What makes Valentine’s Day most awkward for these Doon singles

On Valentine’s Day, while couples go all mushy, painting the town red with their love, things tend to get slightly awkward for singles. And more so if you have ventured out with someone who is not your romantic partner. Be it restaurants, malls or cinema halls – ushers and waiters become extra helpful to any ‘couple’ in sight as they egg on visitors to avail their Valentine’s Day special offers, which gets both embarrassing and irritating, say Doon singles.
'It's embarrassing when the ticket seller asks, 'Kone wali seats dun kya?' '
Raghav, a BCom student from Prem Nagar, says, “With my past experiences, I have decided to never go out for a movie or a long drive with friends or my sister on Valentine’s Day. If you go for a film, you’ll have to face the ticket seller asking ‘kone wali seats dun kya?’ and then the halls are full of couples who are more interested in each other than watching the film. It’s like Valentine’s Day par theatres sab aashiqon ke ghar ban jaate hai. I remember last year, when I had gone out with my sister for a drive, a cop stopped us and interrogated us for 10min. It was only after showing him our IDs that he allowed us to go on Mussoorie Road.”
Discounts for couples make you feel lonelier: Doon's singles

While cafes and restaurants in the city make sure to provide couples with the best experience on V-Day, it is something that annoys singles. Anubhav, a BTech student from Nehru Colony, says, "The number of products for couples and online discounts for them are already there to make singles feel lonely during this time of the year."
Anubhav adds, "And what adds to our pain is seeing the decorated tables in city cafes. If one is going to a café with a friend or sibling, from offering a rose at the entrance to bringing in those scented lamps to your table, the café staff does everything which will make you feel embarrassed."
Kids on streets selling roses is a common sight during Valentine's Week. Swati, a beautician from Dalanwala who is tired of facing such sellers, says, "Last year, when my younger brother and I were shopping at Astley Hall, a young woman walked up to us to sell roses and the first thing she said was ''Le lo, bhagwan aap donon ki jodi aise hi banaye rakhe aur jald se jald shaadi karaye'. Even after telling her that he was my brother, she didn’t stop, which made things really awkward for us."
'Already bought the gift to save myself from V-Day embarrassment'
For Rishabh, a travel blogger from Rajpur Road, February 14 is not just Valentine's Day but also his sister's birthday. He says, "Every year, it is a struggle for me to buy a gift for my sister on her birthday. When I go to a gift shop during this time, the shopkeeper shows me Valentine's special gifts. So to avoid the situation, I have already bought the gift for my sister before all the drama of the Valentine's Week started and now I will gift it to her today."

Prita, a college student from Raipur, says, "If you go to a gift shop to buy something for your friend or family member during Valentine’s week, people assume that you are buying it for your partner and it becomes really difficult to make them understand that it is not something for your boyfriend but just for a friend. The kind of gifts that they show during this time is also those for lovers. Everything is red and it leaves someone like me, a single, fuming."