The much-enthralling Valentine’s festivity finally came to an end. Youth were seen engrossed in the Valentine-mania, much more than love. A whole new range of ecstasies offered by the bigshot cardporations (read corporations) is truly fascinating. Flowers begin to shower all around; soothing music plays all day and delightful fragrance is felt every moment. Does the world really turn so beautiful every February?
Love is a holistic notion which encompasses all human feelings like affection, compassion, respect and commitment. It is such a spectacular emotion that you tend to sacrifice everything for someone unconditionally. It is an instinctive behaviour without which mankind would not have flourished. But confining love to one day makes no sense. As long as we don’t realise the true concept of love, we would keep reading reports about frequent cases of rape, domestic violence, divorce, conflicts between siblings, rivalries and other inhuman acts.
As a growing teenager, I had always wondered, “Why is love so much in the air?” It is because, “It’s business in the air!” The consumerist nature of the season is quite appalling. About 180 million cards are exchanged on Valentine’s Day and the average revenue generated by the industry is a whopping $13.19 billion. Can you just imagine, $13.19 billion on a single day in a world where 1.7 billion people live in absolute poverty!
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Businesses desperately look forward to the Valentine season, much more than us. It’s their second biggest day of the year after New Year celebrations. As if making business on February 14 alone was not enough, they added preceding celebrations such as Rose Day, Propose Day, Chocolate Day, Hug Day, Kiss Day, and what not?
Does this really teach us love and compassion? Or, are we falling prey to the commercial interests of the multinationals?
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