The never-ending quest for finding love, the right one, the perfect partner to come along amazes me at times. From movies to best friends, all seem to harp on the same thing over and over again, that someday the 'one' will come along and sweep you off your feet. I have termed it as the 'forbidden fruit', once you leave the single kingdom, it is difficult to get back to that haven.
Sometimes a heartbreak leaves you looking out for someone else to fill in that void or keeps you waiting for that person to return. We are back with our solution and this time with a twisted twist!

Q. My girlfriend seems to not talk to me around her friends. I am confused .

A. All I can safely say is that your life is as great as Munaf Patel’s sex appeal and confused, we also are of your sex and the manliness of your family jewels. So, do please get your balls back and probably get yourself checked. Other than that, there seems to be no reason why a girl should avoid her boyfriend in public.
Dude, don’t be bothered much. Probably you’re making it up more than it really is or else try changing your wardrobe and the way you carry yourself with her. We could also suggest you to get a makeover done, turn into a chick, probably then the world might start noticing you.

Q.I love wearing shorts but my boyfriend seems to oppose. How can I get him to relax about this?

A. Your guy is probably the same dude as the one described above. Who the f**k doesn’t want to see his girl in a pair of shorts? Does he get scandalized? Is he legophobic? Is he sane? Are you sure you’re dating a guy? Okay, I won’t try and be a wannabe prick cause I do realize the mindset of a lot of Indian families. And I think the best way to go about it is talking it out with him and asking him to shed his inhibitions and accept the fact that you are comfortable in shorts
plus you have assets to flaunt.

Q. I am in love with a guy for years and so is he but he does not want to commit. Help.

A. Okay I guess this is the first time you’ve ever come across an entity who isn’t attracted to shiny substances. Well never mind. The entities name is “Boy” or “a male human” and the most familiar characteristic among this species is the fear of commitment. And if you have been mutually in love with each other for years, and he still doesn’t want to hold on to you then I guess the only logical thing is to chuck him, move on and try some other breed from this wide
variety of male kingdom.

Keep writing to us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it with more queries, issues and pyaar problems.
Till then, keep the faith going.

INDIAN FIRANG SPEAKTH

My first visit to Pune and this city had me mesmerized from the word go. A certain vibe this city has that kept me asking for more and more endlessly. From sitting on the streets in Koregaon Park, drinking Chai to having a pint at places like StoneWater Grill and 11 East Street, this city has shown me its different forms and colors. My spirits have always been uplifted going to places like High Spirits and Hard Rock Cafe. And the food, where do I even start? From the simple bakery food to flavorsome pastas and deserts at Dario’s, to chats at the Chowpati, Pune is definitely heaven for a foodie like me. Being born and bought up in Dubai, I feel I have missed out on these simpler forms of joys one must have. Unfortunately I missed out on the site seeing in Pune, but that can wait till my next visit. Pune, being a student city, you did disappoint me a little with your nightlife though. Lounges and clubs are quite decent, but I still don’t understand why they close this early? Personally, it is not these joints or hangout spots that make this city what it is. It is YOU, the youth, your never quenched thirst for something new, your college fests, your random hangout sessions, your dates, whistling in the theaters, your on the go milkshakes and road food, your bikes and scooties, your haggling with the rickshaw walas “boss mein is raste se roz aata hoon.. 80 kaise hue.. kal tho 60 the” and many many other things, that keep this city alive. YOU! The youth of this city ARE the soul of this city.

 

I spent about a week in Pune and immediately felt a certain oneness that I hadn’t felt anywhere else. Moreover, I felt that the people in general are very easy to be with, don’t interfere, don’t interrupt, don’t fuss about things and are relatively quite friendly. I would really like to thank the TiLT India Team and many others for being such wonderful hosts to such an extravagant city. All anyone could even ask for from this city is for it to stay the way it is. Sitting at the airport, the only thought that ran through my mind was, do I really wanna go back home to Dubai? They say home is where the heart is, and trust me, I have lost my heart somewhere in Pune! :)

 

 

Subodh Chawla

 

Evolution?...Hopefully.

Editorial for a youth magazine is a strange column. From mundane nothings to super intelligent editorials, I have read a quite a lot of them (“them” as in editorials of youth magazine), pertaining to both the ends of the spectrum. However good the writing may be, I somehow have never quite managed to find the same poise and balance that is mastered by a Arun Poorie or a Vinod Mehta (both editors of big national magazines). Obvious, coz we as youth are still unstable volatile beings, whose attention span is same as that of a 4-year-old kid, we dabble in “this and that”, but are never quite sure about what we aspire, what we know, what we want to know, what we want to express. The point is we haven’t evolved enough and are short of that counterweight which will lead us to a state of existence where one finds a balance to everything.

The globe also seems to be grappling with the same unstableness, which has made the likes of India Tv come out in the open with claims of apocalypse in 2012 being a surety. Their claim though insane and well India Tv like, but Tsunamis, earthquakes, Middle eastern insanity or sanity (as some say), Libyan war have surely given the humanity some food for thought. But then again I guess the world has always been thus, there have been global tension throughout the past century, the massive World Wars, nuclear tension and space race between US and USSR, Gulf wars, rise of Taliban, tragedies, natural disasters etc. etc. Evolution is what the globe was/is going at every point of time and through all the catastrophes, the major setbacks, the joys, the celebrations our humankind has always evolved into a much more humanly and technologically sound stage.

That was my bit on worldly affairs, evolution and “this and that”. The next thing that my fickle youth mind wants to dabble in is the sixth edition. The ILike Times is going from 16 to 12 pages, for this issue atleast. Reason? Some of them include lack of college events this month; cutting costs, lack of some more sponsors and so on and so forth. Nevertheless, we do hope the constant fretting and changing is another process in evolution, which will ultimately culminate into a more evolved, more in sync and a more close to perfect tabloid. Enjoy this 6^th edition as we keep exploring the youth dimension.

EP-2: A LOONY IN PUNE

 Here we are then, in front of this huge building. It’s called College and I’m supposed to spend three years in here, trying to clean up right and make something of myself. Like rehab then, except all I did was turn 18. Imagine where hard drugs would’ve landed me. Back to My College: yes, it has a gorgeous Gothic façade, ooh look verdant surroundings to loll in during balmy summer days, omigod the library looks so charming and quaint. Yada. Yada. Just too many raindrops assaulting me as I stomp across the main ground, can’t quite revel in all the architectural preciousness. Now, if only I knew where Econ General was going to start in Holyfcuk five minutes! My panic button on auto-pilot, I careened into the first FY-looking lecture I spied, ripping off my ghastly pink windcheater like a superheroine as I walked into class. Three new realizations: (a) My new classmates probably think I robbed Paris Hilton on the way, (b) I do not have a cool soundtrack and slo-mo effect accompanying my entry and (c) It used to be easier in school, figuring out which year people were in, simply by virtue of their size. So, in effect, I could have risked looking like some deranged Barbie impersonator for a horde of seniors. Happily, this was not the case.

After class, I sidled up to these two girls who’d been sitting next to me and pretended to care about how much the class sucked just so I wouldn’t have to wander around, all lost and stupid, like an Ekta Kapoor heroine in any scene without the hero. We went to the diner opposite, swarming with our college crowd, and I fake-squealed when they brought up this Hindi boy band (which shall remain unnamed to avoid legal action) that they’d run into the previous day. Lovely girls really, and such nice…er…table manners. Too bad we have zilch in common. I will look for new friends tomorrow and ditch them when they’re not looking. They’re so into each other, they probably won’t notice anyway. It all evens out.

I needed to do laundry, so I bought this ginormous packet of detergent. It felt mega-awkward asking the pot-bellied dwarf behind the counter for a kilo of wash soap. Like, this random stranger will know what I am up to on a school night. Gah. I’d said I wouldn’t be having lunch at home, so I nipped into the British Council Library, then realized I didn’t have money for the membership card, checked out their loo instead and figured I didn’t care about the membership if I could bring my own stuff to read in there. Because bathroom reading in a distinguished old cultural institute really combines two great loves of mine. Trumped only by a lightly toasted Christian Bale.

I need a boyfriend.

I spent the rest of the day walking around campus trying to find my spot. Not that spot, perverts. A place where I can while away time during the next three years, far from the madding, gadding, radding crowd. Just got back home an hour ago. Guess who opened the door: the Queen Bitch, the housemate from hell, or a reality show, whichever you prefer. Apparently, her boyfriend studies at an IIM or something and she thinks it makes for riveting dinner table conversation to go on about him. It was all I could do to not reach for the knife. The roommate was very sweet and we exchanged ‘how was your days’ as we climbed the stairs to our room. She is on the phone as I write. Strategies for tomorrow: (a) burn the pink raincoat (b) if the girls from today greet, pretend to be someone else and (c) TALK TO BOYS.

Oh and do the laundry. Damnit.