One of my favourite mo­vie scenes is the one in Love Actually where Em­ma Thompson ru­ns to her bedroom to hide her disappointment and tears when her husband, Allan Rickman, presents her with a Joni Mitchell CD instead of the gold pendant she’d seen him buy earlier.

Turns out, I’ve felt this way millions of times. There have been instances in my life when I’ve wished for exotic holidays, expensive lingerie and a fair bit of bling but had to settle for a boring book or a CD. Women love to be pampered and I guess I’m no different. Figuring out what a woman really wants is not rocket science. Most of the time, it could be something as simple as a holiday in Greece, a shopping excursion to London, a rub at the newest spa, a gigantic rock for her fingers. You get the picture.

I have simple tastes; I’ll give you that. Let me loose for a day in downtown Vancouver and I will be your slave forever. I’ll shop at Pacific Center Mall, eat cream horns and coffee at my favourite outdoor café, shop till I drop at all my favourite designer stores on Robson Street, and sip a glass of wine while watching the sun set over those beautiful snow laden mountains. Now, that’s not asking for much, is it? Debeshi

What women want is often clouded in mystery. They want it all. They’d like Tom Hanks as the father to their children and George Clooney to romance. But when it comes to what they really want, the answers can be surprising. It’s actually the want to want more — to shop!

The best woman knows to scour sale racks for short sleeves in November, woollen sweaters in April and bathing suits in September. What she gives up in selection, she makes up for in spectacular savings.

An experienced shopper can distinguish a promotion from a clearance, a two-for-one from a buy-one-get-one-half-off. She knows that sometimes something as simple as free shipping may add up to big savings.

She feels it’s great to have a salesperson as her BFF. Not only does she get to know about upcoming sales in advance, at times she manages to even hold merchandise a day or two to give her time to take advantage of the sale. You might catch her cooing at a divine pair of shoes in that Nine West showroom and at the same time drool over that pretty silk saree in a corner. The laws of attraction are sometimes very simple and often out of order. What women want is a man who is a leader, a provider and a supportive partner. Women like sensitive, caring men, of course. As long as the sensitivity translates into an understanding of her urge to splurge. Ankur

Crazy enough to believe that I can ch­ange Mr Sinha (my husband) into one Mr Darcy?

Any girl who has seen Pride and Prejudice knows about the much-misunderstood Darcy — the ideal gentleman. It is so tough to find Darcy in today’s world. He is tall, dark, handsome, rich, and a brooding Brit.

I must have been 14 when I read Pride and Prejudice and fell in love with my prince charming “truly madly deeply”.

No matter how rhetorical a woman might sound when she speaks of feminism, she simply cannot ignore a man who opens the door for her and listens when she speaks. Yeah, we definitely love chivalry (in limited doses, of course.)

But the problem arises when men come on horses instead of horse carriages and the “sapno ka rajkumar” is never demystified. And we reject every suitor by stuffing them with oily samosas and ghee-laden laddoos.

It was the start of a tumultuous one-sided affair, which showed no sign of fading year after year. I admit that somehow I was in awe of him, for the sheer magnetism he exuded. How I wish he knew about my long and lonely nights...sigh!

Austen portrayed him as rude and arrogant in everyone’s eyes, but in my view he was the man. So what if I like reserve, suave men and don’t like those who flatter women at the blink of the eye. There’s a thin line between flirting and flirting with style. My man had style. Period.

I saw him again a couple of days back on television, holding the black beauty in his hands — delicately but firmly — just as a man should hold his love. All I could remember at that time was watching Colin Firth in the BBC version of Pride and Prejudice. I could wait for hours without a complaint to see my Firth-turned-Darcy in that wet shirt coming out of the pool in the movie. Splash! My little heart would get drenched. It is a sweeping generalisation and I’m sure there are more exceptions out there than there are 100 per cent certifiable jerks. Today no one is as cultured, refined and magnetic as Darcy was. His memories instilled a repelling magnet within every girl and as time flies, I see no sign of this trend reversing. Kanika

Nothing tastes as good as being thin feels.”Women fantasise about having the perfect body. Bebo’s size zero started it all. Now there’s Natalie Portman’s pert ballerina body in Black Swan. Crash diets, unrealistic exercise regimes, whatever works to get the kilos to disappear. Forget cakes, pastries, sweets, pizzas, burgers, paranthas, potato chips, fizzy drinks and kebabs. Focus on size zero and washboard perfect abs. Fitting into that alluring little black dress in the shop window. Sigh!

Never mind that life becomes a living hell as one is forced to watch others consume mouth-watering delicacies while you sit sipping some nimbu pani. Then, there’s the gym and hours of torture slogging it out on the treadmill. Keep thinking size zero and you’ll get past the misery. At the end of the day, it’s all about working towards a good cause — having a figure to die for. Sweta

After a long list of what women have always wanted, still want and will forever keep wanting, it’s time to get real. Your mobile subscriber alerts can tell you who your perfect partner is or how your day will go according to the best astrologer in town, but they definitely cant help you demystify women. Ever got such an alert? Ha! How you men (sometimes women too) wish! I have overheard ‘tip-top’ ladies discussing their mundane lives in a pure vegetarian family restaurant some time back. One wished her husband knew how to wear a shirt while the other wished hers knew different yogasanas (for???). One even mentioned that she would be happy if hers kept a decent haircut. Now does that ring a bell? Women are wonderful subjects of thesis and research. Yes we act foolish at times. After all, we are only trying to match up to men, you see. Yes, we love to splurge on beautification rather than spending those hours in the library because the average woman would rather have beauty than brains, as the average man can see better than he can think. Dear, that’s the ugly truth. We want satisfaction in the bedroom — simply put, good sex. And mind you, sex that lies between the two ears and not just between a pair of legs. Too much to handle? Give us a break! Oh yeah, we want that too.Ipshita

want to explore sex. I want to explore the world. I want to get married soon.”

S, my friend, did get married at 24. Her world now revolves around a strictly-on-deadline advertising job, an ambitious husband and a cleanliness freak mom-in-law. N, the adventurer, dated three guys at a go. Went through the usual rigmarole of meeting suitable guys of her parents’ choice. She finally settled for a boy from Houston and is now living her American dream. Good girl L fell for the first guy her parents introduced her to, got married, and now plays doting mommy to two lovely daughters.

Had it not been panic-stricken headlines screaming out of glossies and movie titles about a certain number to my age, I may have never known how I’ve, perhaps, missed the bus. No, no. Not literally. Not mentally, physically, psychologically or pr­ofessionally, either. A slightly prominent strand of grey hair and a beautician nei­ghbour who frets about my callousness about skincare aren’t something that bo­ther me. It’s something called the ticking biological clock that’s been causing concern for a while now. Strangely, everyone’s super worried except my family. Distant relatives warn me. Good, single men are all taken; beware of the married wolves, they sound caution. Having a man suddenly seems like nirvana. The ultimate a woman can aspire to, especially when she’s just about up the hill. Doesn’t have him? She’s a cougar, a man-eater, a lesbian, a home-breaker, a seeker. Why can’t she be just a woman? Happy just to be. Stop slotting her.Ritu