New Relationships - Modern Love Blooms
THE WEEK India|October 09, 2022
Post pandemic, love is being redefined. THE WEEK looks at alternative romantic partnerships that cherish the big, bold spaces between them
Sneha Bhura
New Relationships - Modern Love Blooms

By definition, solo polyamory means having several intimate relationships without a primary partner. One chooses to have a single, independent life in the midst of a vibrant dating circle with multiple meaningful connections.

When Sejuti Biswas (name changed) learnt about the phrase in June 2020, she had an epiphany of sorts. Just before lockdown started in March, Biswas, a Delhi-based freelance publishing professional, was fresh off a breakup. While isolating in her two-room flat, she reached out to her once-distant neighbour, college friends, cousins, mother, random dates, her two cats, and her paintbrushes to become functional again. Theoretically, she knew that it took a sum total of all relationships to feel happy and complete, and not just a romantic partner. But it was really a pandemic-induced lockdown that made her get off the "relationship-escalator"-the bundle of social scripts on how a romantic union is supposed to develop, from attraction and love to sex, cohabitation, marriage and children. "I have had a lot of romance in the conventional sense but that hasn't led to a primary partner," says Biswas, now 39. "Initially, I was not okay with it, but later I realised it is such a great thing. It is like you don't have anything to lose. I discovered that every experience is an end in itself. I felt quite free." There are multiple combinations that are acceptable now. "People can have sex without getting attached. People can only be emotionally attached. They can only meet once a year. Or, communicate only via text. Or, never meet at all. All of it is valid," says Biswas, enumerating the many patterns and permutations in her own love life.

Denne historien er fra October 09, 2022-utgaven av THE WEEK India.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

Denne historien er fra October 09, 2022-utgaven av THE WEEK India.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

FLERE HISTORIER FRA THE WEEK INDIASe alt
What Will It Take To Clean Up Delhi Air?
THE WEEK India

What Will It Take To Clean Up Delhi Air?

IT IS ASKED, year after year, why Delhi’s air remains unbreathable despite several interventions to reduce pollution.

time-read
5 mins  |
December 08, 2024
Trump and the crisis of liberalism
THE WEEK India

Trump and the crisis of liberalism

Although Donald Trump's election to a non-consecutive second term to the US presidency is not unprecedented—Grover Cleveland had done it in 1893—it is nevertheless a watershed moment.

time-read
2 mins  |
December 08, 2024
Men eye the woman's purse
THE WEEK India

Men eye the woman's purse

A couple of months ago, I chanced upon a young 20-something man at my gym walking out with a women’s sling bag.

time-read
2 mins  |
December 08, 2024
When trees hold hands
THE WEEK India

When trees hold hands

A filmmaker explores the human-nature connect through the living root bridges

time-read
3 mins  |
December 08, 2024
Ms Gee & Gen Z
THE WEEK India

Ms Gee & Gen Z

The vibrant Anuja Chauhan and her daughter Nayantara on the generational gap in romance writing

time-read
5 mins  |
December 08, 2024
Vikram Seth-a suitable man
THE WEEK India

Vikram Seth-a suitable man

Our golden boy of literature was the star attraction at the recent Shillong Literary Festival in mysterious Meghalaya.

time-read
2 mins  |
December 08, 2024
Superman bites the dust
THE WEEK India

Superman bites the dust

When my granddaughter Kim was about three, I often took her to play in a nearby park.

time-read
3 mins  |
December 08, 2024
OLD MAN AND THE SEA
THE WEEK India

OLD MAN AND THE SEA

Meet G. Govinda Menon, the 102-year-old engineer who had a key role in surveying the Vizhinjam coast in the 1940s, assessing its potential for an international port

time-read
4 mins  |
December 08, 2024
Managing volatility: smarter equity choices in uncertain markets
THE WEEK India

Managing volatility: smarter equity choices in uncertain markets

THE INDIAN STOCK MARKET has delivered a strong 11 per cent CAGR over the past decade, with positive returns for eight straight years.

time-read
3 mins  |
December 08, 2024
Investing in actively managed low-volatility portfolios keeps risks at bay
THE WEEK India

Investing in actively managed low-volatility portfolios keeps risks at bay

AFTER A ROARING bull market over the past year, equity markets in the recent months have gone into a correction mode as FIIs go on a selling spree. Volatility has risen and investment returns are hurt.

time-read
2 mins  |
December 08, 2024