lot of greenery. Once in 10 days we go on walks together.
