Well, it’s that time of the year again. When some extremist Hindu factions indulge in “slapgate” occurrences into the love lives of hundreds of ‘innocent’ lovebirds. Pink chaddis, police protection, exorbitant rose prices, card shops recovering losses incurred in the past year, hotels and clubs offering special parties for jodi-birdies (stags sit and brood), and so on. You get the idea.
I’m not going into a detailed description of the history and evolution of Valentine’s day. (Phew!) It is ironical to me though, that one day every year, people queue up at hundreds of thousands of places around the world to express their love. What sets it apart from the other days, excluding the fact that it’s probably marked in pink on Rama Sena’s party calendar.
The whole idea of greeting cards has probably evaded my understanding. Why oh why would you spend so much time, (and so much money) on a card that expresses something you can probably say yourself? It isn’t that difficult, really. You can probably write something on a note with your choicest of words, make it rhyme and make it sentimental as well. Point being, if you take a note with a poem on it to you gal/guy and say “Happy valentine’s day, honey”, I’m pretty sure it isn’t going to be a pretty sight. I guess that’s why we play safe, and get a mushy card anyway.
Secondly, we arrive at roses. Even St.Valentine wasn’t much of a rose giver, so why did this tradition begin anyway? What would stop someone from getting a bunch of lilies, daisies or gerberas instead of a bunch of roses? Would the fear of being a non-conformist make you buy roses instead?
I personally love valentine’s day. All said and done, it boils down to love for your ‘loved’ ones. Each year, some special plan cocoons in my head as well. I just want to ask all of you to be a non-conformist this year. Try it, there’s a weird fun in involving in a little rebellion, indicative of our once glorious teenage. Go beyond the cliché symbols and the mushy tag types. A day for declaration of love? Nah, make it the first day of a year for declaration of love. (No, that doesn’t mean you declare love to a new person everyday of the year!) Write a corny song and sing it in your besura voice. Shun cards, share notes. Not just one day, but whenever possible. Go crazy!
And to all fellow hopeless romantics out there, Happy Valentine’s day!
