Shikha Gianchandani
- Feb 7, 2021
- 5 min read

Pardesi's Guide to the Ultimate Valentine's and Galentine's Day

Updated: Feb 21, 2021

Today we're talking about Valentine's/Galentine's Day. Whether you're looking for cute activity ideas with your partner, nursing a broken heart, or celebrating your singledom with your friends - we've got you covered with some amazing ideas. The great thing with all of these is that they're also COVID-safe!

A huge thanks to @semirabadesha for creating these awesome graphics for us!

Without further ado, here’s our guide to the Ultimate Valentine's and Galantine’s Day:

Gifts:

What's the cultural and commercial celebration of love without any gifts, are we right? It's been an unusual year for many of us, so this is a time to treat yourself - especially because some of the amazing desi brands we are recommending are providing special codes for our lovely followers!

Dewy Apricot

Dewy Apricot was founded by @rishi.karthik and @ashguns in July of 2020. Some of their bestsellers include printable wall art and Desi-style tarot card decks. Recently, the Dewy Apricot girls made custom Valentine’s day cards! Buy them here

Offer: To get 10% off this Valentine's Day use Code: Pardesi10.

Rani & Co

Founded by a rani (Translation: “rani” in Hindi means queen) herself, Ramona Gohil's brand was "created to celebrate women through jewelry." All their orders will arrive gift-wrapped and they even came out with this adorable bee necklace for all those obsessed with minimalist jewelry. Rani & Co is also fair-trade friendly, so feel free to splurge as much as you want this V-day. Purchase it here!

Sano Cosmetics

Looking for an affordable South Asian make-up brand? Why not try Sano Cosmetics lip products! We found them on TikTok, and their matte lipsticks in the shades 'Fortune', 'Coral Dreams', and 'Treasure' are bound to compliment any look. Purchase here

Farsáli

Farsáli is a brand that was literally made out of love - as it's the moniker of Farah Dhukai (influencer) and Sal Ali's names. Sal noticed his wife was receiving lots of PR packages with makeup and skincare, and he felt like her routine was missing something. As a tribute to his wife Farsáli was born, a brand that's a bridge between skincare and makeup. If you're looking to treat yourself, Farsáli is the way to go. Check them out here.

It's likely that even if it's Valentine's or Galentine's day most of us are going to be doing activities that are part of our routine, so here are some ideas on how you can spice up your quarantine schedule with your friends and loved ones.

Watch:

Mississippi Masala

Source: IMDB

The movie I recommend watching is "Mississippi Masala" produced by iconic film director, Mira Nair. The movie is set after the rise of dictator, Idi Amin, in Uganda, resulting in the forceful removal of Asians from the country. Mina (Sarita Choudhury), a third generation Ugandan-Indian is displaced with her family in Mississippi, where she meets Demetrius (Denzel Washington) and the two fall in love. Watch as they struggle to find acceptance from their individual communities and are forced to face the backlash that comes with not following tradition. The movie is definitely worth the watch, not only for its amazing representation, but also simply for the beautiful love story that it shows.

(TW: there is a 1-minute scene suggesting marital rape)

4 More Shots Please!

Source: Prime Video

To all South Asian queens in need of a good web series to binge on Galentine's day. You have to watch the 1st season of "4 more shots please!" The show leads us through the lives of four fabulous, fashion-forward best friends in Mumbai. I absolutely loved the first season because each character had such an interesting back story – there’s Umaang (VJ Bani) a bisexual gym trainer, Sidhi (Maanvi Gagroo) who's trying to get arranged marriage by her mum, Anjali (Kirti Kulhari) a divorced mother facing hardship in the corporate world and Damini (Sayani Gupta) an award-winning investigative journalist. You’re bound to binge it in a day!

Play:

Source: The Mighty Mithai

Mixing Up Masti

Mixing Up Masti is an inclusive 'drinking game' for the desi communities by @themightymithai. The game aims to create an informal experience where fellow Desi's could have a laugh and bond with each other by relating to the game. Check out our Mighty Mithai feature from last week below.The Mighty Mithai was also nice enough to give us a discount code for our followers as a V-day treat.

Ready to have some masti? Purchase here

Offer: To get 15% off this Valentine's Day use Code: Pardesi15.

Desi Chaat

Source: culturallyinclined

Are you throwing a dinner party or spending V-day with your family? @culturallyinclined came out with a card game just for you, called “Desi Chaat.” It's a desi version of heads-up that features over 1500 words with South Asian movies, figures, foods, and more!

Cook:

Shreya's Kitchen

Similar to Sano Cosmetics, I found Shreya's Kitchen's recipes on TikTok. Whenever I watch her videos I feel like, I'm watching a big sister cook, so if you're looking for easy-to-follow recipes with Desi-flavor’s you can't go wrong with @shreyaskitchen2. She'll teach you to make dishes like chilly paneer dumplings and kathi rolls - which are bound to impress anyone. Mindy Kaling also may or may not be a fan of her Gulab Jamun pancakes!

Sohla El-Waylly

If you're looking to level-up your food mastery, you have to try and cook some of Sohla El-Waylly’s recipes. You may recognize her from famous youtube channels like “Bon Appetit” or “Binging with Babish.” Her specialty is taking on gastronomic challenges.

When Sohla was younger, she and her mother Salma Banu would go to a specialty market, pick an unfamiliar ingredient, and figure out how to cook with it. This helped develop fusion versions of dishes like adobo-style eggplant or desert version of carbonara. If you’re feeling experimental definitely give this chef’s recipe a try.

It’s time to shed those quarantine sweats this valentine’s day and try some experimental outfits and makeup looks. Here are some desi icons you can go to for inspiration:

That's it for me this week! Join us again next week for some more #Trending content to come out of the diaspora.

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