Your Swipe Can Change Your Story — But Please, Not With "Hi"

The great "Hi" epidemic

Somewhere in India right now, a perfectly lovely person has matched with someone, typed "Hi", pressed send and gone to make Maggi. They will come back in four minutes, see no reply, and conclude that love is dead. Love is not dead. "Hi" is just a very hard message to answer.

Think about it from the other side. "Hi" gives them nothing to work with. They now have to invent the whole conversation themselves — topic, tone, energy, everything. That's not a first message, that's homework.

The one rule: give them something to answer

A good opener is a small, easy question about something they chose to show you. Their profile is basically a menu of things they're happy to talk about. Order from the menu.

• Instead of "Hi": "Okay, your Goa photo — beach shack person or quiet-sunrise person?"
• Instead of "Hey cutie": "You wrote that you make the best rajma in your building. Bold claim. What's the secret?"
• Instead of "Wassup": "Coffee or chai for a first meet? This decides everything."
• Instead of a full biography: one question. You can tell them about your cousin's wedding later.

Lines we lovingly retire

"Be my favourite notification?" is cute on a poster. In real life, use it only if you're ready to also be a good conversation. Some others to retire with full honours:

• Any line that comments on someone's body. Not funny, not flattering, not okay.
• "You look like my ex." Nobody has ever wanted to hear this.
• "Why are you single?" It sounds like an interview for a job they didn't apply for.
• Copy-pasting the same message to fifteen people. They can tell. They always can tell.

Use your own language — literally

If you both speak Tamil, Bengali, Punjabi or Marathi, opening in it can feel instantly warmer than polite English. A little Hinglish is fine too — "Aapki profile pe chai ka cup dekha, toh poochna pada" has more personality than any pick-up line from the internet.

On Wrati you can see the languages someone speaks before you message them, so you know whether "kemcho" will land or confuse.

And if they don't reply?

Then they don't reply. People are busy, tired, travelling or just not feeling it — none of which is a verdict on you. One gentle follow-up after a day or two is fine; three is a campaign. Let it go and talk to the next interesting person.

Your swipe really can change your story. It just needs a better first line than "Hi". Wrati is free to join for men and women — making a profile, photo verification, discovering people, matching and chatting cost nothing.