Tag: romance

Once Upon a Curfew takes us through the journey of Indu and Rajat; their love which blossomed during pre-Emergency India. With the socio-political situation of the time as a subtle backdrop, the book gives us a peek into love and romance in India in the 1980s.

The book introduces us to Rajat and Rana, two strong male protagonists, vying for Indu’s affection – each with a different demeanour and outlook towards life.

Who do you think you would have chosen? Take this quiz and find out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To get a true glimpse of love in the decade of ’70s, read Once Upon A Curfew  by Srishti Chaudhary.

It is 1974. Indu has inherited a flat from her grandmother and wants to turn it into a library for women. Her parents think this will keep her suitably occupied till she marries her fiancé, Rajat, who’s away studying in London.
But then she meets Rana, a young lawyer with sparkling wit and a heart of gold. He helps set up the library and their days light up with playful banter and the many Rajesh Khanna movies they watch together.

When the Emergency is declared, Indu’s life turns upside down. Rana finds himself in trouble, while Rajat decides it’s time to visit India and settle down. As the Emergency pervades their lives, Indu must decide not only who but what kind of life she will choose.

Once Upon A Curfew beautifully portrays the difference between love then, in the 70s and now.

Here are some poignant quotes from the book that will surely melt your heart!

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Even an act as tiny as looking into one’s eyes or extending a hand for a shake when meeting each other for the first time was considered bold and gutsy.

 

The use of first names without any salutation between 2 people who have just met would be a sign of a developing intimacy.

 

Subtleties were still very much in trend and flirting would almost always be way too polite.

 

It would not only be scandalous but also very inappropriate for a young boy and girl to meet at each other’s houses or even less crowded or empty public spaces. Coffee shops and restaurants used to be the dating hot joints of the times.

 

Physical expression of emotion was not the norm of the day; it could send a wrong signal or the person initiating it might actually be judged in a bad way.

 

The expression of one’s love was mostly through words and silent actions and not outright and sometimes over-the-top declarations of love so characteristic of today’s times.

 

Physical proximity or public display of affection was frowned upon and was not common so it made couples self-conscious and awkward when they had to diplay even the minutest of affection in public.

 

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Get your copy of Once Upon A Curfew today!

In this scintillating romantic thriller, Rahul, an intelligence officer on a secret mission, is undercover at a major’s house. In the process, he falls in love with the major’s daughter, Akriti, unknowingly putting her in danger.

Just when he thinks he has found a haven for Akriti, she goes missing. That’s when a research wing officer is put on the job, and Rahul realizes she is someone who seems all too familiar. Or is she really?

As the ghosts of a past passion come back to haunt his love for Akriti, Rahul must race against time to save the girl who holds his happiness in her soul.

Read on for eleven of the most romantic quotes from The Secrets We Keep, lines that will stir your soul while reminding you of the addictive chaos of the most powerful and enigmatic of all emotions.

 

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Get your copy of The Secrets We Keep  today!

Ayesha at Last by Uzma Jalaluddin, is a big-hearted, captivating, modern-day Muslim Pride and Prejudice, with hijabs instead of top hats and kurtas instead of corsets. It introduces us to Ayesha, a woman who has a lot going on.

Her dreams of being a poet have been overtaken by a demanding teaching job. Her boisterous Muslim family, and numerous (interfering) aunties, are professional naggers. And her flighty young cousin, about to reject her one hundredth marriage proposal, is a constant reminder that Ayesha is still single. Ayesha might be a little lonely, but the one thing she doesn’t want is an arranged marriage. And then she meets Khalid… How could a man so conservative and judgmental (and, yes, smart and annoyingly handsome) have wormed his way into her thoughts so quickly?

Before you read the story, here are a few things to know about her:

She’s always in a hurry!

“Khalid had seen her several times since he had moved into the neighbourhood two months ago, always with her red ceramic mug, always in a hurry.”

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She has a very demanding teaching job

“They’re not my class, Ayesha thought. They need a circus trainer, not a teacher. She flushed, wiped sweaty palms on her pants and tucked the purple notebook back inside her bag. Mary stood outside, a look of pity on her face.”

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She likes writing (bad?) poetry

“The other teachers were teaching, not hiding and writing poetry. She squinted at the page, rereading her words. Correction: writing bad poetry.”

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She’s a little inexperienced but dreams of falling in love

“She remained silent about the other two items – exploring the world, falling in love- the first as impossible as the second. She had no money, and falling in love would be difficult when she had never even held someone’s hand before.”

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She believes that CHAI is life

“All she wanted now was to go home, drink a cup of very strong chai and reconsider her life choices.”

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She likes to PARTAY

“But not tonight. Tonight she was going to party like she was still an undergrad. Which meant takeout pizza and old Bollywood movies.”

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She immigrated to Canada at young age and understands the importance of family

“ When they’d first immigrated from India to Canada, Ayesha and her family had moved into the three-bedroom townhouse with Hafsa’s family. It was a tight fit for everyone, but her uncle Sulaiman insisted on hosting them. He had immigrated as a young man almost two decades before, and he was happy to have his family join him in Canada, despite the devastating circumstances.”

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She’s willing to make sacrifices for her best friend

“ The only thing she was looking forward to tonight was an early bedtime. But loyalty ran deep in the Shamsi clan, and Clara deserved a best friend who could stay up past eight.”

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Ayesha at Last is enchanting, achingly funny and uplifting.

Ayesha Shamsi has a lot going on. Her boisterous Muslim family, and numerous (interfering) aunties, are professional naggers. And her flighty young cousin, about to reject her one hundredth marriage proposal, is a constant reminder that Ayesha is still single.

Ayesha might be a little lonely, but the one thing she doesn’t want is an arranged marriage.

Ayesha at Last by Uzma Jalaluddin sheds some light on arranged marriage in the Muslim community. Read on to find out if Ayesha should give arranged marriage a chance…

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Love is a part of the equation but not before marriage

“Love comes after marriage, not before. These Western ideas of romantic love are utter nonsense. Just look at the American divorce rate.”

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The guest list requires a lot more thought than expected

 “The wedding will be in July. Everyone will want an invitation, but I will limit the guest list to six hundred people. Any more is showing off.”

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Mothers can get a little carried away during the process

“Because while it is a truth universally acknowledged that a single Muslim man must be in want of a wife, there’s an even greater truth: To his Indian mother, his own inclinations are of secondary importance.”

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Sometimes it is the only way some people can find a partner

“He had been raised to believe that non-related men and women should never get too close- socially, emotionally and especially physically. “ When an unmarried man and woman are alone together, a third person is present: Satan,” Ammi often told him.”

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Religion is not part of the process but is an integral part of the individual’s identity

“His white robes and beard were a comfortable security blanket, his way of communicating without saying a word. Even though he knew there were other, easier ways to be, Khalid had chosen the one that felt most authentic to him, and he had no plans to waver.”

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First impressions are very important

“Well, I hope you aren’t comparing your situation to our little Hafsa’s many rishta proposals. Even if you are seven years older and only received a handful of offers. Only consider Sulaiman’s status in the community and Hafsa’s great beauty, her bubbly personality.”

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Everyone who participates doesn’t believe in the ‘Happily Ever After’

“A woman should always have a backup plan, for when things fall apart. You must know how to support yourself when they leave.”

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Ayesha at Last is a big-hearted, captivating, modern-day Muslim Pride and Prejudice, with hijabs instead of top hats and kurtas instead of corsets. .

When in love, you tend to take each other for granted, and sometimes, that can cost you a lifetime of togetherness . . .

In the book Something I Never Told You by Shravya Bhinder, Ronnie knew that his first crush was way out of his league, and yet he pursued and wooed Adira. Shyly and from a distance in the beginning, and more persuasively later. He couldn’t believe it when the beautiful Adira actually began to reciprocate, falling in love with him for his simplicity and honesty. Slowly, as they get close and comfortable with each other, life takes on another hue. From truly magical it becomes routine.

Here are some quotes from Ronnie and Adira’s relationship that will prevent you from making the mistake they made:

“Every time we had an argument or a disagreement, or if one did not like anything about the other, she used to go silent, or respond in monosyllables, sometimes even sounds—hmmm . . . ah . . . oh . . . what kind of a response was this?”

 

“I have learnt only one thing in my life—that we should not stop expressing our love, ever! After some time together, we usually stop telling our beloveds how much they mean to us. We stop saying, ‘I love you’, and start taking each other for granted. The comfort of company creeps in.”

 

“I took you for granted, I took what was between us for granted as I never knew that all could be lost in the blink of an eye. The few times when I did tell you how much I loved you, I failed to stand by it. I should have told you more often how much you mean to me; I should have not hesitated in saying the three most significant yet sparingly used words in most modern relationships.”

 

“I never thought that you could go anywhere, that I could lose you. Destiny tricked me and shook my world. When in love, we should tell our beloved how we feel about them; every day, every hour if we can, every minute if we must.”

 

“How I wish the walls of my ego had crumbled that night and been buried under the immense love I have always felt for you. How I wish I had disobeyed the devil in me, when I planned to make you suffer remorse for one more night.”

 

“Yes, the mode of communication which is the best for lovers after letters and calls, is email. Not many of us explore that option, but I feel that chatting or texting doesn’t really convey our messages and tone well. I would prefer an email any day to a chat or text.”

 

“We were both a little broken, entirely messed up and madly in love with the idea of love. ‘Love dies when you stop working on it,’ I told her in a reassuring tone. My mind was running on an overdose of emotions.”

 

“If your first day with your girlfriend is the most memorable one, it means that you could never really develop the spark you had into a fire. Love is like wine—the older it gets, the better it becomes. It can intoxicate you, make you forget all your worries, and be the relief that you have always been looking for. The passion should increase day by day, hour by hour and minute by minute. People who say that the spark dies after the first few years have never been in love.”

 

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Ronnie and Adira will probably never find their forever after . . Get your copy today to find out more!

 

Tanaz Bhathena’s The Beauty of the Moment is the story of Susan and Malcolm, and how despite being so different from one another they find themselves irrevocably in love with each other. Despite her parents’ impending divorce Susan is sincere and is driven towards making her parents proud. On the other hand, ever since his mother passed away Malcolm has had a reputation of being troublemaker and a bad boy. His adulterous father contributes further into making his life a mess.

Despite their respective burdens, Susan and Malcolm fall for each other. They confide their dreams and aspirations in each other. Read this book to know more about their unbreakable bond that shows the importance of being true to oneself.

Here we tell you a few interesting things about the author:

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Even though Tanaz Bhathena was born in Mumbai, she spent her childhood in many different places like Riyadh, Jeddah and Toronto.

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Tanaz Bhathena has also authored the young-adult novel A Girl Like That, which was nominated for the 2019 OLA White Pine award and was also name Best Book of 2018 by The Globe and Mail, CBC, Quill & Quire, Seventeen, PopSugar, and The Times of India. 

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Tanaz Bhathena is fond of travelling, learning bits of foreign languages and taking photographs.

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Many of Tanaz Bhathena’s short stories have been featured in various journals such as Blackbird, Witness and Room.

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As a child, Tanaz Bhathena was an avid reader and began writing at the age of eight. By the the time she was thirteen-years-old, she had made up her mind to be a writer.

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One of the reasons for Tanaz Bhathena to start writing was that she wanted more people like her – Bhathena belongs to the Parsi community – featured in literature, making the readers aware of the South Asian identity and the diaspora in world literature.

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Tanaz Bhathena currently lives in the Toronto area with her family.

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Love is messy and families are messier, but in spite of their burdens, Susan and Malcolm fall for each other. The ways they drift apart and come back together are the picture of being true to oneself. Grab your copy of The Beauty of the Moment now!

There’s something absolutely lovely about love stories, whether it’s their heart-warming storylines, their ability to entertain us, or their relatable characters.  They almost always give us a new standard of love for ourselves and we can’t but help share and re-share the best quotes from them.

With this spirit, we’ve partnered with Romedy Now to bring to you, some of our favourite movie quotes. Which are your favourites?

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“Look Elliot, I’m gonna let you in on a little secret. The whole good and evil thing, you know, Him and me, it really comes down to you. You don’t have to look very hard for Heaven and Hell. They’re right here on Earth.”

– Bedazzled

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“Sometimes in life there really are bonds formed that can never be broken. Sometimes you really can find that one person who will stand by you no matter what. Maybe you’ll find it in a spouse and celebrate it with your dream wedding.”

– Bride Wars

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“You play to your strengths, pal. That’s all any of us can do.”

– Crazy, Stupid, Love

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“You meet thousands of people and none of them really touch you. And then you meet one person and your life is changed… forever.”

– Love and Other Drugs

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“You’re not leaving, you’re running. What I can’t figure out is, are you running towards something you want, or are you running away from something you’re afraid to want?”

– Maid in Manhattan

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“You define every law of nature I’ve ever known.”

– Sweet November

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“Being in love means being yourself.”

– What’s Your Number?

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“Let me just say there was a man sitting in the elevator with me who knew exactly what he wanted, and I found myself wishing I were as lucky as he.”

– You’ve Got Mail

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“Most people know that their first love won’t be their only love. But for me, you’re both.”

– Every Day

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“Love, it never dies. It never goes away, it never fades, so long as you hang on to it. Love can make you immortal”

– If I Stay

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“I vow to help you love life, to always hold you with tenderness, to have the patience that love demands, to speak when words are needed, and to share the silence when they are not, to agree to disagree about red velvet cake, to live within the warmth of your heart, and always call it home.”

– The Vow

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“Every day was exactly the same, until Olly.”

– Everthing, Everything

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 “Suddenly, I knew what I had to do. Love isn’t about ridiculous little words. Love is about grand gestures. Love is about airplanes pulling banners over stadiums, proposals on jumbo-trons, giant words in sky writing. Love is about going that extra mile even if it hurts, letting it all hang out there. Love is about finding courage inside of you that you didn’t even know was there.”

– Little Manhattan 

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Photo by Brigitte Tohm on Unsplash