Break-ups can be nasty, or they can be fun. It all depends on how you want to make yours. Taking a break has caught the fancy of many youngsters, as aptly depicted in the latest flick Break ke Baad that portrays the protagonists taking a break from their romantic relationship. We speak with youngsters in the city and find out about the quirky, exciting and fun things that they have been up to when they have taken a break from their boyfriend or girlfriend.
Whoever said ending a relationship means doom, couldn’t be more wrong for as Nandini S. Sen, a professional, who shares that when her relationship went kaput, she took refuge in shopping. “During college, my now-husband, then-boyfriend Shiv dumped me and I took to shopping in a big way. I became a shopaholic and made sure never to repeat any clothes that I wore to office. So much so that my boss one day wondered whether I had a ‘sugar daddy’. But thankfully, we worked things out and got back together. And now we are married,” she says.
Dumping your ex could have pluses as well, from pampering yourself, hanging out with your girl gang and flirting just for fun are some things that many women take pride in. Vaishali Ratan, (name changed), HR consultant and model says, “I dumped my boyfriend, and got heavily into dating men for some time. So much so, that every week, I was out on a date and as a present to myself, I got my portfolio done which was pretty impressive and now I take up random modelling assignments.”
For Shikha Kapur, (name changed) a corporate professional, it was time she needed to get her health back when she broke up with her fiancé after nearly six years of dating. “I was ignoring my health all along, and started exercising and gymming to let go of the hurt and anger. I had a fling with a colleague, which I don’t regret. I started hanging out with my girlfriends and went shopping and drinking, till I knew it was time to get back to the world.”
Not just girlie gangs, but even male buddies shine at one’s lowest time, says, model and actress Maushmi Udeshi, “Sometimes in a relationship one misses out the freedom of partying with male friends. I have always had more male friends than women as they understand me better and pamper me whenever I am low.”
Sneaking out of class or work to catch a movie with that special someone. Cooking your “sweetie” pasta for the very first time, pasty as it may be. Ah! The high that comes from being in love. But this heady concoction should come with a warning. An overdose can send you running in the opposite direction. Hence, most youngsters in a relationship find themselves taking a sometimes “break” from each other, ala Abhay and Aaliya in the recent Bollywood flick Break Ke Baad.
Marketing professional Divya D and her boyfriend dated for almost a year, before the idea of a six-month break popped into their heads. “It helped us realise that we were not meant to be. I went back to being my extroverted self, partying hard with friends and smoking that occasional cigarette, things my boyfriend strongly opposed. I bought a bike, went trekking in Kerala, and returned to painting, that he never left me time for earlier.” By the time the break ended, the boyfriend was hitched to someone else, she says, not regretting his actions one bit.
Experts advise that a break can be a favourable option when verbal attempts to resolve an issue cease to work. Says psychotherapist Sridhara A., “A break acts as a pause, and allows the individuals time for much-needed introspection, whether it is intentional or not. It helps them gain perspective on the relationship. Whether they get back or not depends entirely on the reasons for the break.”
(with inputs by Priyanka Haldipur)