India’s love-hate relationship with Valentine’s Day

Brut India

It’s that time of the year again when not only love is in the air, but also fiery slogans like “Down with Valentine’s Day!”

Transcript

00:00For lovebirds, it's a day to celebrate love.

00:03For a few godmen, it's a day to worship parents.

00:07For others, it's a day to embrace cows.

00:10But for several fringe groups, it's a day to chase couples.

00:14We're talking about 14th of February, Valentine's Day.

00:19It was in the 90s when this festival of the West

00:22made a grand entry into India through movies and TV shows.

00:26In the 1997 film Dil Toh Pagal Hai,

00:28the determined Madhuri Dixit was searching for a valentine.

00:32In the 1998 TV show Hip Hip Hooray,

00:35two lovebirds confessed their feelings on this special day.

00:42Inspired by the big screen,

00:44this day became all the rage among real-life couples too.

00:48But this celebration of love made some angry.

00:51They rejected Valentine's Day, saying

00:59Some fringe outfits also took it upon themselves to school those

01:10who dared to celebrate this day of love,

01:13whether that involved chasing couples at public places or vandalizing malls.

01:22In 2007, Asaram tried to give a new twist to this day of love.

01:29But have you ever wondered how Valentine's Day even began?

01:37Legend has it that Valentine's Day is named after Saint Valentine,

01:41a Roman saint who opposed Emperor Claudia II's ban on marriages for soldiers.

01:47It is said that Valentine secretly arranged marriages and got thrown into jail for it.

01:52While in prison, he supposedly fell in love with the jailer's daughter.

01:56When he was about to be executed on 14 February,

01:59he apparently sent a love letter to her saying,

02:02From your Valentine.

02:03Another version suggests that Saint Valentine was

02:06killed for helping mistreated Christians escape from prisons in Rome.

02:10While some say that Valentine's Day is celebrated to commemorate the death of Saint Valentine,

02:15others believe it also gave the pagan Lupercalia festival,

02:19a fertility festival which happened around the same time, a Christian touch.

02:24Over the years, Valentine's Day became a big deal worldwide,

02:28with brands and e-commerce giants cashing in on this day of love.

02:34When it came to Valentine cards,

02:36gift store Archie's was one of the first to hop onto the trend in India.

02:41Over time, teddy bears and heart-shaped pillows started popping up in every other gift shop.

02:47In 2023, some leading floral companies in India told Zee Business

02:52that the flower market around Valentine's Day was estimated at about Rs 500 crore.

02:58But as the Valentine's Day celebrations kept getting bigger, so did the protests against it.

03:04And guess what the Animal Welfare Board suggested for Valentine's Day?

03:08In February 2023, it appealed to Indians to love and hug cows on this special day.

03:22But after it led to criticism and host of memes on the internet, the board withdrew this appeal.

03:29This is the story of Valentine's Day, a day when some are head over heels in love,

03:35others are angry and the rest couldn't care less.

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