I travelled to Faridabad for more than a year, no one told me such Romeos existed anywhere in NCR. 
*cries in the corner*
Day 23 of 100 Indian Tinder Tales . V from Faridabad shares his tale.
“I hopped onto Tinder after breaking up from a very long relationship. I guess it was the right thing to do. I mean, what’s a better way of getting over having one pretty girl not talking to you than having hundreds of pretty girls not talking to you?
Anywho, my initial experiences weren’t great. Most of the girls I matched with either didn’t respond to my messages, or even if they did and we ended up having decent conversations, they never agreed to meet, for reasons ranging from ‘I have a boyfriend’ to ‘I don’t meet people from Tinder’, ‘I don’t have time to meet’ and ‘I’ve put on a lot of weight’. 
Finally, I came across a girl that I hit off incredibly well with. I ended up having uncharacteristically smooth conversations with her, and we found out that we have a lot in common, such as our love for puns, and that we were both engaged in the development sector. She also told me that she is a fan of Ted Mosby from the TV series How I Met Your Mother. A meeting was set up.
Now, for those of you who haven’t seen How I Met Your Mother, Ted Mosby has a penchant for grand romantic gestures. So naturally, for my first Tinder date ever, I decided to go with a huge banner bearing the girl’s name, and held it over my head at the spot where we were supposed to meet. When she arrived and saw me and, with an amused expression, started walking towards me, I put the theme music of the 1970 Hollywood movie Love Story on at full volume on a portable speaker that I was carrying, beside me. When she reached me, I got down on a knee, took hold of her hand and kissed it, and presented to her a small box that on opening revealed a toffee inside. While all of this was happening, a small crowd gathered around us (this was during evening time at the SDA market in Delhi). Incredibly, my Tinder date was quite charmed by this rather cheesy public display of affection, and it went on great from there. We walked around for about three hours, and the entire time there were no awkward silences, no false notes, and a lot of laughter and smiles. However, she told me that she was looking for a serious committed relationship, and I was clear that I was looking to try polyamory, as I still had strong feelings for my former girlfriend. Nevertheless, we decided to meet again, as friends, and keep ourselves open to changing our minds about romantic relationships.
We went on two more dates, and spoke regularly on the phone as well through Whatsapp over the next week; I drew a caricature of her that I gifted her on the second date, and wrote a poem for her that I gifted her on the third. I really enjoyed her company, and our conversations that flowed so well, and was quite besotted by how I felt around her.
However, she cancelled our fourth date, and when I asked her about it she told me that she’d recently met another guy she had matched with on Tinder, who she had completely fallen for on the first date itself. Mr. Perfect Guy has an IIT-cum-IIM pedigree, and a lucrative job with a global consultancy. He’s two years older than her (I am a year younger to her). Most crucially, though, Mr. Perfect Guy too is looking to settle down with a good old monogamous relationship. Oh, and Mr. Perfect Guy isn’t comfortable with her seeing me, or any other guys from Tinder, for that matter.
So, she ends up doing what any self-respecting girl would do: she tells Mr. Perfect Guy that she’s the master of her own life, she doesn’t need anyone to tell her who not to meet, and we continued hanging out.
HAH, of course not. She duly told me that we cannot see each other again, and very nicely offered that we could still text each other. I was quite heartbroken.
***
Since then, I’ve matched with a variety of other characters, most of whom again made it clear that they won’t see me. I did go on another Tinder date, which was a royal flop. Currently, I’ve been chatting regularly with two girls I matched with on Tinder, both of whom are artists. I’ve hit off well with both, and have already set a date with one later this month. While I’ve mentally prepared myself for most likely being disappointed again eventually, there’s still a tiny ray of hope in my heart, for my happy Tinder ending.”
Induviduality 