No roses, just romance

Had enough of Valentine's Day cliches? How about honouring real love, every day, with a million little gestures that matter?

- SEEMA GOSWAMI

Valentine's Day is behind us and it is safe to come out from hiding without being bombarded by offers to buy roses, send chocolates, make dinner reservations, book a mini-break, or propose marriage to your significant other. It has now become de rigueur to complain about the 'commercialization' of Valentine's Day - and I do, in fact, complain about that - but what annoys me most about the V Day ad blitz is that I don't really recognise the version of 'romance' that is being sold to us. Not only is it needlessly performative, it also doesn't resemble anyone's lived reality.

So, what, you ask, do I consider to be romantic? What would make the cut if I were looking for romance in a relationship (and who isn't?). Well, here are just some gestures that epitomise 'romance' to me; and the best thing is that you don't need to wait for Valentine's Day to come around again to make these gestures for your better half.