Old Is Gold

As a millennial caught between India's growing online dating culture and a decade-long (and continuing) monogamous relationship, this writer muses if she missed the bus or got saved by the bell

- Suman Mahfuz Quazi

Tinder officially came to India in 2013 after a soft launch in 2012. By then, I was in the grips of a new love, considering colouring my hair pink (which I did the next year) and bunking Political Theory classes to smoke cigarettes in the back lane of an adjoining college which was co-ed- mine was not. It was an all-girls convent straight out of the 18th century, with a Sister who made 'Value Education' classes compulsory, where we were sermonised on the devilish nature of abortions. Needless to say, I couldn't wait to get out and get out I did, moving 1,562.2 kms away from my hometown, Kolkata, to pursue masters in Delhi in 2014.

This was when Tinder was really picking up, especially in urban cities. By October that year, users were making 1 billion swipes a day and spending close to 90 minutes on the app, as per a report in the New York Times, titled "Tinder, the Fastest Growing Dating App, Taps an Age Old Truth". But this was also when my new love had turned a tad old and would slip into the murky terrains of an LDR or Long Distance Relationship. A decade later, I would marry the same love in a secular ceremony, where we would write our own vows, and indeed, our own rules. In that time, Indians will have already become well acquainted with the pursuits and perils of online dating culture, with apps like Bumble, Hinge, OkCupid, Truly Madly and Happn sharing equal space with essential apps like Zomato, Swiggy and Google Pay.