Happy Valentine’s Day

When I was in school (late 1960s and early 70s), I had never heard of Valentine’s Day. I studied in a village school which had more than 2000 students. The boys and girls were meticulously kept apart from each other in completely different blocks. They were not even expected to look at each other. Our society in those days was so straitjacketed especially in matters of sex and gender relationships. Love affairs belonged to movies. And they usually ended as tragedies.

Why were Indians so averse to love? I don’t know. We haven’t grown up much even now, have we? Look at the kind of injunctions and instructions issued by our ruling party regarding the Valentine’s Day. They went to the extent of declaring it Cow Hug Day. Comedy has no limits in India. One of the leaders told us to hug the cow really close because we will get oxygenated. Well, I hope he wasn’t mistaking it with oxen or something.

India is a country that produced a book like the Kama Sutra back in the 4^th century BCE or some time around that. Our kings and a lot of other powerful people had many wives and concubines. There was even a tradition in the kingdom of Patiala whereby the Maharaja would appear once a year before his subjects naked except for a diamond breastplate, “his organ in full and glorious erection” [Freedom at Midnight]. The king’s erectile performance was viewed as a temporal manifestation of the Shivaling. The king’s erect penis was “supposed to be radiating magic powers to drive evil spirits from the land.” [ibid]

Many of our temples have glorified sexual unions in arts and sculptures, in music and dances. Yet the simple displays of affection on a Valentine’s Day become taboo here!

There’s something seriously wrong with our perceptions and attitudes. The right wingers of India need to get at least one thing right: what do they really believe in? What do they really want? Personally, I am confused by their actions as well as their rhetoric. I’m sure there are millions of other Indians who will agree with me on this. Instead of going around playing moral police, these right wingers need to spend time in reflection and learning so that they can come up with some convincing creeds and deeds.

In the meanwhile, Happy Valentine’s Day to those who plan to hug their real loves. Go ahead and hug. Love is a great emotion. Express it. Experience it. Enjoy it.