“Don’t you have any other work in this world apart from cleaning my wardrobe? Ohh no! I can’t find the matching tie for this suit and I am already late for the meeting. Next time I see you fiddling with my wardrobe, I will cut away your hands, mind you.” Rishi said and left in a haste. In response, Neetu remained silent and stood for 5 minutes with the untouched breakfast tray in her hand looking at the messed up room. She cleaned the room and organized the wardrobe again and left for other domestic chores to be finished.
Chitra your phone is ringing, said Mitali and left. Chitra picks up Som’s call who said he will be there in 5 minutes. Chitra passing a big smile as usual, “Hey sweetheart, how was the day?” Som, “Why you have to ask the same question every day? Let’s go home and make a strong tea for me, I am having headache”.
Rudra: “See Abhishek, after all those sacrifices for the past 2 years, if you still say you are confused, it’s better we part ways”.
Abhishek: “Listen bro, even I love you but I can’t love only you.”
Rudra: “What does that mean you ba*****?”
Abhishek: “Hold yourself moron, I cannot be happy in one relationship only. I need multiple partners to love and enjoy my life in my terms”
Rudra didn’t say any word and hung up the phone clearing his last conversation.
Surfing all the social networking websites, Esha says fumingly “What the hell is going on? Why all people all over the world have to be so engrossed in valentine, heart shape and red color? I mean do they have nothing else to do rather than selling and buying love? Ohh Good Lord, just give me a break”.
These are just glimpses of run-of-the-mill conversation that a 5 years marriage, live-in partnership, just dating relationships, and “single status” people have daily with their partners or with the self. My interrogation is how did those people celebrate Valentine’s Day who doesn’t even know about the existence of it? Yes, there are people who don’t know the term Valentine’s Day. It’s hard for us to swallow this fact because we live in the labyrinth of megacities with all latest technologies and amenities. But think of the villagers who work as farmers in fields, laborers in factories, and maids in big houses – what does Valentine’s Day connote to these people? They don’t know that sending flowers and cakes to loved ones would win their love. May be because love is still a divine fact for them and not a commercial item.
The characters of these four stories on one side and the people who were not sentient of the tag called Valentine’s Day on the other side – did they celebrate this 14th February? This means even after high education, standard of living, social differences, they belong to the same category. Neetu – Rishi, Chitra – Som, Rudra – Abhishek, and Esha all are standing alone among those millions of couples who are still confused to get an answer to: Should I love the life I have chosen? Once upon a time all of these characters meant love of life for each other. So, what actually goes wrong with time?
We all are so used to living in dichotomy that it has become our very being. When Aishwarya Rai as Paro was running with a fallen pallu to see the last glimpse of her Devdas, weren’t all the eyes of our mothers, aunties, uncles, sisters, moist with pain? During Valentine’s week, most of the GEC’s (general entertainment channel) repeated these epic love stories. Don’t we all worship Lord Krishna and Radha? Theirs are considered to be the greatest of the great love stories. But tell me one thing would these aunties, uncles, mothers support the extra-marital love affairs? No, they won’t. They would thrash you right on your face as you broke a societal law. And no mother would ever want a Paro to run after a Devdas when she is already married to another happening guy.
Then why do we have to praise a movie like Devdas and Lord Krishna-Radha when we cannot accept their deific love wholeheartedly? Characters like Neetu – Rishi, Chitra – Som, Rudra – Abhishek, and Esha are also somewhere in the exile of dichotomy. Neetu cannot break the marriage because she is afraid of this society where a divorced woman is brutalized mentally. If Som cannot answer Chitra’s caring questions gleefully why is he still in live-in relationship with her? Just because Chitra is a good-hearted girl who would not leave him due to the bondage of love. And again the society would question about her character that if she is in live-in relationship with one guy she cannot marry anyone else. Same applies for Rudra as well, he doesn’t want to be tagged a Casanova although he is dating one Casanova character.
And Esha is still in hope just like me that a time would come when we would be able to clear all the blockages of contradiction and understand the true message of Love before going with the commercial flow of it. Love is a wonderful feeling which should free yourself, and not try to control you. You should feel free with the other person to feel the scent of love.
