Atreyee Poddar
The landline confessional: Remember those clunky landlines with the curly cords? Gathering the courage to call your crush was a feat in itself. You'd rehearse your lines, hope their annoying sibling didn't answer and pray you didn’t get disconnected mid-confession. It was a high-stakes game of love!
Eye contact in a crowded room: Forget swiping right. In the 90s, gauging someone’s interest often involved a complex game of eye contact. You’d try to catch their gaze across a crowded room, hoping for a lingering look or a shy smile. It was a subtle art, fraught with the risk of misinterpretation or, worse, getting caught by your friends and enduring endless teasing.
The handwritten letter: Before WhatsApp and emails, love letters were the ultimate expression of romance. You’d pour your heart out on paper, hoping your words would reach your beloved and make their heart flutter. The anticipation of waiting for a reply was pure agony.
The gift of a cassette: Remember those rectangular plastic cases that held our musical treasures? Gifting a cassette with a carefully chosen love song was a subtle way to confess your feelings. It was like saying, “Hey, this song made me think of you!”
The Bollywood-inspired grand gesture: Bollywood movies were the ultimate guide to romance in the 90s. From Shah Rukh Khan’s dramatic declarations of love to Kajol’s coy smiles, we learned that love was all about grand gestures. So, maybe you wouldn’t serenade your crush with a song and dance routine, but a well-timed rose or a heartfelt poem could do the trick.