The Marketer Who Went Off Consumption

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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.

I told her that I hadn’t watched television for almost a year; she talked about how she watched CNBC-TV18 for three hours every evening.

I told her that I was about to give back my office car; she talked about how she had spent ten minutes in a traffic jam speculating about the marital status of the man reading The Economic Times in the chauffeur driven Mercedes next to her.

I told her that I hadn’t “shopped” in almost six months; she talked about the little black dress she had seen in the Marks & Spencer shop window.

As I dropped her off, I asked her if we could meet up next weekend. She kissed me on the cheek and told me in her big sister voice –

Gaurav, I really like you, but your situation is, well, a little complicated. Besides, I still want that chauffeur-driven Mercedes.

• My Insatiable Craving For McDonald’s Paneer Salsa Wrap (10)
• Why Time Out Mumbai is a Necessity for Me (6)
• The Problem With Being Off Consumption Is That You Can No Longer Buy A Treat For Yourself (11)
• The Number One Question I Am Asking Myself Ever Since I Have Gone Off Consumption (4)
• The Marketer Who Went Off Consumption (15)