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“Love is like the wind, you can’t see it but you can feel it”.
Lot of people believe that though love comes with a baggage
called unprecedented pain, it is the best thing that happens
in life. It’s said, when two people are in love, they don’t need to
express it to each other, every now and then. But, alas, we do
need to make our beloved feel special. And thus comes into the
picture, the beautiful day of Saint Valentine. A day of roses,
lilies, chocolates and candy hearts, teddy bears, cards, romantic
songs and of course the lovers lost in the expression of their
deep, eternal love. A day that every boy and girl awaits and couple
wishes to get married on, yes it is the sacred day 14th of February.
The lasses dressed in red gowns, the young lads in black tuxedoes,
escorting their better halves to the ball on the eve of 14th Feb,
oh, what an exquisite way to celebrate love. To the less dramatic
individual, a candle light dinner along the beach, a long drive,
and spending quality time at a picturesque location all on the
Valentine’s Day. It is perhaps a boon bestowed upon every
man who wants to enjoy each moment of his love life. But all
this is not a new concept. It dates back to 14th-15th century and
perhaps even before that. As Shakespeare writes
To-morrow is Saint Valentine's day,
All in the morning betime,
And I a maid at your window,
Ah yes, the 14th of February, the single most defining day
of the yearfor all the romantics out there. It’s a chance
for aspiring Romeos and Juliets to declare their undying love
and passion for each other, or atleast convince the other that
they are pretty decent at gifting roses, chocolates, watches
and deodorants!! As you might have guessed by now, this is
your average Valentine’s Day article glorifying the – shall
we say – Red and Pink, nor does it in any way try to demean
the wonderful day. No, I am just trying to state things as
they are – plain and simple (this might seem like a cheap
trick by the author who has suddenly encountered a fit of
political correctness!!).
Anyways, the run up to the day might appear very cynical and
possibly funny to the average onlooker but no, articulating
the above said view would be met with contempt, a cold stare
and possibly a broken nose! A word of caution, gifts are
taken very seriously and guys googling about perfumes
and stuffed toys aren’t entirely unheard of!
Well then there is Cupid, yeah that sweet chubby boy who
just happens to be Valentine’s Day’s poster boy!
Yes, he is cute and cuddly, but really, “cute and cuddly”?
Not exactly the stuff to look for in guys, is it?
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To be your Valentine.
Then up he rose, and donn'd his clothes,
And dupp'd the chamber-door;
Let in the maid, that out a maid
Never departed more.
-----Hamlet, Act IV, Scene 5
And in fact it’s getting more popular in the modern times.
However, as we know, since time immemorial, lovers have been
vindicated like Romeo-Juliet and ‘Laila-Majnu’. We get to see some
similar scenes on the streets of our country. The lovers’ spots like
the parks and the beaches are being infiltrated by people who claim
to be moral policing against V-day celebrations. Instead of spreading
a message of love and compassion, boys and girls are’ lathi’ charged
if spotted together on this day. Amidst all this hatred all we can
hope is that love shouldn’t vanish but should continue to evolve as
ever.
Like Robert Frost’s lines “Love is an irresistible desire to be
irresistibly desired”, I wish the cupid strikes an arrow across
each ones heart and every day from dawn to dusk is the
Valentine’s Day!
But for Archies and the zillion other small-time novelty shops,
its party time! Cards, roses, jewellery, bags, cute teddy
Cards, roses, jewellery, bags, cute teddy bears, key chains
etc etc, basically anything to declare your unwithering love
and affection!Crass commercialization and hype-filled no
doubt, but the day by itself is pretty remarkable. No
other day is celebrated with such pomp and gusto by the
youth. No other emotion has a day named specifically for
it (I may be wrong here, apparently there is an International
Happiness Day, July 10… but you get the point right!). And of
course, no other day has the ‘Elders’ scratching their heads
and thinking, “Now, where was this day when I was in college!’
Its of course, a day to remember … When things actually unfold
exactly as planned, the joy and sheer relief on each other’s
faces, a classic Kodak moment, it makes you feel that
the entire ordeal is almost worth the effort! You can’t but
look in awe at the great lengths couples would go to express
their love, you only hope that they remain like that forever
and ever. At the end of it all, sure there may be other
ways of expressing love but love surely blossoms on
Valentine’s Day. It’s a joyous occasion and let us raise our
glasses and toast to the wonder of love this Valentine’s Day!
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