Pecking order, order! Mind the Ps amp; Qs

And if kiss it is to be, then there is that delicate task of execution. Do you air kiss, send a flying kiss, cheek-to-cheek or that social peck? Each evening many a veteran navigate this minefield of social etiquette as poolsides echo with hello dahlings8217; and cheese is daintily nibbled with salt 8216;n pepper. quot;Oh! we do it all the time. And why one, we kiss on both the cheeks,quot; enthuses model-turned-TV anchor Achla Sachdev. A kiss for her is an extension of a hug or a handshake. quot;It isan accepted form of greeting someone.quot;

Her views are echoed by model-actor Marc Robinson who was last year in Pramod Navalkar8217;s bad books for kissing former Channel V veejay Sophia Haque at a public function. But for every believer of freedom of expression of affection there is a purist who object to a callow Padmini Kolhapure8217;s peck for Prince Charles or Shabana Azmi8217;s warm greetings to Nelson Mandela. quot;But it8217;s a peck for God8217;s sake. A sign of affection. That8217;s how you show your warmth and friendliness,quot; protests Robinson. Even Diwakar Pundir, Graviera Mr India 8217;97 thinks that a social kiss is like a hug or holding hands. quot;I do it all the time,quot; he says. However, a smack on the lips is something different. quot;An intimate kiss in public is criminal. I agree,quot; says Robinson. quot;It should definitely be restricted to the confines of your house,quot; he says. quot;No one comes and kisses you on lips unless he/she is your boyfriend or girlfriend,quot; nods Sachdev, who feels that she has been seeing people conducting in thismanner since her early days in modelling. She, like others from the city8217;s chattering class, is not allergic to a social kiss. She neither extends her hand on seeing a puckered mouth reaching for her cheek, nor does she cross her arms for a plain hello8217;.

Neither does jewellery designer Poonam Soni. But she prefers to shake hands with all her acquaintances, even at social dos, while she has nothing against those who choose more intimate ways to greet friends and foes. quot;Sometimes, before you even know the other person kisses you, and you react. It8217;s human,quot; she says. At other times, she feels that people drift with the prevalent. quot;Like the way you tend to touch your elders8217; feet if someone else is doing it, the same way people tend to follow the trend of kissing if others are. Personally, I touch my cheek with the other person8217;s if I am close, otherwise it8217;s just a handshake for me,quot; adds Soni.

So it is for Shobha De, author and The Indian Express columnist, who doesn8217;t subscribe to either peckingor kissing. quot;I am not a social kisser,quot; she affirms. Socialite Dolly Thakore, on the other hand, feels that relationships last longer than politics. quot;Khushwant Singh8217;s peck has been ridiculously politicised. There8217;s nothing sexual about making the other person feeling comfortable with a kiss planted on the cheek. If the French can kiss hands and the Europeans greet with a peck too, then why can8217;t we.

So, what8217;s the furore about? Let8217;s kiss and make up.