Yeh Raat Aur Ye Doori: Couples across NCR face dating woes

Night curfew seems to have cast a shadow on couples’ post work dating plans. Those living in satellite cities of Delhi claim that they aren’t able to meet their bae after #WFH, during the pandemic.

The pandemic brought much sorrow to young couples, who had mostly been meeting virtually, to avoid coming in contact. But now, just as things were on the verge of improving, here’s another obstacle to overcome — a night curfew in Delhi-NCR. This much necessary arrangement to curtail the spread of Covid-19 has brought an unexpected jolt to the dating lifestyle of inter-state couples who claim that the song Yeh Raat Aur Ye Doori (from the movie Andaz Apna Apna, 1994) has now become the background score of their real lives!

“#WFH ke chakkar mein poora din kaam karo, and evenings that are meant to relax with bae are being spent in ordering biryani, video calling, simping virtually and making reels to Yeh raat aur ye doori, tera milna hai zaroori!” says Keshav Tripathi, an IT professional working in Gurugram who’s beau lives in Delhi. Many like Tripathi feel that it’s difficult to finish work in the evening, and then plan to physically meet their partner and return home, if living across border due to the time it takes to travel.

For some who thought that they could work from their partner’s home, are also in a fix. “My girlfriend started living with her parents to save her rent money when the lockdown happened last year. Now, if I go to her place to work and mingle, what will she say to her parents that how come a marketing person is coming home to work with her when she works in HR department?” says a Gurugram-based professional on condition of anonymity.

Planning to go on a date in Delhi post work? Check if you can return before 10pm, if living in NCR. (Photo: Shutterstock (For representational purposes only))

But what about those who had finally started digitally dating across cities? “To search for a decent match on dating sites for myself, I had increased the radius of finding matches to 100 km. Koi toh milta! Aasha toh thi... Ab toh woh bhi khatm. Din main aashiqui karoon ya naukari? Night curfew jaldi se khatam ho jaye aur pandemic hatt jaye re deva,” hopes Gurpreet Singh Ahluwalia, a Noida-based entrepreneur who is a regular on most dating apps.

Couples who were finally beginning to spend time together before the second wave of Covid hit, are feeling let down by other city residents. Pankaj Gulleria, a Delhi-based marketing professional who is dating a Noida-based woman, rues, “Yeh logon ko samajh nahi aata mask pehen ke rakhna hai? Kab tak aap logo ki galtiyon ka tokra apne sarr par ghoomate rahun? If people would have followed all the precautions then life of inter state couples like me would’ve been sorted and night curfew wouldn’t have happened. We had managed to contain the Covid crisis with so much difficulty. It seems like I have lost a short lived privilege of meeting my girlfriend.”

And with the night curfew in place, the newly weds feel they have no way to escape from families and spend some couple time on pretext of going out for dinners and dates! Kritika Bhargav, a Delhi-based lifestyle blogger, says, “I live in Delhi’s Green Park and we were so looking forward to go to Gurugram to have some alone time. I had even bought matching masks for both of us; hubby and wife waale. Ab fun pe dampener hi nahi, meri influencer life pe bhi dampener aa gaya hai! Mere followers ko kya dikhaaongi — roti, belan, chakla?”

Author tweets @FizzyBuddha

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