St. Valentine is probably the best known Christian saint amongst the non-Christian population of our country. His popularity cuts across age, gender, profession and religion mainly because the importance of February 14th revolves around that most potent combination known to human beings - love and money (commerce). Like many physical invasions of India, protagonists of our culture believe that this is a camouflaged invasion calculated to corrupt the minds of our younger generation. The youngsters attribute this allegation to the jealousy that the elders are smoldering in, because the phenomenon did not exist when they were younger. Others dismiss the enthusiasm of St. Valentines’ day to the commerce that it generates. Let us examine these conflicting points of view.

Are we prudes?
In most of our public functions we still have separate seating arrangements for men and women. Even at public utility counters, we have a provision for gender specific queues. Public expression of affection is still frowned upon. Even married couples are expected to show their affection towards each other inside the closed confines of their bedrooms. Without commenting on whether this is good or bad, let us admit that this is what our “culture” is. Since St. Valentines’ day is all about overt expression of love, it naturally goes against these established norms of behaviour. Have you ever discussed these same problems but in “reverse”, faced by non-resident-Indians having daughters (not sons) who have grown up in Western societies and who now want to follow the norms of behaviour of that society, much to the impotent dislike of the parents? Is St. Valentine’s day therefore being opposed mainly by the prudish?

Who is unhappy at the day being celebrated with such gusto?
The youngsters surely are not. They get one day to do things that would otherwise be frowned upon. The businessmen are definitely not, as the day has meant a surge in business opportunities. The government finds the issue too small to be politicized, especially in view of the already declared “open-door” policy of liberalization. It is only some parents who think that the activity needs to be regulated. Even their opposition is lukewarm. Maybe the police department is the really unhappy lot since the day adds extra duties to the already overburdened schedule.

Why can we not view February 14th as a marketing opportunity?
Haven’t our Udipi restaurants held on to their own, in spite of the Mcdonalds’ and the KFCs (Kentucky Fried Chicken) & the Pizza bandwagons? Haven’t our Frootis and the Mangolas held on to their own, in spite of the Pepsi/Coke juggernaut? If we want to extract some “swadeshi” commerce out of this pent-up demand from our “opportunity-to-show-affection” starved youngsters, can we not create an occasion to wean away the crowds from the competitors (St. Valentines’ day)? Do you know of a lawyer who specialized in divorce suits, regularly mailing perfume-scented letters mysteriously signed as “guess who” to many males in the community on February 14th – just to increase suspicion of all the wives and hoping for more business? That is the spirit we must exhibit.

The best way for people who strongly dis-approve of the St. Valentine’s day, (Shiv-sena for example) is to discourage their own party members (issue a whip, maybe) from allowing their children to take part in the celebrations. Violent methods only help to popularize the celebrations – in fact they un-necessarily give them a martyr’s halo.

"Mr. Prakash Shesh, the author, has done his MBA from Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad after his Masters in Physics from I.I.T. New Delhi. You may send your feedback to him by choosing an option at the top right corner of this page." In this article, he tries to question various beliefs that we hold, without scrutiny. The purpose here is to have a robust debate without in anyway belittling personal beliefs. He can be reached at creative@nagpur.dot.net.in"