The Honour Of Those We Love The Most

By: Anupma Jain

Once again this Valentine’s Day there would be young people eager to celebrate it in the way they have come to know it and there would be those who would be chasing them and forcing them not to do it. This battle between the ‘moral police’ and the younger western generation has been going on for quite some time now and begs the question if this is because we as Indians are genuinely against amorous relationships or is that a segment of the society is using this new festival to indulge in hooliganism on the roads and eve teasing?

Valentine's Day has indeed come to mark the battle-line between those who see this day as a cultural infringement on Indian values and those who see it as a harmless celebration of love.

In a country, whose name is said to be based on someone born out of free erotic coupling between two consenting adults, it is unimaginable that erotic love be considered as a taboo. In fact, from all historical accounts as well as based on the study of ancient Indian literature one can say that Indian culture was always fairly liberal in this respect.

The Radha-Krishna amour is a love legend of all times. Krishna’s relationship with Radha, has served as a model for male and female love in a variety of art forms. Radha’s utterly rapturous love for Krishna and their relationship is often interpreted as the quest for union with the divine. This kind of love symbolically represented as the bond between the wife and husband or beloved and lover. So great was Radha’s love for Krishna that even today her name is uttered whenever Krishna is refered to.

As one would expect from a pagan civilization, celebration of natural changes in seasons and in life is an essential feature of Indian life. There is a festival to mark every change of seasons. Tradition of celebrating onset of spring has been a part of Indian culture since times immemorial. Sanskrit literature has references of Vasantotsav or Madanotsav or Kamotsav (different names for Spring Festival).

Valentine's Day is also a spring festival, with no roots in Christian or Muslim or Judaic tradition. It is based on two key pagan beliefs - (a) celebration of natural change and (b) erotic love is a creative force of the universe that should be respected and celebrated. It may, hence, be said that the Christian connotation of the word Saint notwithstanding, Valentine's Day is a pagan festival.

In this context it is interesting to note that even today in Lahore, Pakistan spring festival (Basant) is celebrated for days with gaiety and fervor. Mullahs do not like it. They are represented by organizations, whose leaders cannot think beyond their noses. They oppose it tooth and nail since they see it as a Hindu festival. Unfortunately, Hindus today do not see themselves as torchbearers of the glorious pagan traditions, which were destroyed in a most cruel manner in the last fifteen hundred years.

Valentine's Day continues to gain popularity in India because it agrees with the spirit of the country's ancient civilization. In each city, a few stray lathi-bearing ruffians seem to be the only people who are listening to the leaders who make lofty claims of representing all Hindus and protecting Hindu 'dharam' and 'samskriti'.

Though popular modern sources link unspecified Greco-Roman February holidays alleged to be devoted to fertility and love to St Valentine's day, Jack Oruch has demonstrated that prior to Chaucer, no links between the Saints named Valentinus and romantic love existed. February 14 is Valentine's Day, is about showing love to everyone on that day- not just your lover. It will still be a day that celebrates love, but love for everyone -your family, friends, and teachers- everyone.

On our part, let us ignore all fools and follow the example of Lord Krishna and walk the path of love. Let the hooligans and the eve-teasers be ignored! Let us celebrate nature! Let us celebrate the onset of spring! Let us celebrate Valentine's Day! Happy Valentine's Day