HG V-Day Mood Swings: The Mushy Hearts Club

Between Kuch Kuch Hota Hai’s Rahul’s ‘Pyaar dosti hai’ (Love is friendship) and ‘Main apni favourite hoon’ (I am my own favourite person) by Geet from Jab We Met, there exist various forms of love that we are exposed to – whether that be love for a partner(s) or for oneself. It is not the easiest concept to describe in words, but we’ll do our best.

This Valentine’s Day, more than others, let’s broaden our horizons of love. In love with a person, yourself, or the idea of love itself –– soak in the day for what it celebrates, and not the kind the advertisements tell you to. All sorts of ultimately mushy, irritatingly adorable and proudly cheesy love are up for celebration –– we won’t judge.

Apologies in advance if we go overboard with the idea of love - what can we say? Once we opened up our minds to affection, care, and intimacy in more ways than we were made to believe in our earlier years, it has been hard to look back at the love locked in a miniature box of binaries.

Run the hot water for your bath, pour a glass of wine (or cranberry juice if you’re under 21 – just about the same thing) and let us help you go about this very special V-Day.

Before we begin, let’s set the mood right with Homegrown’s curation of music that screams ‘I love love’! Find it here.

Now, let’s start off with our favourite part – food, of course. Desserts, to be specific. One of the few good things the lockdown brought us was a continuous supply of home-cooked, delicious meals. Many of these (thankfully) happened to be catering just desserts and sweets – our biggest weakness!

With no right time to gorge on a dessert, won’t you look through this list of home-chefs who began their culinary journey from their kitchens and serve impeccable sweets? Who knows, maybe you find a gem in your city.

Find this mouth-watering list here.  

Didn’t find your pick there? No worries, we’ve got more indulgence in store. Considering desserts are clearly an integral part of celebrating love, especially on Valentine’s Day, we found some of the best spots across the country that are bound to provide you with your sweet-tooth fix.

Explore these homegrown sweet pioneers here.  

The dictionary may describe ‘love’ as something, while the greatest experts may describe it as something else – but truly, does love hold a single meaning for all 7 billion of us? Surely not.

So, let’s go back to the time you first fell (or thought) you fell in love. Some feeling that was, am I right? Now, we don’t expect you to pen down that experience this Valentine’s Day, but we do wish to introduce you to eight such stories that are sure to tug at your heartstrings. It is not necessary to be in love to feel the love, that’s for sure.

Read about these Bollywood-esque love stories here.

Love is love — across genders, sexuality, status, colours or anything of the sort. The harsh truth, however, is that this love is tougher than most - mostly since India is a land of judgement. The idea of growing up loving ‘someone you shouldn’t’ is heartbreaking to solely imagine, but our next piece of writing is for you to truly grasp it. A story of strength, growth, courage and the lack of it –– here’s Prerna with her queer journey, in her own words.

Find Prerna’s journey here.

We mean it when we say love knows no form – who’s to compare a father’s love for their child to a mother’s? Most Indian families are used to concealing the immense love they hold and shy away from translating it into words or even actions.
Kani Kusruti’s father was not one of them – he penned down his utmost caring thoughts into a letter for the day she officially became an adult. Laced with guidance and shaded with support, the letter reveals a side of Indian fathers that remains mostly guarded.

We welcome you to read Kani’s father’s beautiful words here.  

How do we express love, though? Here’s our hot take – however you want to. There exist no rules as to how you must make someone feel loved – A hug, a bouquet of roses, or even a home-cooked meal. If you are in the mood to really step up the gifting game, we suggest you look at Notcoy, a minimalist greeting card brand. It’s for the people that think greeting cards are a thing of the past – we were those people. Having looked at Notcoy’s adorable collection with quirky messages, our preferences took a sharp U-turn.

Find out more about Notcoy here.  

Apologies, apologies – we know we have been on about Valentine’s Day and love for quite some time now. We can’t control ourselves! We do love love. However, we’ll just leave you with a final thing to munch on: Motherland’s Hot Chips packs a punch of the aromatic South in one tiny bag. Whether you’re by yourself or a loved one, this snack is a must-try.

Find these lip-smacking chips here.  

Alright, now, go on! Celebrate the day of love with the kind of love you thrive off of, the love you deserve. Our cheesy, mushy hearts are full (and obsessed) with cupids, chocolates, roses and everything typically V-Day, and we hope we could brush off just some of that on you.

Wishing you a full heart, good day and the best Valentine’s Day!

If you enjoyed reading this, we suggest you also read:

Adjustment of Love: How Indian Couples Are Adapting Their Love To The Pandemic

Love, Relationships & Marriage: How The Genzs Are Subverting These Institutions

Finding Love In A Pre-Internet India