The NewSense

13 February, 2010

HUBLI: Tomorrow it is once again 14^th February and needless to say that it is Valentine’s Day. For the Indian youth, you don’t have to remind this day unlike republic day or Independence Day. They may not remember their parents and teachers birthday but they remember this day. Thanks to Indian media which flaunts Valentine’s Day every year. Of course Indian media is not only partially owned by western Christians but culturally also it represents western tradition and that is the reason for the attraction of youth to this culture. Few decades before we hardly knew that even Valentine’s Day existed in the world. But today we celebrate Valentine’s Day in more numbers than the Christians all across the world. Some religious organizations have been fighting against it for the years in India and even some political parties opposes to it on political ground than traditional ground. But the celebration of Valentine’s Day should be left to the youth of India. Let them decide voluntarily on this topic. The youth of India are totally ignorant of the tradition of India and they are blindly following the western culture under the influence of media which is again acting under the influence of western Christian societies. I don’t blame western society or Christian society for this. Of course they are the descendants of St.Valentine and India is totally secular country you can celebrate it. But the Indian youth who hardly know why this is being celebrated are blindly observing this day.  For the benefit of our youth who celebrate Valentine’s Day without knowing what the Valentine’s Day is all about, I am just introducing St.Valentine’s to them. If there is possibility of rebirth, St.Valentine would have loved to be born in India than in Rome. He has more supporters in India than western countries including the media and the Sonia government. And needless to say mindless youth of India. Here is St.Valentine for you.

“Let me introduce myself. My name is Valentine. I lived in Rome during the third century. That was long, long ago! At that time, Rome was ruled by an emperor named Claudius. I didn’t like Emperor Claudius, and I wasn’t the only one! A lot of people shared my feelings. Claudius wanted to have a big army. He expected men to volunteer to join. Many men just did not want to fight in wars. They did not want to leave their wives and families. As you might have guessed, not many men signed up. This made Claudius furious. So what happened? He had a crazy idea. He thought that if men were not married, they would not mind joining the army. So Claudius decided not to allow any more marriages. Young people thought his new law was cruel. I thought it was preposterous! I certainly wasn’t going to support that law! Did I mention that I was a priest? One of my favorite activities was to marry couples. Even after Emperor Claudius passed his law, I kept on performing marriage ceremonies — secretly, of course. It was really quite exciting. Imagine a small candlelit room with only the bride and groom and myself. We would whisper the words of the ceremony, listening all the while for the steps of soldiers. One night, we did hear footsteps. It was scary! Thank goodness the couple I was marrying escaped in time. I was caught. (Not quite as light on my feet as I used to be, I guess.) I was thrown in jail and told that my punishment was death. I tried to stay cheerful. And do you know what? Wonderful things happened. Many young people came to the jail to visit me. They threw flowers and notes up to my window. They wanted me to know that they, too, believed in love. One of these young people was the daughter of the prison guard. Her father allowed her to visit me in the cell. Sometimes we would sit and talk for hours. She helped me to keep my spirits up. She agreed that I did the right thing by ignoring the Emperor and going ahead with the secret marriages. On the day I was to die, I left my friend a little note thanking her for her friendship and loyalty. I signed it, “Love from your Valentine.” I believe that note started the custom of exchanging love messages on Valentine’s Day. It was written on the day I died, February 14, 269 A.D. Now, every year on this day, people remember. But most importantly, they think about love and friendship. And when they think of Emperor Claudius, they remember how he tried to stand in the way of love, and they laugh — because they know that love can’t be beaten!”

Now my dear brothers and sisters of India, you have heard St.Valentine’s story from him. And I hope you have also realized that he was not a distant cousin of either Rishi Kashyap or Vishwamitra of India and I sincerely believe that your forefathers never dated roman woman in 3^rd century. And still if you feel celebrating valentine’s day, then please go ahead and have nice Valentine’s Day. Of course we have Italian influence in Indian government. And when we sorry you have not thought about before electing such party which is headed by Italian woman, now the question of opposing valentine’s day does not arises at all. But remember it is not Valentine’s Day you are celebrating – you are actually celebrating St.Valentine’s shraddha (death anniversary) as if he is your ancestor.