India's Fascination with Valentine's Day.....

This blog is dedicated to all extremists who complain about public display of love on Valentine Day. I understand the feeling of insecurity among such extremists, but we must first understand what Indian Culture on love is all about.

Among numerous God of Hindu pantheon, Kamdev is the lord of love. He wields a bow of flowers. Couples fall in love when struck by his rose decorated arrows. India is also home of Kamasutra, the most elaborate teartise on love making.Indians protesting against Valentine's Day celebrations make one wonder what has happened to the people who once sculpted the passionate love makers on the temple walls at Khajuraho.

In the mid of everything stands the great Taj Mahal of Agra, the most beautiful and largest public display of love. There are numerous folk tales of legendary lovers who kissed death with a promise to meet, or rather mate, in heaven. These old tales are so lurid they make Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet a pale afterthought.

The uniquess of Indian culture is its adaptability and flexibility. We are proud of aryan culture, at the same time we love mughal culture and respect all communities in this world. May it be God Kamdev or Saint Valentine, we need to understand that we have culture of public display of love imbibed in us. Had this not been the case, we donot have long processions on marraige occassions. 

India has gone global in last decade, and we must realize such cultural changes are inevitable to come. The celebration of V-day also opens up new avenues of card and flower buisness. With self proclaimed social police revolting against cultural pollution by western ideas must realize that world and Indian culture has changed. 

The present young generation must understand that we belong to a social system which is a bit conservative and changes in society donot come all of a sudden. The celebration must go on, we must celebrate love on this V-day, let it be in the name of Kamdev. However, do we all need to show some kind of restraint in the way we express our love publicly?