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Spark – February 2015 Issue

With groups across the country threatening to get dating couples married off or have them change faith, relax and revel in Spark’s Romance issue! This month, it’s a fiction and poetry special exploring so many facets of romance that range from love and fantasy to the downright real. We also have a special interview on two campaigns that are encouraging discussions around redefining love. Read on!

Tenacity

Sunita and Sunil just can’t find one quiet spot in all of Mumbai to spend a simple, romantic evening. But they won’t give up – this evening, they’re trying again to find one such place, and Parth Pandya tells you what happens.

The Travel Vest

What if you could trap sixteen of your affections in a travel vest? Bakul Banerjee pens a poem that showcases an interesting perspective of romance.

Redefining Love in the Love Jihad Era

February brings images of pink hearts and ribbons, and a certain narrow form of love that we like or detest. Two campaigns, one ongoing and one just completed, do their bit to start a conversation about the innumerable forms of love there could be – and how, if we open up our eyes just a little bit, we’ll know that each one of them is worthy of our respect. Interviews on Tathapi Trust’s “Pyaar ki Gutargoo” campaign and Zehen Collective’s #RedefiningLove campaign.

Always You

The magic of romance comes alive and so does the magnificence of nature as Vinita Agrawal writes a poem on the symbiotic relationship between the man a woman loves and the nature that surrounds her.

I Understand

A man describes what he loved about the woman in his life and what about her has transformed. Vishal Anand writes a short story.

Do you Remember the Promises?

A meeting, a long wait, the beginning of a relationship and a sudden parting with some promises made. And then some questions that linger, waiting for answers. M. Mohankumar’s poem captures the feelings of a heart aching for a beloved’s return.

Found and Lost

Sukriti, a journalist, is desperately searching for a man whom she had last seen as an eight-year-old, 20 years ago. Namitha Varma describes the ordeal of looking for someone who your heart pines for and what eventually happens. Read on.                

Marriage in the Social Era

What’s it like being married in the social era? Vani Viswanathan, as a relatively new entrant into the institution, reflects on the public glare of social media on marriage.