Where art thou, my Valentine?

With the blog-o-sphere full of Valentines' Day posts and red, pink and white cute somethings and gift ideas and mushy rumblings, can yours truly be far behind? But given my obsession with pain, you won't be disappointed if you are expecting something other than a lovey-dovey post here. Yes, love  is magical. I don't deny that. I'd never deny that. I've been in love. I've seen how colorful and happy the mundane things look when you are in love. I know exactly how one blushes after breaking into a sheepish grin in the middle of a class, thanks to a stupid piece of happy memory. I know how perfect it feels to wake up next to your loved one and see the sun rays playing on the curtain behind their head.
                                                                                                      But, contrary to what Acrhies and its cousins would have us believe, Valentines' Day is as much about the pain and heartbreak that come along with love as the happiness and bliss. As many of you might know,the origin of this day lies in the popular story that Saint Valentine of Rome was imprisoned for performing weddings for soldiers who were not allowed to marry. Before his execution, he wrote a letter to the daughter of his jailer and signed it "Your Valentine" as a farewell. Does this heart-wrenching story actually encourage the roses-chocolates-teddies-candles-waltz extravaganza we indulge into every year on this very day? Shouldn't it rather be a day when we remember all those fated lovers who struggled all their life to be together and either died in the process or achieved success only when they were too tired to relish it? Shouldn't we thank God on this very day for being lucky enough to be with our love so easily? Shouldn't we be thankful that the ones we fell in love with loved us back? Shouldn't we be thankful that we were allowed by the rest of the world to fall in love? Shouldn't we be thankful that our dreams came true when we were young enough to feel the ecstasy it brought forth? And shouldn't we shed a tear or two for those who didn't turn out to be as lucky as we were? This deprived set is a lot bigger than we think- the in-numerous number of people who fall in love with people of same sex, married people, people from different castes, religions, race, creed, country? In short, the ones whose love stories don't have a certain ending like that of ours. Don't these less fortunate ones deserve a little more than our sarcastic comments or judgmental glances?
          So, this Valentines' Day, walk up to the person you made fun of the other day- be it a beggar who claimed to be a millionaire before his wife died and his daughter-in-law threw him out, a friend with a forbidden love life or the daughter of the domestic help who had a love child. One kind word costs nothing. One hug would leave you warmer and lighter. One prayer won't bite into your quota of happiness. You make someone's day, their smile and blessings would make yours automatically. Because happiness is a privilege and this is the only way of thanking the superior power for blessing you with a bunch of it.
                                                                                        The pictures are the leftovers from the Look Book-2013 of Howrah Bridge that created quite a stir on the social media. I don't look conventionally pretty, thanks to the oiled hair, no makeup, acne, blackheads and the sun but some pictures are all about their nostalgic value. Besides, looking pretty was never a part of the checklist. Remember the blog introduction?

Palazzo-B.K.Market, white shirt-New Market,hat and ring-borrowed from Anu,bow tie and jacket-Howrah Bridge
Styling, picture and location courtesy- Anu

Too mushy to love

For the people of our generation,V day seems to be one of the most important occasions! I,for one,have never been a huge fan of it.I'm not opposed to the idea of celebrating love but the way it's been commercialized and reduced to a joke saddens me.Gone are the days when love used to be about writing a heartfelt letter.Now it's strictly business.Now it's a cut-throat competition among peers to show your 'love' in the most expensive,innovative,standout way.What the heck?I'd rather call it showing off.
                                                                                                                     Back in my early teenage,I used to be pretty excited about V day.I spent most of my school life dating someone or the other(Yes,I dated throughout the school and remained single in these three years in college). When I was thirteen,V day meant going to a telephone booth and calling him.When I was fifteen,V day meant making a card for him and sending it through messengers.When I was eighteen,V day meant saving money for buying his favorite deo or after shave lotion.But mostly,it was about doing something but never getting anything in return.I wasn't even lucky enough to see them make an effort.My second boyfriend got me a bouquet with dried out flowers because he got to know from my friends that I was going to get him his favorite deo and a card double the size of his chest.
                                               I used to be really hurt back then.All my friends used to get cards,flowers(like,real flowers),chocolates,personalized coffee mugs from their boyfriends and I was the only one,neglected and taken for granted.But when I finally started growing up,I realized what a favor they had done me.They showed me the reality in stead of allowing me to get lost into a make-believe world.Because as soon as the mascara wears off,no one gives a rat's ass about your eyes,lips and heart.Over the years,I not only forgave them,I kind of grew fond of them,in my own sick way.
                                                                                                    Please don't think this is the space a hopelessly single twenty two year old uses to pour all her frustrations out.I DO love love,just not the way we've got used to celebrating it.I DO believe in making the loved one feel special,just not the way the ad gurus advise us to.I couldn't hate the Hindutwavadis bullying couples celebrating V day more! But at the same time,if I ever find true love,I won't like to spend our days looking at red cushions that say,'I love you more than anything in the world.'

I've been wearing a lot of red lately.It was tough to find pictures with no red popping out.You've seen the dhoti pant before.I'm gonna wear it a lot more,so,you better get used to it.The clutch was a gift from my uncle.I always loved the shade of green but since I carry the whole world in my bag,I hardly got a chance to flaunt it somewhere.The kolhapuris are an old favorite too.I wore the bindi to make the whole look more feminine.
On a parting note,
I'll be gone,
long before I cease to matter,
still early enough to make the world ponder over the choices I made.