It’s not just any date on the calendar, and it’s not just any concert in town. Valentine’s Day has in store Lucky Ali’s first live concert for Puneites. There could be no day more suitable to listen to him croon his ballads from Sunoh and Sifar, and generally feel the music at the Fergusson College grounds.
On the eve of a day when nothing matters more than matters of the heart comes a talk that’s guaranteed to give you an insight into just that. Organised jointly by three organisations – Srushti, Sahil and Marathwada Mitra Mandal – the speaker will be Dr Mohan Agashe. To be organised at the Mitramandal College of Commerce today, the talk will focus on love, through the eyes of a psychologist. From teenage infatuations to harmful obsessions, Agashe tells it all!
It’s time to make eye contact. And the Symbiosis Centre of Health Care tells you how. A special Valentine offer enables everyone purchasing contact lenses at its contact lens clinic to be eligible for a lucky draw which will be held at the campus. The first prize is a free pair of coloured lenses and the second, a pair of Ray-Ban sunglasses.
Not just parties and dos, new ventures are also being floated this Valentine, like Sangita and Vivek Kukas’ enterprise, Venus Calling. Promising to “deliver sentiments” all year round to friends and relatives of those who subscribe to the service, they launch off on February 14. They have already registered 134 members, and the figures are escalating. Packing love into an envelope, huh?
You could get your share of bouquets a day before Valentine’s this year… if you are the best at this Valentine special to be held on its eve. It’s a duet singing and dance contest organised at the Nehru Memorial Hall by Nirman Vaijayanti, a dance group. The theme is `love,’ and the contestants will not just have to sing or dance to a love song in Hindi or English, but also exhibit their acting abilities. Scheduled are rounds where the finalists will have to enact hilarious, intense or crazy scenes that show them `popping the question’ to each other, or making up after a fight. The Nirman Vaijayanti group will also put up its performance. Time to sing, dance, and walk away with prizes.
It’s yet another occasion to party, boogey, celebrate and Pune’s pubs and restaurants are not going to let the day pass unnoticed. Lined up is a string of events, either on the day, or on its eve, or even two days in advance like at Holiday Inn. For them, it’s Valentine’s weekend, which began last evening, with a freaky Friday do on `Love is Inn the air.’ Tonight has in store the Valentine’s Eve bash, replete with all those mushy numbers. On the big day, nobody’s waiting till the evening to get into the party groove. Lined up is an afternoon disco at the Totem Pole from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. And then the weekend winds up with a party where you might tire of dancing, yet the music promises to keep your feet tapping!
For those who wish to spend a moment away from bright city lights, Banjara Hills has Valentine Ninety Nine (sheer poetry!) to offer on February 13. A string of DJs like Uday Shah, Ganesh, Prashant and Shital will play music, entreating you to listen to your heart and let the spirit of the day take over.
At Sadanand Resorts, it’s teen time, with the theme of its Valentine bash being `Back To Riverdale.’ So, along with your friend, chill out on the Riverdale beach with complimentary drinks, split some ice at Pop Tate’s – all designed by Manish Solanki. With music mixed by DJ Zubair, a three-tier dance floor to shake your leg, Valentine’s eve could be one cool affair.
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Set your Heart on Fire at the Turf Club lawns this Valentine’s. Senses Marketing and Promotions and Moondeep have organised an evening filled with romance. Vivek Sood will whip up some soul-stirring music and besides the music and decor to match the mood, there are plenty of free gifts and prizes to be given away.
The pubs are not going to be left behind. Ten Downing Street’s event, organised by Genesis, promises to create another memory for your album with chocolates, teddy bears, music to suit your mood. Thousand Oaks tells you today that love is in the air, and on their walls, on their tables… with flowers, hearts and balloons. Black Cadillac also presents its bash on the same day called `Jump Start Your Sweetheart’.
And in case you thought the card shops would let you off after you buy cards and gifts this Valentine, the Archies folks are going a step further. For the gifts you buy at their store, they hand you a handbill along with the receipt – with the story of Saint Valentine in English and Marathi! So read all about the tyrant Roman emperor Claudius who would not allow his soldiers to marry, and how Saint Valentine would help them do so secretly, for which he was executed on February 14. Sacrifice, all for love.
Love is not just in the air, the chocolates and the cards, it is even in the wrappers. This Valentine’s, don’t just give your sweetheart a chocolate with its dull wrapper. At least not when there are specially-created Valentine wrappers available. Cashing in on the love fever that hits everyone annually, Aunali Dhariwal of Temptation, opposite the Bank Of India, East Street, has brought out four special wrappers for you to wrap your feelings in. So while you buy a regular chocolate, you can have it put in one of these `Fun Choco-Wrappers.’ They can also be made to suit other occasions like birthdays and anniversaries. But with the love season around, who’s interested in all that?
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