India not only gave the world the Kamasutra, a book on love, finding a partner, building relationships, and the art of lovemaking, but also countless Bollywood films that taught an entire generation the A-Z of love at first sight, and romance in its purest form. It is, therefore, surprising that when Ipsos, a global market research and consulting firm, released its Love Life Satisfaction 2025 survey on Valentine’s Day, it revealed that only 57 per cent of the Indian population experiences satisfaction in their sexual or romantic lives. The survey, conducted in 30 countries with over 23,765 participants, provided a rough idea of how countries generally romanticised in media ranked lower on the scale, with France at 71 per cent, and South Korea and Japan at the bottom with 59 per cent and 56 per cent respectively.

All sex, no talk

These statistics offer much food for thought for Aili Seghetti, the Finnish founder of The Intimacy Curator (TIC), who has been living in India for 18 years. Seghetti, we learnt, is currently working on a book, nudged by such observations in her adopted country. The Mumbai-based Seghetti believes that most Indians fail to establish basic communication channels and boundaries with their partners, leading to an increase in paid sexual relationships among men and women. It was this trend that prompted her to begin writing this book.