Run of the Mills and yet a Boon!

For generations M&B has been a favourite read for girls. Ever wondered why?
By Amrita Das
She stared deep into his liquid brown eyes and drowned into their warm caress. An intense sensation burned through her. And she leaned into his waiting arms... Sounds familiar? It will. At least to an umpteen number of girls for whom Mills and Boon (M&B) has been a favourite read. For generations. And guy's just can't stop wondering why.
Vipul Agrahari, a call center employee says, "These romances are read by girls maybe because the try to identify themselves with the lead character in the hope that someday a knight in shining armour will come and sweep them off their feet." And as a century of heart breaks, la affaire and enticing kisses closes in, women still can't get enough of M&B. Many argue that all of them are alike. All book jackets carry images of couples that are either in embrace or have one in mind. The characters have a typical representation, with the women portrayed as femme fatales with hourglass figures, enticing smile and captivating eyes and men represented as the proverbial 'tall, dark and handsome' hunk with a charming personality! But Anuradha Bhatt finds these romances a waste of time. "I don't understand why girls read such fictions. They are all the same," she says.
Heresay goes that M&B has preset guidelines on how to write the story. Phitoli Swu, a religious reader, says, "The story lines are so typical that if you read them religiously, you can even guess the next scene and dialogue." But fans beg to differ. These books have had women swooning over them since ages and more so because of the way women, and more importantly, men have been represented in the series. A cliche could not be more successful!
Says Akansha, an avid reader, "We read these romances because we can't imagine experiencing such stuff in real life. It is our sweet fantasy. And why only M&B, even local fairy tales have the same representation minus the intense scenes."
Much to the liking of the reader (girls) men suddenly turn from warn to hot as women protagonist melt into their warms! M&B, more often than not, is a girl's first with romance. And women, thereafter, just refuse to be weaned away from this small but sweet world of fantasy.
For not only does M&B fuel rushes of desire, it does so in the safe sanctuary of the safe sanctuary of the reader's bedroom. A seminary teaching the essentials of life, the hurts are fictional yet tears the heart apart. The affairs are delightful, yet restrained.
M&B is also famous for the portrayal of the female characters. The matriarchal representation as working ladies and sole breadwinners captivates many a women who could not dream of stepping out of their homes. And thus they live their life.
And he picks her up in one graceful move. She looks deep into his eyes, he leans forward and they live happily ever after...