I have a confession to make.
I have an insatiable craving for McDonald’s Paneer Salsa Wrap.
It hits me at the oddest times and places, more often than I would like to admit.
Sometimes, I’m running on Marine Drive and, suddenly, my stomach ties up into knots and all I can think of is a McDonald’s Paneer Salsa Wrap.
I have to stop, bend over, take a few deep breaths, look out over the sea towards Malabar Hills, wait for the craving to slowly subside.
If you think that I’m needlessly worried about dating and being off consumption not mixing well, let me tell you about the last time I brought up being off consumption on a first date.
It started off as a typical first date.
After I picked her up from her place, we had dinner at Salt Water Grill and watched the latest Hollywood blockbuster at INOX. It was a little after midnight, at the coffee shop of The Oberoi, that I brought up the topic of my ennui with the brands + media + retail triumvirate.
The number one question everyone is asking me ever since I have gone off consumption is different from the number one question I have been asking myself.
While everyone else is consumed with the scientific curiosity of how will I decide what’s a necessity, I’m worried about the more immediate issue of what to do on my next date.
Consumption is a social thing and, of all our social interactions, dating is the one most tied up with buying things.
Let’s do a quick visualization exercise to establish this. Please don’t read beyond the next paragraph until you have completed this exercise.