The Hindu : New Delhi News : As much about commerce as about amour….

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Saturday, Feb 16, 2008
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New Delhi

As much about commerce as about amour….

Kunal Diwan

NEW DELHI: “The heart has its reasons that reason knows nothing of….” Though Blaise Pascal’s musings on matters of the heart were intended to pacify issues of greater profundity, they ring true even as one sets out to dissect the motivations behind celebrating one of the great pop-culture phenomena of our times.

As much about commerce as about amour, Valentine’s Day has devolved from its origins as a Roman fertility festival to a celebration of romantic Chaucerian love, and thence to an unbridled marketing exercise in the late 20th Century.

The frenzy

Even for one not attuned to the times, the frenzy that this cross-cultural bonanza generates is unprecedented and emits no signs of slowing down as the years pass by.

One can even guess its Valentine’s Day when flowers are available only at a premium, chocolates are selling like, well, hot cakes, and indigenous hardliners are on the ready to swoop down on errant couples indulging in any “un-Indian” display of affection.

“There are no flowers to be plucked from public gardens for love or for money,” said a Delhi University student as he gallivanted across Connaught Place on Thursday with a gang of buddies.

“It makes sense to buy plastic blossoms. They’re cheaper, last longer and the longevity factor may just rub off on my fledgling relationship as well,” he added with a sly look.

Claimed to be the most fiscally viable festival -- if one dare call it that -- barring Diwali in India, Valentine’s Day has, through the obtrusive persistence of various media, managed to permeate the psyche of urban India.

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