Table for one

Jasmine Singh

The legendary Greek philosopher Aristotle had said that man by nature is a social animal, which means he loves to have company. Had Aristotle lived a bit longer, till today, he would have rephrased his saying, something like—man by nature is a social animal, but he doesn’t have company always, given the working schedules and the extremely fast-paced life around him. Does this mean the social animal has to go solo? Well, many a time, yes. At least, when he wants to dine out and none of the friends or friends’ friends are available to give company. This is when the social animal goes solo.

And believe us, the trend of dining solo is increasing around the Tricity with many people calling up the reservation desk to book a table for one!

It’s me alone

How many times at an eating joint, have you not stared at a person, sitting alone and eating away to glory? What kind of a person comes to a hotel to eat all by himself, have you not wondered. Then take it from Chef Pritpaal, who says solo dining is an accepted thing abroad and it has become pretty acceptable here as well.

According to a study, the number of solo dinners have gone up to 62 per cent from 39 per in the last three years. “I don’t see anyone staring at people eating alone anymore, it is no longer socially awkward,” adds Raj.

Sitting alone in a hotel or a restaurant was a scandalous idea sometime back, at least for a girl. As for men, they would either be looked at as boisterous or anti-social type. Shares DJ Sameer from Chandigarh who has been a resident with umpteen clubs and hotels, “A girl or a boy walking in all alone in a hotel or an eating joint is an acceptable sight now. Other diners don’t turn their heads 360 to see a solo diner enjoying his meal.”

To Sameer, this trend is an off-shoot of the hectic schedules we have. “The day I decide to eat out, my friends aren’t free and vice-versa. So, what do I do, wait for the day when they are free, and I can go out to eat. The best thing is go solo... big deal.”

Because I want to

For many going solo to dine out is a conscious decision, something that is not forced upon them. It is about spending quality time with oneself. Parul Gulati, a young school teacher from Sector-39, would invariably wait for her husband to find time to dine out.

“I was either dependent on him or my friends. So, one day I decided I can go out by myself.” Parul order pasta at Oven Fresh 26, and started enjoying it. “I was conscious that everyone was staring at me, I quickly wiped my plate and was off. Later, I stopped by another day for a coffee. I saw another girl sitting alone.” Parul tags herself as a solo diner who doesn’t mind company but wouldn’t be dependent on it.

jasmine@tribunemail.com