There is something amusing about the fact that a city famous for Chinese fishing nets, churches, synagogues and the occasional wholesome family lunch is also becoming a surprisingly interesting place to talk about sex.

In Kochi, the conversation is increasingly moving beyond the old binary of sex as either something that happens after marriage or something that happens in whispers. Dating apps have given young Malayalis a new vocabulary for meeting people; words such as “breadcrumbing”, “ghosting” and “situationship” have entered the local lexicon, while platforms built specifically around Malayali identity are offering an alternative to the generic swipe.