Kiss your privacy goodbye in city

Moral police, and probably even the police, please do not read any further. The rest may spare a thought for the lovestruck couple seeking privacy in Mumbai.

The besotted couple in the city has many enemies: From the curious cabbie, who adjusts his rear-view mirror the moment they step in to occupants concerned about the “erosion of Indian culture” the moment they hold hands; from the anti-social elements who lurk in the dark alley where they seek privacy; to even the police who often extort money from them threatening to tell their parents.

Of course, there are BEST’s air-conditioned buses which are a hot (pun unintended) favourite and the hip coffee shops, but these make a significant hole in any youth’s pocket. But a true lover, like any harried Mumbaikar hit by space crunch, will find a way to steal a private moment, away from the prying eyes of the public, and at the least possible cost.

Take for instance, college-going Kinjal Pitadia. At 16, he frequents Marine Drive with his girlfriend. “Even if we are just holding hands we are stared at.

Had it not been for my I-don’t-give-a-damn attitude, I wouldn’t be able to steal even that occasional kiss,” says Pitadia. While Pitadia is in the throes of what he thinks is a blossoming love, there are several who, hanker after that private moment.

Anuj Kishore, shares a tiny one-bedroom house in a chawl with his family, comprising his parents, brothers and sisters-in-law and their children. And yes, he has a wife too. He says, “What other options do I have?” Kishore recaled, “The last time I had complete privacy was during our honeymoon last year in Goa,” he said.

But spaces that used to be popular hangouts earlier are fast vanishing, thanks to interfering residents, unrelenting policemen and mushrooming residential complexes. Like Five Gardens and Dadar Chowpatty, which most lovers made a beeline for.

“Shivaji Park is the scene of many a battle between workers of political parties, whereas residents at Five Gardens have appointed security guards to verbally abusing couples found coochie-cooing,” says Wadala resident Ashalata Tripathi.

Newly-erected lamp posts near hangouts like Upvan in Thane, garden near Ruia College , Sion Fort act as a deterrent to cautious lovers. Bandra Reclamation and Sanjay Gandhi National Park are notorious for their anti-social elements, seafronts like Bandra Bandstand and Juhu Chowpatty prove to be risky due to the tide.

Perhaps that’s why today’s lovers are exploring newer and relatively safer ‘avenues’ - the A/C buses, cubicles in cyber cafes, tinted cars in parking lots and sometimes, a hotel room by the hour. Where there are two desperate lovers, there is always a way.