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You’ll recall that, ever since I have gone off consumption, the number one question I have been asking myself is: what can you do on a date when you are off consumption?
Friends, readers, well-wishers: I’m delighted to tell you that, in spite of my fear that my year of abstinence may spread to more areas of my life than I had planned for, I had two perfect zero dollar dates last week.
The first date was on Thursday, when she came over to my house in the middle of the night and stayed till the wee hours of the morning. As you can imagine, we didn’t spend much money, and the taxi fare to her home and back at five in the morning can be safely passed off as a necessity.
The second date was on Sunday evening, when we went for a walk on Juhu beach. In spite of living in Bombay for many years, neither of us had been to Juhu beach on a Sunday evening before, and we were shocked by the sea… of humanity! The main stretch of Juhu beach was a mind-numbing mela (carnival), with tens of thousands of people clustered around hundreds of snacks stands and dozens of rides for children.
We eventually found a relatively clean stretch of sand some distance away from the crowd and sat down to eat our bhuttas (corn-on-the-cob). It was rather romantic, actually, with only a few hundred crying babies between us and the sea, and the stars dimly visible in an almost smog-free sky. She insisted that the pole star was her star and the star nearest to it was mine. We kissed in front of a gazillion gaping children.
When I dropped her home in an auto-rickshaw, she insisted on paying for the date and forced a hundred rupee note into my pocket.
On the four rupee second class train ride from Bandra to Churchgate, I tried, and failed, to remember the last time I had so much fun on a date without spending even one rupee.
Comments (13)
That was sweet!
Congrats
hm. so who bought the corn on the cob?
More interesting question !
Both dates are same or different ?
@Jinal: Thanks.
@Medea: I paid for the corn-on-the-cob and the auto-rickshaw; she paid me back.
@Gaurav: Ah! It was the same girl on both the dates.
all the best for the dates…
i still wonder how long would the Zero Dollar Dates go on ..or lets say how long would the lady pay :P..lol
nways congrats ..
@Vivek: The idea is not that the lady pays, but that we discover ways to have fun without buying things.
Does this mean you are humming ‘Money talks but it don’t sing and it don’t walk’ under your breath while at work in office and whistling a tune.
Reminds me of my time back in college when frugality on a date was more a matter of compulsions than choice
But I totally agree that there are a million things to do in Mumbai that don’t involve burning a hole in your pocket or spending too much either
@Deepa: Well, let’s say it’s more complicated that that.
@The Rambler: I would love to know what those million things are, because I can only think of two: dinner/ movie/ whatever at my house or a walk on Juhu Beach/ Bandra Banstand/ Marine Drive.
lay down at night on grass and count stars, go to a park and play on see-saw , dance in rain, cook together, play small road games together
Dude try it , Being simple is not tough
@Gaurav: “Being simple is not tough”, but it probably takes some practice; I’ll learn.
As an aside, I’m not even sure if there are any parks in Mumbai; I’m sure there are none where you can “lay down at night on grass and count stars”.
Would like to suggest something here.
Have you tried taking the girl to the terrace of your building? If your building is one of the tallest in the area (If it is not, go to the terrace post sunset) go there and watch the sunset. Its an amazing sight and you will have all the privacy you need. It is quite an experience to hold hands, count stars etc. from the terrace at night!
@Mayuresh: I haven’t been to the terrace yet, but I love the idea! My living room window has a nice view of the sea, but I’m sure the view from my terrace will be even better. The problem, of course, is that both the living room and the terrace are iffy venues for a first date.
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