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SOCIETY & TRENDS: VACATION
It's All About Opportunity
And Promise
If you thought sex
was top of the mind, you'd be wrong. The only time we actually fell asleep
was when after an evening of karaoke singing and dancing we were expected
to watch a film titled Love and Sex. Nor were people spending their time
engaging Neena Gupta's attention or rallying around Nasscom chief Dewang
Mehta, the second most well-known person in the group.
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| Champagne baths,
candles and petals, but no romps between silk sheets... |
They were out to have fun while expanding their
circle of friends, reaching out to more people, finding-and why not-a
mate, if possible. Like one of them said, it's about trying to bond and
we are hardly the kind to wait for our parents to arrange it for us. So,
if one day we were giggling on the dance floor, it was perfectly natural
the other day to sit by the beach, discussing intimate stuff while dusting
sand off our legs. It's easy sometimes to talk to strangers.
Armed with this basic understanding, it didn't
feel sleazy to be participating in a contest that required concocting
pick-up lines. "Main akeli hoon, thakeli nahin hoon (I may be alone
but I'm not jaded),'' Neena's contribution had everybody in splits. But
the lines that won the prizes were, "Can I be the vodka that you're
sipping" and "I like the dress you are wearing ... it will look
better on my bedside''. At the end of the day, the dress didn't matter;
the willingness to let your hair down and put your feet up did.
For two
days and two endless nights of wining and dining, the emphasis was on
personality-on one's ability to let go and mingle. In the pool, over a
game of volleyball or in a boat in search of dolphins. Over a game of
beach cricket or by the side of astrologers who-not coincidentally-predicted
marriage for most in 2001. At karaoke, salsa dancing or tattoo sessions,
where prizes were won by those bold enough to have their cleavages tattooed.
Or over massage sessions on the beach where foot reflexology scored high.
And in the evenings if spirits soared and the
bedroom didn't beckon, it was because it was more about "getting
to know'' rather than double trouble. More about opportunity and promise.
About exchanging visiting cards and e-mail addresses. About the next singles
vacation that's already been lined up for March, where once again the
group will be a manageable 40 though the Taj has a database of about 800
singles.
Some of those who came to Goa are already planning
to do it again next month. It's a novel concept and one that obviously
makes good marketing sense for the Taj, for they have attracted many singles
most of whom are already recommending it to their friends.
So what happens when singles do mingle? We will
have to check Hotmail. For some, it could even be the Yahoo.
PS: Spend your money if you want good, clean
fun or if you're looking for companionship. This is not about a romp between
silk sheets.
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