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How To Flirt In India

It's easy, apparently. According to The New York Times, a wave of romantic text messages is cresting over the subcontinent:

Text messages have become an integral part of courtships in many countries. But the short messaging service, or SMS, is proving particularly revolutionary in India, where it is paving a way for the young to maneuver around deep-rooted barriers to premarital mingling.

I am not sure this strategy is best, however: 

If a woman shows interest, Mr. Chettri discloses his identity, raises the temperature of textual provocation and, in many instances, persuades her to meet him in person.

“I start with ‘I admire you,’ then I ask her for a movie, then I ask her what happened during the day, then we start teasing and all,” he said.

What kind of teasing?

“I may call her fat,” he elaborated. “They like it. That’s why they reply."

 Okay then. Still, it's hard to beat the NYT's discussion of American flirtation:

The Western flirt might banter with a woman at a crowded bar. He might suggest that they find a quiet place to “talk.” He might then ask the woman out for a meal at a restaurant. Should closeness develop, he might soon invite her to his apartment to have a “drink.”

--Isaac Chotiner