Mum's the word on V-Day

<div class="section1"><div class="Normal"><script language="javascript">doweshowbellyad=0; </script><br /><a href="/articleshow/495328.cms"><img align="right" src="/photo/496856.cms" alt="/photo/496856.cms" border="0" /></a>You would think mums and Valentine''s Day don''t mix. But this one is different. In fact, mum''s the only saving grace when Valentine''s Day poses problems for young men of limited means and a beloved to boot.<br /><br />Most mums keep harping on the "menace" that goes by the name of Valentine''s Day. How it''s a product of cultural imperialism and an excuse for unwanted pregnancies... <br /><br />Not my mum. She''s a die-hard romantic from a bygone era – a remnant of the ''70s when Bollywood heroes and heroines romping around in botanical gardens was the big <a href="/articleshow/496650.cms" target="_blank">love thing</a>. <br /><br />But where are those gardens today, I ask her. ''Moral'' cops are roaming around in the parks waiting to make a quick buck by stomping out coochie-cooers.<br /><br />Yuppies go to Ansal Plaza, some make it to Goa, while the DINKs are immersed in office-work.<br /></div> <div align="left" style="position:relative; left: -2"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" align="left" border="1" width="27.0%"> <colgroup> <col width="100.0%" /> </colgroup> <tr valign="top"> <td width="100.0%" colspan="1" rowspan="1" style="" valign:="" top="" background-color:="" f3f3f3=""> <div class="Normal"><img align="right" src="/photo/496857.cms" alt="/photo/496857.cms" border="0" /></div> </td> </tr> </table></div> <div class="Normal"><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="">Woe is me! What do I do with my measly cash-strapped existence? Even a nondescript, slightly wilting rose costs 20 bucks on D-day. But then it''s the feeling that counts.</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="">A withered rose by any other name smells the same. I twist Shakespeare to reason with my beloved. Let''s make do with a chrysanthemum.</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="">And candlelit dinners are passé. After all, regular power cuts have ensured that they become a quotidian ritual, not a Valentine''s Day special. </span><br /><br /><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="">I am trying hard, but she is not buying it. <a href="/articleshow/495328.cms" target="_blank">What to buy for her</a>? A greeting card. No, mum – that''s just too little. Perfumes? She''s got too many. Movie? She''s watched them all. Chocolates? No way, she''s got a family history of diabetes.</span><br /><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold=""> </span><br /><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="">Hey, mum just told me a great way to impress my beloved. No, I will not share this one with you. Find your own way. Coz mum''s the word.</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold=""><formid=367815></formid=367815></span><br /></div> </div>