Is the symbolism of 'days' as upcoming Valentines' day becoming relevant in today's society?

In the hectic world of ours today;where there is practically no time for a breathing space let alone finding time for expression of love,gratitude or appreciation,Is celebration of 'days' really becoming relevant to our times? Taking into consideration all the opposition from certain outfits of the society,is the resistance justified?

Question comes to my mind why is there such a furore about celebration or expression to act of love between people when no such strong reaction comes to display for other 'days' as fathers day mothers day or womens day. Isn't it hypocritical?

Opinions in favour of the motion would argue that we need to trust our future generation enough to know for themselves where to draw the line,moreover what goes so inherently wrong in casual proclamation of love, doesn't it help promote feeling of love after all.
These acts of opposition in fact help in promoting the idea of 'forbidden fruit is the sweetest',instead of helping to curb it.The take of 'westernisation of our culture' in the garb of celebration of the days,seems a bit far fetched. There are other n number of instances or practices present in our contemporary world to prove or promote the fact and it seems they are there because we really can't do without them or are ready to do without them. So targeting just this phenomenon would be futile.

The other side of the story can be- there should be no need or the crutch of 'specific' days to express or proclaim love. It also results in an indirect boost for markets by the way of hiked rates of gifts etc to exploit and lure customers into their web. The day also seems to give a sort of indirect sanction for the prevalance of amorous irresponsible behaviour on the part of youth.

Whatever your take, the issue is really close to our hearts, since it questions many things at once, democracy, freedom, clash of ideologies, generation gap etc.
So do post your view folks😀

Replies

  • rahul69
    rahul69
    That's life 😀, we give importance to things we like, and we like celebrating, doesn't matter whether it is fathers day or valentines day. Thing is, celebration is what makes memories,memories that we cherish, which defines us. And it's just about perspective, to some it may look foolish, to others awesome, but what is important is that everthing should have a good intention, and that's it, Rest is golden, So enjoy life, bring smile to others, and be happy 😁
  • Ankita Katdare
    Ankita Katdare
    I think the resistance arrives from the notion that a 'wave' of sorts has arrived to westernize the country. Not just in India, but many other Asian countries. Those who are trying hard to make the country, the youth realize the potential and power of having faith in our own culture & being proud of it, are ready to go to any measures to curb the influence of the western culture. Whether the means (forcefully marrying couple seen outside on Valentine's Day) or the measures (starting debates on whether we need a special 'mothers' day') may or may not be correct, the idea behind all this is to make the youth understand the importance of integrity with our own ideas. Promote and celebrate our culture. Only when any nation sticks to its roots (sows their feet firmly in the ground) and then progress, only then can they be expected to achieve something significant.

    Inviting opinions from #-Link-Snipped-# #-Link-Snipped-# #-Link-Snipped-#
  • Rucha Wankhede
    Rucha Wankhede
    Recently in Chattisgarh Valentines'day is being replaced to be celebrated as 'Matru Pitru Diwas' (Parent's day). Wonder why only this day was chosen? It could well have been 15th of Feb. Isn't it colonising choice of people? Replacement strategy?
  • Shashank Moghe
    Shashank Moghe
    Recluse
    The day also seems to give a sort of indirect sanction for the prevalance of amorous irresponsible behaviour on the part of youth.
    This is as much the right of an individual as is posting cartoons about people, religion or culture. If you can stand one, there is no cue to shout murder against the other. All of this - the ugly protests on valentines day - is a tactic to seek attention by factions of our society who have no standing to get attention otherwise. They need to stop rationalizing vandalism in the name of our culture.

    Contrapunto, this very liberal ideology gives them as much right to protest against valentine's day as it gives us as free people to celebrate it, but the moral line needs to be drawn at that. Some factions misunderstand their right to get offended and resort to physical abuse and what not.

    P.S: I chose this point to voice my opinion because this is the subtext under which most of these "conveniently grouped" offended people operate.
  • Don Ross
    Don Ross
    All that was wonderful, wonderful expression from those I feel entrusted to the future of not only those in India but of my loved home land. I am very proud of you.
  • Saandeep Sreerambatla
    Saandeep Sreerambatla
    I think if you are supposed to love and express love to your mother why are you not supposed to love or express love or do something for your girl friend?

    And the same society is OK if I propose on road to my wife but not to my girl friend i dont understand where the rules comes from.

    My opinion on this is- There are no special 'days' in our culture , we respect elders love secretly etc etc (I am not dis-respecting any culture here, and yes in other cultures elders are respected).

    So and as usually we embraced everything from west, dressing, talking, working and especially English.. we embraced celebrating all those days as well.

    Now people dont want it to happen to save our culture! I think culture is a overly rated word that is mostly used in Asian countries. If a 'dal' or gang doesnt like something they are against it and they say 'Bharat mata ki jai' , or whatever. If they are OK with it they embrace it.

    Public kissing is a sin in india, and its always ok to molest woman , treat them differently, hit them, dont treat them equally and rape woman in India. I say I am proud of the cultural progress thats happening.
  • Divyaprakash KC
    Divyaprakash KC
    My view about the possible answer of the question

    Is the symbolism of 'days' as upcoming Valentines' day becoming relevant in today's society?

    It is relevant for the business.

    "Buy a 220 L refrigerator and celebrate Valentine's day!!"
    "Gift your valentine a 18 wheeler truck and do endless love!!"
    "This Valentine's enrich your love with a 155" mega ultra HD Plasma TV"

    In my opinion, the envier hysteria about Valentine's day is because of advertising.
  • Shashank Moghe
    Shashank Moghe
    #-Link-Snipped-# absolutely true. It is all about marketing. Every single "day" is about marketing.

    BTW, I absolutely loved your caption line!
  • Rucha Wankhede
    Rucha Wankhede
    Its both relevant and hypocritical on our part.
    I think embracing western culture as people call it was has always been optional,nobody forced it on us we integrated it by our own choice let's be clear on this.So consequently there should also be no pressure of select groups to injunct their own viewpoint or ideology which is perceived as an imposition.Vandalism and enforcement of opinions won't achieve anything it deteriorates the situation to worse.
  • Shashank Moghe
    Shashank Moghe
    Isnt the state of the world right now analogous to that of the Valentine's Day situation in India? Look at Charlie Hebdo, look inside and see AIB Roast, people believe in suppression of expression. This is not just India, this is everywhere - just more so in India. We need to get educated more, rather educated better. There is no justification for suppression of expression of feelings, period.
  • Rucha Wankhede
    Rucha Wankhede
    With expression of feelings there comes responsibility too of how and what you choose to express. Also I think modernity is always of and in thoughts which doesn't necessarily result only after embracing western culture or educating better. There's a certain distinction to be made between freedom and unrestricted freedom of being.And that line has to be drawn by individuals themselves not by some external agency.
  • Shashank Moghe
    Shashank Moghe
    Well education is not necessarily academic - anything that expands your moral boundaries is education. That alone is the cause (and most of the times effect) of modernization. It is therefore, a cascading effect. Responsibility of expression is personal, the society should not have any say in what and how to express. The moment this line becomes unclear, we are tending towards autocracy.

    Also, please explain what is the difference between freedom and unrestricted freedom of being? For,

    1) Freedom is always unrestricted. And,
    2) What is freedom if not the freedom of being?
  • Rucha Wankhede
    Rucha Wankhede
    By Freedom unrestricted I meant difference between 'swatantrya' and 'swairachar'( if you understand Marathi). Since we live in a society,its our moral responsibility to think a bit about how or not our actions would affect it,this doesn't mean you need to necessarily alter your opinions and then put them forward it means,just have this inkling at the back of your mind and then act.Its shouldn't be the case of my-way-or-highway. You need to respect the reality of interdependence of society on an individual and vice versa especially when the opinions are bound to hit some harsh notes.I meant responsibility in this sense.
  • Shashank Moghe
    Shashank Moghe
    If the moral fabric of a society is tarnished by its individuals expressing themselves (on something as pure as love), I wouldn't dare say the fabric is strong enough to begin with. A society is a structure built to promote independence and free existence. The moment it starts having restrictions on the very basics of these two values, the foundations of that society have started trembling.

    Besides, who decides if or not our actions have a positive or negative impact on the society? Right wing hooligans? I will be very particular in selecting the case here: expression of love. This is one of the most fundamental requisites of human existence. We would not exist had that not been a right. Anybody, who puts any limitations on that right is hindering freedom (swatantrya). Of course I understand about the limitations on actions you talk about here, but prohibition of any celebrations on this day (under any pretext) is a direct attack on the freedom of the masses. Of course it is illegal to do so, and hence the wrapper of traditions. In the end, it all boils down to using Religion and Tradition as a mask to accomplish inferior motives.
  • Anoop Mathew
    Anoop Mathew
    Expression is what we live for. In this era, all we can think of behind these Gorilla Glass interfaces is how much better can each of us get at expressing our opinions. This isn't something we decided to do over a cup of coffee, we've grown into it!

    Expression can be disturbingly limiting. This happens when perspectives are not in sync. It also happens that opinions are often speculated in the wrong sense. We need to understand the consequences and possible long term threats of what we do here.

    Coming to public affection of love, its fine if you keep it simple, call it a day, exchange gifts, all harmless. But its better off not turning this 'day' into a cult and often 'misrepresenting an expression' into a 'need of the hour'.

    Am I against publicly expressing love? - no! But what happens when kids of the next generation start opening their mouth about it? What happens when you parents and future parents need to find new ways to balance the 'act' with your kids? It'd be a bummer if you get hit by the same stick you once lent.

    So, for now some 'days' are fine. (Eg: Mothers day, Fathers day, Childrens day, etc). But judging from our constant need to express, can you be sure that these symbolisms might not get absurd? (eg: Kissing day? Mate-a-thon day?, etc).

    P.S.: If i can imagine this much, the future can imagine much worse and probably do it without any license to restrict!
  • Shashank Moghe
    Shashank Moghe
    There are many things that are legal in this world but immoral, and we do not do them anyway. Imagine if you made such things illegal, I remember reading somewhere in some post that the forbidden fruit is the sweetest. Thats the kind of risk you will be taking with making things illegal. Am I against banning stuff? Yes, I am. Am I in support of immorality? No. The gist is, that actions are subject to morality, which is a function of your education and thought. Act on what is moral, but never impose a ban on individual freedom. If we do that, our society remains undeveloped.

    And developed doesnt necessarily mean westernized here. A few years ago (even today) gay marriages were frowned upon. Is that illegal in India? Yes. But you know on the inside that it is against humanity to ban same-sex love. It is as much moral and natural as heterosexual love is. Do not impose restrictions on freedom is all that I am advocating. There should always be a choice. Do not ban Valentine's Day celebrations. But am I saying that a couple in love should "mate" in the middle of a traffic signal? No. There is a difference, you have a choice. And thats how it should always be.
  • Rucha Wankhede
    Rucha Wankhede
    Who draws the line? is the question it all boils down to.Are we as a society and youth sane enough to know for ourselves,I wonder.Its like different sections of our society are not evolving at the same rate,there's a kind of differential learning curve at work,there exists khap and there exists culture advocating liberalism and freedom hence the friction of ideologies and belief system almost at the cost of other.Acts of threats and disruption are in no way justified but then is the 'opposition' justified on other grounds remains a question to be pondered on.
    'Relevance' of celebration takes significance in the sense that we are increasingly moving towards being a developed world and in this process have integrated the value systems and practices of those already developed.We have nuclear families necessited by economic considerations and better prospects for future generation,there are live-in relationships,pub culture to do away with the increasing stress of work and many such examples.But we are still 'Indian' in the sense that even today we have values that make us 'Indian' like eating at least one meal together, sharing our concerns,joys and sorrows over the dining table,getting acquainted with fellow passengers in trains and locals as though they are our own kith and kin,addressing the shopkeeper uncle or kaka rather than sir or mam,and for that matter expressing love and concern for our dear ones- wife or girlfriend enquiring everyday about her well being.Indians in general are lovable and affable.In contrast people in the west are more work and goal oriented rather than being emotional or people lovers.They value individualism more.So it was justified and progressive of them to make an effort to reach out to their dear ones and their countrymen in general,promoting an emotional,connective kind of behaviour,by the way of symbolic celebration of 'days'.
    The question remains are we slowly losing out on the values that made us uniquely 'Indian',or can we still hold on them and be developed,best of both worlds,is that so hard to achieve?
    In the end,Its not the question of us versus them,but of our own sense and understanding as to what should or shouldn't be integrated.
  • Shashank Moghe
    Shashank Moghe
    Recluse
    In contrast people in the west are more work and goal oriented rather than being emotional or people lovers.They value individualism more.So it was justified and progressive of them to make an effort to reach out to their dear ones and their countrymen in general,promoting an emotional,connective kind of behaviour,by the way of symbolic celebration of 'days'.
    Absolutely untrue. As a person living in the theoretical "west", I can attest that the people in this "west" are as much human and family oriented as we "easterners" are. They share the same meal and indulge in emotional sharing as much as we do. To have this separated view of the western world and framing the"west" as some sort of negative culture is exactly what is so "un-youth" about us. The religious and right-winged people have done their job of mind-numbing us to the west and thats what is so difficult for us to erase now. I am NOT advocating copying from the west. But these "days" are as much an Indian concoction as they are of the west. It is ALL marketing.

    Recluse
    sharing our concerns,joys and sorrows over the dining table,getting acquainted with fellow passengers in trains and locals as though they are our own kith and kin,addressing the shopkeeper uncle or kaka rather than sir or mam,and for that matter expressing love and concern for our dear ones- wife or girlfriend enquiring everyday about her well being.Indians in general are lovable and affable.
    Let mew tell you, people here talk to absolute strangers a lot more than we do in India. They will hold the door for you even if you are half a mile away. They will say thank you and sorry even if you don't deserve one. They will pull up for that one-in-a-thousand cars for the road that has broken, they will tip the waiters just so that the waiters can live a "normal" financial life, so on and so forth. Before making these bland generalizations I would like to say to all those people who so easily get prejudiced about the west, how much do we actually know about their world to make allegations? These guys have preserved their culture-whatever that is and howsoever different it is from our culture. The madness that we see around our eastern world on Diwali is justified, the marketing gimmicks on Dussera and Lakshmipoojan are perfectly fine, but that on Valentines Day is not. Damage the environment all you want in the name of Diwali or Holi celebrations and justify that as culture, but do not celebrate love, why is that?
  • Rucha Wankhede
    Rucha Wankhede
    I just quoted examples which I knew to have been experienced, like while travellling on board in London the first thing that strikes you is-the silence,agreed,your experience might have been different,I intended to make no generalisations just put forth a background on which views are shaped.So lets not get into who they are,or why was it okay for them to do so and so,what concerns is the question of Us,and our take because it is ultimately 'we' as a society that is brainstorming today and not them.
    The question is about 'relevance' which presents itself as a consequence if we are moving through that phase to reach to the developed status,where they are today. Can we do away with it? Is it really the necessity, is what needs to be reflected on.
  • Shashank Moghe
    Shashank Moghe
    Now that we have established that generalizations about the west have no standing in the foregoing discussion, let me answer your second point.

    Recluse
    The question is about 'relevance' which presents itself as a consequence if we are moving through that phase to reach to the developed status,where they are today.
    You say that we are moving in a direction synchronous to "development" with the aim to be where these western countries are, already. And immediately, you talk about the 'relevance' of their ideologies? How do you think mainstream thought processes and ideologies are forged in a free society? At first these ideas are out-of-the-box, later they gain logical ground, criticism follows and finally acceptance. Ideas don't just spring out from the ground and stay there forever by magic. The ideas which fall off the ladder have a good reasoning to do so. Those who maintain grip, in a world as fast changing as today's, have an even better reason to do so. And let me tell you, the real reason behind the prevalence for all diversity of ideas is individual freedom. A society that is developed respects intellectual and social freedom. And that has to be on a grass-root level, every individual of the society counts.

    Can we do away with it? Is it really the necessity, is what needs to be reflected on.

    And you then ask, quite contrary to your preceding argument - if we can do away with it? Why do you want to do away with it? Why do you want to curb expression? Are you suggesting that the tried and proven methodologies of developed societies are needed to be done away with, just because we have a rich historical and ethnic background? That hardly sounds like a constructive suggestion to me. Do we still study Vedas in school (as much contemporary meaning as they still hold)? No. We have matched the pace of the world, step to step, to make our country reach the "developing" status from "being ruled for 200 years", in just 67 years of independence. Why curb the rights of our citizens now? Just because the west was the first to grant people the liberty to do so?

    Any suggestion we make as a direction to guide our behavior has to have a better logic that that.
  • Rucha Wankhede
    Rucha Wankhede
    Firstly, you got me completely wrong,its not about relevance of 'their' ideology but about relevance of celebration of days in Indian context.
    By doing away with it,I meant not curbing but questioning the whole necessity of it.We can as well do without attaching unnecessary importance to them in the way that we are ready to defend them as against our own traditions and Vedas,now relevance of Vedas is another issue but just because in the course of time our Diwalis have become means of pollution and Holis wastage of water,doesn't mean they are inherently wrong,'we' as people have screwed them up but the logic and the underlying reasoning,if we care to know beyond symbolisms, remains intact.
    Secondly nobody 'grants' or sanctions us rights,we as a society define them,and have collectively willingly agreed to cherish them as prescribed in constitution. So this whole celebration of west and their liberty needs to be thought over first rather than going for blind integration. We need to incorporate only those values that can be customised for us rather than one-size-fits-all method.
    Thirdly the guiding principles have to carefully selected and formed over time because they aren't supposed to be relative,we are still transitioning as a society and this is the right time to give a thought over what needs to be defended what needs to be integrated and what needs to be kept distance from.
  • Shashank Moghe
    Shashank Moghe
    Do we still, as adults, let our parents choose our clothes for us? We accept that our parents have nothing but the best interest at heart when it comes to making decisions for us, but do we still prefer to choose our own clothes? Yes! Why? Because we are in a better position to judge the fashion than they are. Nobody is wrong here, but just because we are taking the thread of making our own choices from our parents and keeping it in our own control does not mean we are forsaking our love and respect for them. I do not feel the need to explicitly cite the analogy here.

    You defend the wastefulness and violent annihilation during Diwali and Holi by saying the inherent idea behind these festivals is still pure, but you cannot see the inherent emotion behind the celebration of Valentine's Day? Is that not hypocrisy?

    I again repeat, just celebrating something like the west does, does not mean we are blind-following. We took up science education in favor of religious academia, that was not blind-following, to cite an example. The point is, if we adopt a tried and tested good idea from someplace else, it does not count as blind following. That is adaptation, towards forging a better world.

    And besides, you talk about a society that still has female foeticide, daylight rapes, khap panchayats, and what not. How bad a thing can we do to a society fighting its own evils by introducing a celebration of love? Is that not what Diwali is - a celebration of love? Or for that sake what is Holi? We wont celebrate Christmas, because that is "west", lets us rename it Nataal and give holidays to our children, because that is so traditional. And morally innovative.

    Recluse
    Thirdly the guiding principles have to carefully selected and formed over time because they aren't supposed to be relative,we are still transitioning as a society and this is the right time to give a thought over what needs to be defended what needs to be integrated and what needs to be kept distance from.
    You do not select morals. Period. Those are developed on an individual level. That is something you cannot teach in 1-hour lectures on "moral education". And that is exactly what you are trying to do when you ban any celebration.
  • Rucha Wankhede
    Rucha Wankhede
    You are confusing two things,freedom and relevance.I am not in any way against freedom of celebration,am defending a simple question of being relevant. Nor am I propagating the thought of our culture is superior or best,the points which you seem to be defending against.
    I already made it clear that am against any vandalism or ban or disruption. The sole point am trying to make is do we need to take forward what already seems to be integrated practiced by us today by the way of celebration of days. Do We need to make that choice or take a decision to undo the one which has already been made,is the moot point.
    Selection of morals wasn't to be taken literally focussing on the word, in essence it meant,choosing values and belief system by which to lead by as a sovereign republic,as secularism, fraternity,equality etc which every country adopts to be enshrined in their respective constitutions.
  • Shashank Moghe
    Shashank Moghe
    Well, I can pinpoint places in your argument where the clear direction was supposed to be the predecessor and source of my counter-arguments. May be more needed to be done in the way of making the argument lucidly clear, this discussion could have reached its pinnacle in the form of a fruitful conclusion.

    And again, if we take ahead what we already celebrate, there should be no reason for us to cry foul about, is there? And THAT, exactly, is my point. Has been all the time. These parties and groups hold no sway in the wake of logic in shunning Valentine's Day.

    Recluse
    Selection of morals wasn't to be taken literally focussing on the word, in essence it meant,choosing values and belief system by which to lead by as a sovereign republic,as secularism, fraternity,equality etc which every country adopts to be enshrined in their respective constitutions.
    That is exactly what choosing morals means. You cannot choose for others. It becomes really difficult to read between the lines when the coherence of thought is compromised.
  • Rucha Wankhede
    Rucha Wankhede
    Pursuing different threads of argument maybe lead to some confusion,the basic point getting lost even though according to me it was more clear in individual propositions than in counterarguments.
    Just because we have been celebrating it doesn't mean we needn't introspect or scrutinise it. Nothing wrong with the expression of freedom,there are other ways and means too,whether this phenomenon in itself is worth defending or not just because it comes with the expression of liberty and freedom,is what needs to be gauged.
  • Shashank Moghe
    Shashank Moghe
    Recluse
    Just because we have been celebrating it doesn't mean we needn't introspect or scrutinise it.
    Of course not. We need to scrutinize and scrutiny doesn't necessarily need to implicate forthcoming unconstructive dissection.

    Recluse
    Nothing wrong with expression freedom,there are other ways and means too,whether this phenomenon in itself is worth defending or noy just because it comes with the expression of liberty and freedom,is what needs to be gauged.
    It has been hyped out of proportion precisely because it carries the weight of individual liberty. Had such a celebration been a felony, the law would have enforced itself. Just because this lies in the grey area of "western culture lookalike" is what gives anti-social elements the leeway to assert it as a moral juxtaposition.

    The guage needs to have a no-go limit set at the onset of personal freedom. This is where the bar should be set.
  • Rucha Wankhede
    Rucha Wankhede
    It covers a lot more ground than just a curb in expression of freedom. There's market rise of prices,exploitation of consumers, vandalisms,destruction of property and various other consequences.Everything needs to be considered from a holistic point of view instead of weighing the issue single pointedly.
    Anyway All said and done people its already here.Happy Valentines!😀😁
  • Shashank Moghe
    Shashank Moghe
    Recluse
    It covers a lot more ground than just a curb in expression of freedom. There's market rise of prices,exploitation of consumers, vandalisms,destruction of property and various other consequences.Everything needs to be considered from a holistic point of view instead of weighing the issue single pointedly.
    That goes more on the plane of my standpoint than it does to yours from a comment ago. Besides, the line needs to be drawn at the point where it becomes a problem. All the aspects that you mentioned lie way after the personal freedom has already been violated.

You are reading an archived discussion.

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