Bring back old school love during lockdown and self-quarantine with these 5 tips - Hindustan Times
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Bring back old school love during lockdown and self-quarantine with these 5 tips

Hindustan Times, Delhi | By
Apr 05, 2020 08:08 AM IST

As we get better at practising social distancing and self-isolation, it might just be a great time to bring back old school love, or the feeling of it. Read on for some tips.

The year 2020 has begun with its set of serious challenges in the first quarter and with a new month already running, most of us are wondering how permanent is this impermanence going to be? As the world fights back the global pandemic that has taken over most of our lives in both a tangible and intangible sense, people are generally wondering how to take control of their lives, both personal and professional. If you, like me, are also in a work from home situation, that seems hunky-dory, probably feels great too, but are unsure what the next few days might have in store, then bouts of anxiety and nail-biting suspense are pretty much in order.

How to bring back old-school love in the days of self-quarantine, isolation, social distancing and more.(Unsplash)
How to bring back old-school love in the days of self-quarantine, isolation, social distancing and more.(Unsplash)

We have, however, been taught to look at life with rose-hued glasses and don’t want to stay bogged down with a feeling of impending doom, especially when there’s hope on the horizon and we all await with bated breath at a new beginning in the second quarter of 2020.

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In the meantime, as we get better at practising social distancing and self-isolation, it might just be a great time to bring back old school love, or the feeling of it, all from afar, much like the princess waiting to be rescued by her prince charming whom she signals (yoo-hoo) with a silk handkerchief. No, not a fairytale, but old school for sure. Read on for some tips:

Write a letter: How long has it been since you saw, let alone wrote a letter to someone? Millennials aren’t totally aloof to the idea of letter writing given that most of our parents got us to write letters to our grandparents, while teachers would give us assignments on how to write a letter, a formal application or one to a friend (mostly describing how our summer vacations were - interestingly, in a French language course I was recently pursuing, these memories and assignments came flooding back, just in a different language).

Practically speaking, it might not be possible to head out somewhere to post this letter, but who’s stopping you from being creative with some apps, or clicking a picture of a handwritten note and sending it across? Think You’ve Got Mail and in pure Nora Ephron style, bring back the romance of the 90s through letters sent on electronic mail.

 

via GIPHY

Letters To Juliet, originally an idea of a fiction novel that touched many hearts in its cinematic representation continues to be a source of inspiration for many romantics on social media. The ‘secretaries’ of Juliet keep the organisation in Italy running in the present day.

Dedicate a song on the late-night radio show: Some things are best when they don’t change. The age of radio song requests, albeit not as frequent, are still around, and if you’re awake in the wee hours of the morning, you might stumble upon a radio channel that talks about love, gives advice you could use and even take song requests for your significant other. It could be ‘just like magic’ (that’s a movie reference all romantics would know).

In the age when songs are available in a plethora of apps on your smartphones namely Spotify, Amazon Music and others, or a device that can host over 5000 classics; or advertisements and radio spots that play longer than a song, is it possible to bring love back like the good ol’ days of pure radio playback and a song dedication to announce your love? Maybe now is the best time to find out!

A phone call: It’s classic Bollywood and if it weren’t for a phone, however the instrument looked, some love stories would never have been realised. When I think of song requests, it’s either Sunil Dutt singing to Nutan in a Bimal Roy film (Jalte Hain Jiske Liye, Sujata) or Bhagyashree telling her movie beau Salman Khan that she’s sent her first love letter through a beautiful white pigeon (Kabootar Jaa, Maine Pyaar Kiya) or once again, Nutan singing about sending her heart in a letter (Phool Tumhein Bheja Hai Khat Mein, Saraswatichandra). But a phone call has not got its due in a long time especially since we have become more accustomed to the new age of speaking to someone or not being in touch at all when it doesn’t fit our immensely busy lives. I am guilty of that too but it’s not particularly rocket science to know what (or who) makes it to the priority list and what (or who) does not.

Send a postcard: It was always a special feeling to get a postcard in the mail addressed only to you. One with a picturesque backdrop of someplace with a letter format at the back that you could write a short note on and send it to whomsoever it concerned, literally. In most cases, they would also become prized possessions and worthy additions to scrapbooks or photo albums, always a sweet reminder of something special, from someone special.

An Instagram handle called @soaspostcard gives a touch of the vintage life with several throwbacks on the profile, a befitting reminder of the days of yore. But postcards have always been known to be souvenirs of places you’ve never been to, but have a piece of, all thanks to matte-finish photo paper you’ve received. The Postcard Hotels, a homegrown brand, too are bringing back vacationing the old school way, with postcards exhibiting the local flavours from Goa, Bhutan and Galle in Sri Lanka (as the brand name suggests) which you could send to your friends, family or just keep for yourself as a fond memory.

Postcards from Goa: Reprints of Mario Miranda’s works in various sizes; pictures capturing the flavour of Goa turned into postcards by The Postcard Hotels; Poems in Hindi printed in postcard form by Iktara, a not-for-profit organisation. (Saumya Sharma/@MasakaliBytes)
Postcards from Goa: Reprints of Mario Miranda’s works in various sizes; pictures capturing the flavour of Goa turned into postcards by The Postcard Hotels; Poems in Hindi printed in postcard form by Iktara, a not-for-profit organisation. (Saumya Sharma/@MasakaliBytes)

#PostcardsOfKindness, a crucial social initiative is also doing their bit through a simple yet powerful effort of having people write postcards to people in nursing homes. Several social organisations are making continuous efforts at giving advice, or just being there (albeit in a social universe) so no one feels alone in these trying times, knowing that we are all in it together.

Serenade them: Bookish or immensely movie ‘buff-like’ this might sound, maybe this one will truly set their heart aflutter. Just like reliving a Shakespearean love story (minus the tragedy, if we could please). If you do get around to doing this, just make sure you don’t stay in a high rise (because they’ll either need a long neck to reach close enough or extra permissions to use speakers for their voice to reach you). The second challenge you might face is your beau being a bathroom singer (only). Consider using plus one sound for this, or EDM-ize it for some effect.

 

 

Video calls, cooking together on a video call, celebrating date night on opposite sides of the screen, sharing snackable content online is an ongoing process but going vintage or atleast trying to get there is definitely worth a try. Let’s turn the gloom into a romantic bloom worth remembering and telling stories to your grandchildren to - you could write a few letters or record a cool video for the sake of posterity too. What’s more, all those letters, cards (think the Hallmark days), and postcards to their heartstrings can continue being used in forms of decor items, bookmarks and whatever you can think of creatively so a piece of your heart always stays connected even when we’re back to living life the way we know it.

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  • ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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    Saumya Sharma enjoys writing, reading and watching short and long-form content across the vast expanse of the world, in all forms - print, web, 70mm and more. A soul traveller by choice, she sometimes finds herself well-blended amongst Mango people, thinking about life as we know it. She has been in the digital content and social media marketing space for the past seven years and counting. She is fond of dogs, haikus, limericks and poetry.

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