Amid protests against the Valentine’s Day celebrations on Friday and counter exhortations by some to celebrate the day, love birds in the city played it safe by not venturing out to parks and amusement hubs.
Couples stayed away from the usual rendezvous points like Necklace Road, Durgam Cheruvu and public parks. Even the well-decorated shopping malls – complete with images of pink and red hearts and playful cupids – failed to attract the smitten couples till late in the evening.
Rallying point
“With Valentine’s Day becoming a political rally point, we are afraid of getting struck in a nasty brawl and hence are avoiding usual haunts during the day. We can hang out in those places at any time,” K. Sruthi, an engineering graduate, observed.
Instead of visiting public places, Sruthi and her friends chose to celebrate the day by going out for lunch in one of the upmarket restaurants.
“It’s safe and kind of fun to spend quality time with friends this way,” P. Vamsi, her friend, said. With youngsters and couples choosing to eat out, hotels and restaurants did a good business.
However, Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal members organised protests from morning by burning effigies and shouting slogans against the ‘imported’ celebrations. “We are not against celebrating love but oppose the culture imposed by MNCs as part of their commercial exploitation,” VHP spokesperson Bharath Vamsi said.
Volunteers from both the organisations also conducted ‘counselling’ sessions to 15 young couples at places like Durgam Cheruvu, Necklace Road, Paradise, Banjara Hills and Punjagutta.
Social media chatter
With most deciding against taking to the streets to express their love, the social media played a significant role in playing the part of a messenger.
Netizens flocked to Facebook and Twitter to share their feelings.
