Gifting roses, chocolate and going on a dinner date on Valentine’s Day have been a regular affair but many couples are getting their love etched with themselves and opt for mindful dating. Sunday Pioneer tells you what is trending this Valentine’s Day

Get your love itched

Love stays forever but tattoos stay longer. Both ink and love require lifelong commitments as they never fade, regardless of how much time passes. To capture the soulmate’s love for lifetime and mark this day of love, many couples are opting to get themselves inked with their symbol of love.

“Ink is a very strong commitment and those who have commitment problem, they will never get themselves inked. Gifting materialistic things are easy but getting inked is special as you are taking the pain and making efforts. You need to have very strong feeling for it. We have been making a lot of tattoos on couples during Valentines week. They come up with the idea or concept of what they feel about their love. It is about relationships and love and affection, cherishing and making their love forever,” tattoo artists Vikas Malani, co-founders, BodyCanvas Tattoos, says.

Some literally wear their hearts on their sleeves by getting inked. Designs like an arrow and a heart, lock and key, king and queen, couple rings on the fingers, jigsaw puzzles, zodiac symbols, anchor and a wheel, ‘soul’ and ‘mate,’ fingerprints of each of them, or anniversary date, are some of the common tattoos which couples usually get etched on their body. Some go for connecting tattoos which gets complete only when the couple is together, depicting that they are incomplete without each other. Like “Love stays forever”

Making the relationship and love permanent by getting a tattoo sounds cool to many but getting each other’s name etched is a risky affair because when relationship doesn’t work out between the couple, they come back asking to change the tattoo.

“People have now started understanding that tattoos are permanent and it's difficult and painful to get rid of them therefore couples now are now preferring symbolism or something meaningful rather than getting each other’s names inked. Couples are getting tattoos of their partners' characteristics or what they like about them. One of our clients got tattoo of a girl with a whisk in hand which was dedicated to his fiancé who is a baker! Another client got dumbbell/ weight tattoo because her partner is a gym freak. Another couple who survived a long distance relationship via phone calls without even getting a chance to meet once, honoured their love by getting a connecting tattoo where a boy and girl are talking through a string telephone! It denotes to keep two souls connected no matter how far apart they were because ultimately, they would still be able to find their way back to one another,” Malani tells you.

Celebrate singlehood

Why should couples have all the fun? This Valentine’s Day, celebrate your singlehood at The Irish House in Delhi NCR and get rid of your ex’s stuff by donating it for good cause. Drop by with your fellow single comrades and let go of any baggage by smashing the piñata and dumping your ex's stuff. Gear up for an awesome ‘high’ spirited experience with the potent range of special singles’ themed LIIT’s because after all, love is just too mainstream!

The seven special singles’ themed LIIT’s are sure to make you want to drink to all the joy or even the sorrows! Pick from Love Gone Bad with Jim Beam, gear up for a legendary Irish hangover with The Heartless Narcissist with Jameson, sip on Cupid’s Broken Arrow with Vodka, The Colour Changing Ex with Jim Beam, amongst others like Conceited Raspberry and Salt in the Wound.

Go for mindful dating

This Valentine’s Week, forge on great bond of love for eternity with your partner with mindful dating instead of make it a casual affair. Make the mindless chats and awkward first dates with a fresh new take on modern dating that combine authentic relationship skills coaching in the form of fun and playful exercises such as eye gazing, mirroring, shadowing and hugging will help us open our heart space.

Shweta Advani of Mindful Love Tribe is organising Mindful Dating Festival on till February 16 which will bring together mindful people to create authentic and meaningful connections. Hosted by a life coach, Fakeera, the festival will conduct the workshop on what is conscious dating, how to use Mindfulness techniques to deal with relationship triggers and how to understand our partner’s needs and love languages?

“Let’s open our hearts to the ‘real’. This involves first ‘me’ being real and then sharing the same with the other. It’s not about the attraction two people have for each other but the space each one of them is ready to create for one another. A space of expressing the needs with authenticity and accepting and catering to the needs of my partner,” Fakeera, founder of Creative Movement Therapy Association of India, tells you adding that the event will take place from 1pm to 3 pm at Studio Baila Loca, Panchsheel Park.

Seven promises to make

Being a good listener: Sometimes, we all need someone who would only listen without judging or without providing a solution and this helps to breathe. So, whenever your partner is in the need to talk, be that ear of reliability.

• Be in your own skin: Yes, a relationship requires you to adjust somewhere or sacrifice certain things/habits. But you also have to let your partner feel that you are vulnerable in front of him/her. You should not hide anything from your partner instead bare yourself totally without being ashamed of your flaws.
• Let him/her be their ownself: Everyone is normal by being different from you. If you don’t like a certain taste of your partner, then politely let him/her know about that rather than being rude or simply stay away from his/her space. You and your partner should be the comfortable cushion to each other where each one can be their own self without any inhibitions.
• Encourage growth: Everyone is born with some kind of talent and you should always encourage that. Make your partner feel that he/she is the best, inspire them to learn more skill and be better than the best.
• Quality time: Time would always be a constraint since everyone is busy with their web of work. But you have to promise to spend quality time with each other. Sit down and decide on which days of the month you both can be free for each other. Spend that whole day with each other without indulging into any kind of office work or any other domestic chores.
• Give space to breath: Many relationships hit a low because the partners are reluctant to give space to each other. This Valentine’s Day, promise each other that you will give them space.
• More team work: You and your partner live in a house and invest in a relationship and effective teamwork has to go there. If he/she is late from office, cook the food or clean the home or take turns to go to the grocery and clean clothes. A great team is all about hard work and understanding!