Valentine's Day has become strongly commercialized in India over the past 15-16 years. While exchanging gifts with a romantic partner was once a sign of affection, it has now become more about prestige and consumerism, with companies profiting greatly. However, true love can still be expressed on Valentine's Day by thinking of low-cost ways to make one's partner feel special.

1. Valentine’s Day: A Pure Business
Propaganda Of Western
Consumerism?
By Amlandeep Bhattacharya

2. Love is in the air!
• 14th February has always been The Day of Love for people all
around the world: Valentine’s Day.
• It is a day when two people- who enjoy being in each other’s
company and feel immense “love” for each other celebrate
their joint endeavor for happiness and peace.
• It is a day when gifts are exchanged between "couples”.
• Though Valentine’s Day is rather a Western concept, but
since the last 15-16 years it has had a strong grip on the
Indian psyche.
• The question arises here, that whether it is merely
propaganda of Western consumerist business or is it really a
day to appreciate love?

3. The man-woman relation
• I still remember the craze that this coveted day had among
my friends during my school days, about 15 years back.
• Buying chocolate and roses was the demand of the hour.
• It actually became a prestige issue, whether a boy or a girl got
a gift from someone or not.
• Though none can deny this to be recognition by the opposite
sex and an introduction into the legacy of man-woman
relationship but love seems rather commoditized.

4. The perfect sole-mate
• First of all, in today’s generation love is much more physical
than emotional.
• Though it is an issue of choice, most of the lovers of today
not only like each other’s company but fall into the idea of
loving each other as envisaged from watching the same in
movies and romantic novels like Mills and Boons.
• Seldom have we found the compassion and patience to
understand each other in completing the journey of life.

5. The economic aspect
• The very issue of buying gifts for each other (often costly)
makes this day a business endeavour where millions of
dollars of trade is involved.
• In a sense, if true love exists between a couple then there is
perhaps no need to celebrate it on a specific day but one can
be made to feel special by his or her partner, any time in the
year.
• The counter logic, however, says that there is nothing wrong
in celebrating a day for love, as life is too short and
celebrating a day of love is just another way of remembering
that life is beautiful.

6. They know to make hay for sure
• Valentine’s Day found a strong grip in the psyche of the
subcontinent.
• Consumer and luxury goods-making companies
like Archies and Hallmark do make hay during this time of the
year.
• Thus, love is reflected on the basis of economic strength,
with the rich projected as the more loving kind.

7. True love everywhere
• However, all said and done there does exist true love like the
one shown in the classic short story of O. Henry [‘Gift of the
Magi’] where a couple sold their most treasured belongings
to buy each other a gift on Christmas.
• Love, like any other fine human emotion, must be expressed
and Valentine’s Day is a good occasion to say it.

8. • Read more on Youth Ki Awaaz at http://bit.ly/Vi2poi