By Sandhya S, NewsKarnataka -Mangalore
Photos by – Raviraj Kateel and Rons Bantwal
So what have you planned this Valentine’s Day? A candle light dinner, presents, chocolate, flowers or are you still conjuring between the commercialization of your romance and love?
A global fact that we realise today is that Valentine’s Day is a commercially driven day that provokes strongly divided reactions to the baffling display of hearts, and starry-eyed romance.
Valentine’s Day has merely become an arbitrary day for the corporate world that people use as a light hearted way to express their feelings to their respective partners. But in this merchandized world that we live in, love has become so marketable. Rather than cherishing or reaffirming love people get entangled with gifts, accessories, presents, dating, etc.
Although the city is painted in red, dazzling and is ready for the lovers, the marketers, businessmen, mechanized shops, branded outlets, hangouts, restaurants everyone is in the race targeting to promote the season of love.
A 17-year-old guy was busy buying a teddy, Nelroy (name changed) a II-PU student, said that he was too confused and did not understand what to buy or where to take his girlfriend on a date. In an age when people don’t even understand the meaning of true love the popular culture has made it so mandatory or trendy to stick to the conventions of the day.
The article is not intended to bash this “feel-good” day, after all, we can all benefit from an expression of love but it seems that Valentine’s Day may be more widely accepted if it was truly a day for love, love that is divine, pure, not commercialized or not expressed only on a special occasion. The question that arises is whether a day designated for love is essential or there should be the same love in the air every day.
Moreover it is not just about romantic love between couples, but love in all of its forms. Not just merchandising the love but understanding the true meaning and essence of Love.
While sauntering around shops one of the prominent shopkeepers in the city quoted, “Necessity is the mother of all inventions.” He claimed that the market, the youngsters cherish the day, the popular culture supports it, it a day of celebration. He said that if there is a demand in the market we have to supply. “Further, what is the harm in celebrating love?,” he questioned.
From a different perspective though there is no harm in celebrating love, but rather than ignoring Valentine’s Day or celebrating it in a conventional way we might think about ways to do it differently. Relatively let’s also celebrate celibacy and all the relationships we have in our lives. Spend some time to love a friend, a stranger or even an enemy. Even small steps like this can go a long way in changing the world.
