Niharika Puri, Bachelor of Mass Media, Sophia College, Mumbai
Move away, St. Valentine, love now has a commercial overtone. Every year, on days like Valentine’s Day, one tends to see the familiar hues of red and pink appear in and around the shops down the lane. The neighbourhood ‘balloonwala’ begins to stock up on the red heart-shaped balloons. Cakes of the same shape better in variety each year. Cards and gifts proliferate the town. Political parties converge on streets, united for a change, with a common purpose. All this is in keeping with the spirit of the season.
The stifling need to be in love, to have ‘someone’ explode into a saccharine celebration of gifts, love and then some more love. Merchandise overtakes emotion where love is the flavour of the season. Social networking websites are abuzz with quotations on love – both witty and of yearning.
The committed or ‘taken’ members on such sites provide detailed descriptions of their impending plans on D-day. The ‘single’ ones upload defiant statuses, proudly declaring that the day held no consequence for them.
In a nutshell, love is everywhere one looks. But somewhere, in the ensuing paraphernalia of life-sized teddy bears, chocolate boxes and ardent love notes, we forget to love and appreciate a particularly important entity in our lives: ourselves.
But never is it about loving your own individuality. How many advertisements would one really see where the marketeers urge the people to pamper themselves?
“Be your own Valentine” – I would like to believe that it makes for a reasonably catchy slogan. So why not do something different? Something that is a break from the mundane?
Love thyself. Do unto others what you would like others to do unto you. For, only those who love themselves are capable of loving others. Let us also not forget, that Cupid, the very emblematic synonym of this day is himself singleton.