(Names changed to protect identities) After a courtship of three years when I and Mihir got married, the first thing we had to figure out was this: How we will make love in the one-bedroom apartment where the parents had the bedroom and the drawing room had no door? We had so many things to attend to before our marriage that we had forgotten all about the door! So the first thing we did was to get one fixed....
Being emotional and soft is considered to be a sign of being feminine, which is blindly synonymous with a weakness for many in Indian society, even in the present day. In fact, the recent breakdown of ISRO chief K Sivan, after the breakdown of communication with Vikram Lander of Chandrayaan 2 has led to a lot of debate, whether it was okay for a man of his stature to cry on camera....
How will I know if a man is sexually active? Right now I want to prove that he is lying, how can I do it, ma’am? For girls, there is a virginity test and for guys is there any test through which we can tell that he has been sexually active? I know he is sleeping elsewhere. My question may seem silly but I am desperate ma’am. What are the signs that a man is sexually active or not active?...
Best friends love each other. And many of them fall in love. Best friends falling in love is as cute as it is comfortable. The possibility of friends turning into lovers is high because you spend so much of your time together, know each other very well and love to be together. How can romance be far behind then? But can you just ask your friend whether he loves you like that?...
Sita, Urmila, Mandavi and Shrutakirti got married together Rama had strung Shiva’s heavy bow and won Sita. We were all married at the same time to the four brothers. No one cared for how young I was. And Shruta even younger. It was a good home, a prestigious family, all the sisters would remain together, they said. Only, we didn’t. Fate had something else planned for us. And I think Mandavi was singled out to be the one who would have it all but will have nothing....
Manipulation in relationships comes with many faces, and some of them are so subtle, you’d probably laugh if someone told you that you were being manipulated. But remember, one of the hallmarks of master manipulators is that you never see them coming. In this piece, we talk about how to recognize the signs of manipulation in your relationship, with the help of counseling psychologist Kavita Panyam (Masters in Psychology and international affiliate with the American Psychological Association), who has been helping couples work through their relationship issues for over two decades....
Narcissistic Mothers 21 Parenting Signs of a Narcissistic Mother How do you recognize if you might have a Narcissistic Mother? 7 Toxic Traits of a Narcissistic Mother In Law You are madly in love, but your MIL seems a bit off. Is she showing Narcissism traits? Check this list to find out. 12 Toxic Signs of a Narcissistic Grandmother When people get older they sometimes also get more difficult to deal with....
The following is a real-life query posed to counseling psychologist and certified life-skills trainer Deepak Kashyap (Masters in Psychology of Education), who specializes in a range of mental health issues, including LGBTQ and closeted counseling. I Am Not Sexually Attracted To My Partner – What To Do? Q: Is losing physical attraction normal? I am a 48-year-old and overall a happily married man. My problem though, right now, is my wife’s weight....
(As told to Sanjukta Das) How my in-laws behaved before marriage When my boyfriend-turned-fiancé invited me to have lunch with his parents, I was, of course, thrilled. I didn’t know how my in-laws would treat me before the marriage, but I expected them to be nice and sweet just like my husband. But his dad turned out to be just his opposite. When I was introduced to him I was greeted by the most stoic-faced person, who peered at me over his thick reading glasses and said a staunch “Hello”....
The end of a relationship is one of the most distressing things you’ll ever experience. It can wreak havoc on your self-esteem as you start questioning why your girlfriend fell out of love with you. What did I do wrong? Am I not attractive enough? Am I not funny or romantic enough? Did she use me for my money? You’ll have sleepless nights trying to find the answers to these questions....
In fact, it seems less a coincidence and more a deliberate move on their part. Probably that is how a husband and wife were expected to behave in the ‘60s – to project a blank face and suppress any expression of mutual admiration or marital bliss. I cannot recall seeing my parents hugging each other or even expressing their love through words, like the parents of my friends did. Of course sometimes I found it unusual, even strange, but eventually I accepted that this is how my parents were – reticent and inexpressive....
Jim and Pam, Monica and Chandler, Marshal and Lily, the list goes on. If you had to endure another obnoxious couple being all over each other, you think you just might go nuts. You’ve tried online dating, the blind dates, and the setups but it constantly feels like nobody’s perfect. Nobody really gets you. But the question is, do you get you? There’s some work to be done before you go out looking for true love....
Those who seem to be more resilient don’t necessarily have everything under control. Their life is not perfect. However, they somehow tend to find a way to manage adversity in the right way, and eventually come out of it stronger. What follows are seven habits they usually have in common — and that can help you build mental strength and resilience. 1. Mentally strong people focus on the things they can control It’s not a coincidence I’m mentioning this point before all the others....
To be honest, it’s really not that hard. Just be nice and go out to have fries. That just very well may be all it takes to win someone over. Oh and don’t cheat. And don’t yell. And definitely don’t call her friend fat. Okay, maybe a list is needed. Now that your ten-second attention span has been adequately grabbed and you’re seriously trying to figure out things every woman wants in a man, let’s get right into it....
The answer seems simple. Ditch the low self-esteem, get a haircut and just ask her out! We know, we know. Easier said than done, right? “Just ask her out” ignores the weeks you’ll spend overthinking. To help you out, we’re here to tell you how to ask a girl to be your girlfriend so you don’t just accidentally blabber out “will you be my girlfriend” at the worst possible time....
I had married rich, and not just any rich, but a let’s fly to Europe for the weekend getaway kinda rich. How did I get here? Simple – I spent all my energy and mind to woo my wife – a princess in every sense of the word. Today, I am her arm candy at all parties where I entertain her friends with wit, educate relatives with wisdom, and enthral with a charm that took 31 years to perfect....
Do men really like those high heels and red lipsticks, or are they all for that natural look? Do they like a girl who jokes around just like the guys do, or are men looking for someone who is always donning Gucci and carrying the best Michael Kors bags? Though they’re supposed to be the uncomplicated gender, when it comes to what they want from a woman, there are all sorts of complications at play....
If he gives you hints you’re texting him too much and wants you to stop texting him, that’s another deal. We already know how he feels at that point. For whatever reason you’re not texting him, let it be games, work, not knowing what to text, etc… He’ll be thinking about it. Though, it comes down to a very important question: does not texting a guy back make him want you more?...
When you started off with your guy with his great hair and a smooth tongue, it must have been ecstatic. You start to know him better, his favourite cuisine and the kind of people he hangs out with and amazingly, he never once mentions the name of one female friend. Weird? Maybe not. Until six months in the relationship and still no mention of a female friend. You might think it is a weird thing to even worry about but a man having no female friends....
Whenever they get a chance to talk about Star Wars, they do. The slightest reference to Star Wars sets them off. They start talking about it with no warning and start dissecting it, and you sitting beside them think, “Oh God, why is this happening to me again! ARGHHH.” You may even hate the fact that they give so much importance to something which is non-existent. You feel like Padme (Natalie Portman) who is distant from his partner, the young Jedi Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen), and would want to use the force to knock some sense into them....
