It was 2018 when a young man, only 17, wrote to me on Instagram. He was from Surat and was confiding in me because he had been listening to me talk about romance on my weekly podcast, Love Aaj Kal. He told me that he and his girlfriend were planning to have sex for the first time. His query: Will doing it in an OYO room be safe? 

I was out of words. I wanted to tell him, first of all, that he should reconsider doing it at all. But, then I realised, we are no longer in the ’90s. It was now “okay” to have sex for the first time at 14. But, what I definitely wanted to tell him was that an OYO room was a bummer location for the first attempt. It was unsafe, yes, because he wouldn’t want to land up in the state the protagonist of the 2005 film, Kalyug did. Blackmailed for having sex because they were taped. Was I getting too dark for a teenager asking me a simple question? I went ahead and advised him on waiting anyway. Why not attempt it at 19, when you are equipped to deal with the consequences, and the emotions that would stem from it? Research the hotel you pick for the moment, and make sure it’s legitimate and safe before you book a room.