His notions of romance are so uniquely Delhi - the monument, the chaatwallah, the odd poem that he may have picked up and the final goodbye at the DTC bus stand.

Egg parathas and block-printed duvets. Hardback tomes and historical monuments. A naughty romp in Lodhi Gardens. Suhel Seth describes the Delhiite's mode of conducting 'the great romance'.

Delhi is known for its political machinations. It is also the town of poorly paid bureaucrats who live like rich men with great inheritances. Then you have the lala ke bacche: kids of rich industrialists who, when they are not mowing down innocent pedestrians, manage to create big news for their cocaine trips. It is also the city of good food, which means rich food. Ghee shee and all that. And now we have become the capital of the 'Great Indian Wedding'. So, do you think Delhi would even have time for romance shomance? Do you think in between going to a politico's melas (called intimate dinners) and running to and from 10 Janpath, anyone would even care to be inclined towards romance? But you'll be surprised; ardour still exists in Delhi. And then, there are the specific clusters of the amorous.

The Flaky Romantic His idea of romance begins and ends with a movie and popcorn and then trying to get into some hanky-panky in the plastic-covered Maruti that he has borrowed from his kitty party mother. This boy has lots of money and is willing to shower it on the girl he loves. So what if he loves a different girl every night. There is more than just one movie playing at a multiplex, remember.

The evening always starts with the girl getting into an auto. She then heads for the movie hall and never waits outside in case Aunty Kukoo sees her and then spreads the bad word in the colony. She almost always goes into a bookstore and inspects the comics section: Delhi is as removed from books as Mumbai is from decent cinema! Being winter, the girl is very warmly clad. Overcoat on top. Nothing below. Then the movie begins and the handholding is in full flow. Nothing more is allowed. They all come from respectable families. The South Delhi romantic is suave. He has replaced Daler Mehndi with Rabbi. He wears Red Tape shoes instead of Bata. He wears Tommy instead of Pringle. And is known to keep agarbattis in his car so that Papaji doesn't smell the cigarette smoke.

The Driving Romantic These are people with fast cars and slow cars; their cars and their Daddy's cars. They don't believe in normal romance, their romance includes no monuments just milestones. They are the ones who go to Agra, not to see the Taj Mahal but for a spa treatment at the Amarvilas. Ask them who built the Taj and they just might say Biki Oberoi. But these are the well-heeled romantics whose idea of bliss is getting stuck in winter on a National Highway amidst smog that refuses to go away. Their discussions revolve around the number of cylinders in their car engines rather than how deep their love is.

Suhel Seth

Suhel Seth is the CEO of Equus Advertising. He is also a social commentator and writes on current affairs; he does columns for The Asian Age, Hindustan Times and The Financial Express. Seth has acted in over 145 plays, done films for Satyajit Ray, Mrinal Sen and Mahesh Bhatt and is a regular on the public speaking circuit. He is still a bachelor which is perhaps not surprising since he lives in Delhi!