Love Me Two Times!

In the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make
–Beatles

They say, love is in the air. But for me, even it didn't ring to my ear. Well, another Valentine day passed making me puzzled why we need to follow this western tradition. No, I am not against it. But, you celebrate love all the time, every breath you take, every move you make. Loving or expressing your love in this day dedicated for lovers is not entirely bad, for there seems to be a gap between romance and love, the true love and infatuation. But, what I don't understand is why there is such a fuss over this February day. I see Capitalism taking over Cupid. You find a jabarjast marketing strategy to promote the goodies from cards to expensive jewelry. The marketing mantra is the more you spend, the more you love your sweetheart.

Last year, I celebrated this day watching Black movie. This year, I watched Rang De Basanti (RDB) a day ahead of Valentine Day, though I was planning to watch it on this very day. Last year's movie-going was not futile. But, RDB turned out to be a mediocre movie. It obviously can not match the craftsmanship of Sanjay Leela Bhansali.

I fondly recall a day in my early twenties when this trend to celebrate love in the name of a mythical Italian saint was just introduced in Kathmandu in mid 1990s. Wearing a green coat and safely putting inside a V-Day card, the memory still lingers in my mind. The exchange also took place another year, though we were drifting from each other, were heading for mutual separation.

Your first love always haunts you, it remains indelible in some compartment of your memory. So, today I called her to wish her a Happy Valentine Day. As you rightly presume, she's married and already have a son and a daughter. A husky voice greeted me, she was suffering from cough, unaware that today was lover's day. I reminded her about it and wished her a Happy Valentine Day. She was happy to be remembered by an old flame.

This blog was first published in UWB.