Amidst the visual of rose petals, romantic dinners, and overwhelming gestures, here’s a reality check to shake you back to the practicality of this phenomenon called the Valentine’s Day!

Love has been glorified, idealised, and yearned for by the likes of this world at a certain point in time. Its comprehensive pervasiveness and accurate relatability render all hearts susceptible to major feels on countless occasions. With that in consideration, a day to celebrate ‘romance’ by the population might be received with a motley of feelings. For, it is on the 14th of February when the sections of the society get conveniently bifurcated into categories of two. One, comprising of those who harbour the companionship of a partner and revel in the joys of love;the other, that of those who are either yet to find their ‘soulmate’ or are stoic towards the ideals of love. The first category consists of intricate divisions; one may choose to glorify and extol their lover on Valentine’s Day by showering all essentials associated with this idea, be it chocolates or flowers. Or, one may choose to treat this celebration of love in generality, discrediting the concept and notion of ‘Special Days’
and absolute carnival.

The foundation of Valentine’s Day has been acknowledged and merrily accepted, but this piece of writing you’ve stumbled upon shall peer into the logistics and technicalities of the necessity of this celebration. So, if you’re immersed in the vessel of love and refuse to fall back to the black-and-white aspects of it, then please direct your attention to an idea more favourable to your liking.

When it comes to Valentine’s Week, a compilation of mucky days, the traditional norms state the need to celebrate external love. It is seen as a gateway of thriving on love with your partner, but the ideals of love with oneself seem to fade away. It seems more convenient to term it as a ‘Relationships’ Day’, for those who are luckily or unfortunately (for you to decide) single are often left feeling unloved and isolated. Elaborate gestures and gifts seem to find their way in the day’s scheduling, and it goes without saying that self-given gifts would be eyed with ambiguity. Secondly, a problem common to all ‘Special Days’ is the exclusivity granted by them. Valentine’s Day is taken as that one day of the year which requires overwhelming efforts and expressions to portray that inextinguishable love for your partner. However, the rest of the days harbour no such compulsion. It is only in mid-February when our romantic spirits are validated to be aroused and acted upon. Neat process, isn’t it?

Here’s where the habitual aspect of Valentine’s Day comes in. If you’re happy, people will shower their pity and sympathy on you, for being single is a crime for this self-proposed ‘Love Police’. And if you’re sad, all the lonely complaints about not being with someone and the disconcerting side of it shall cloud your mind. All the grim grumbles shared by all genders grant a solemn touch to the day which is touted to be the beautiful commemoration of love.

My beef is not with the concept of love; pulling that threat will be similar to unboxing Pandora’s box. The reason for my contention lies in the escalation done by the world to propagate this ideal. From Kiss/Rose/Teddy/, or rather ‘Weird Days to planning a grand proposal or feeling awkward around friends who are single or dating, the redundant aspects of it seem to be hogging the limelight more than they deserve. Love is best when it remains undefined, and its celebration is pure when it remains undated.

Saumya Kalia
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