At the touch of love everyone becomes a poet.

[Invincible]

An Interesting piece of writing which compels to contemplate about this natural 'Emotion'.

Share your persuasive views in for or against this topic.


Happy Valentine’s : ‘I Love you’

By Maryam Murtaza Sadriwala


So there’s a day to celebrate love. And love is the one emotion which every culture and every breathing thing can relate to; an emotion everyone has experienced — unrequited or luckily reciprocated. It’s a day which gives you the licence to say ‘I love you’—words that for some strange reason are nearly taboo in our part of the world. It’s a day when anonymous love notes and solitary roses make hearts sing with joy and tremble with anticipation.

February dawns and there is excited chatter about what everyone’s ‘doing’ for Valentine’s Day. Whether anyone knows its history or not, everyone knows it’s a day to celebrate love. Yet there are legends of a particular Saint Valentine who was sentenced to death for secretly performing marriage ceremonies for young soldiers who were forbidden to marry on order of the king. Over the years, poets like Chaucer, Shakespeare and Donne used references to Valentine in their verses.

With the passage of time, the emotion of pure love has been used ruthlessly for promoting commercialism, so much so, that today, aided by the media boom, February 14 is eagerly anticipated and celebrated by a large denomination of people spread across the globe. Primarily it is lovers who ride high on the euphoria of Valentine’s Day.

Twenty-one-year-old Yusra who has just got engaged to her childhood sweetheart says that she is busy making her fiancé 84 cards and love notes — “One each for the number of months we have known each other”, she says with an unmistakable sparkle in her eyes. “I have planned a picnic at the beach and have even bought his favourite cologne”. Ah! Such adoration makes one feel heady, doesn’t it? Yusra claims that life could not be sweeter. This is one stage when saying ‘I Love you’ comes effortlessly.

“The world would be a better place if we spent it in love,” says Saira who is involved with a colleague at work. “Going to work is a dream! Imagine that,” she says with a naughty chuckle. “There is no time to think negative thoughts, no time to get upset. I drift along the day with a silly, soppy smile on my face and the people around me can’t fathom what’s got into me. Valentine’s Day will certainly mean flowers and love notes for me.” Saira admits that even though the passion is reciprocated by her partner, he still hasn’t said the three magic words.

For couples, Valentine’s Day means dishing out as much money as possible. “Chocolates, flowers, dinner — it’s enough to make your wallet groan in protest. But it’s an investment that promises returns,” says 19-year-old, Irfan who is involved with his classmate and plans to sweep her off her feet on the 14th of this month. When questioned if he will say ‘the’ words, he evades the question. “It’s difficult. It’s like laying yourself bare and making yourself vulnerable,” he confesses. “Once you say it, you can’t take it back. I don’t want to say it until I’m sure I mean it.”

Lamiya who ran a flower shop in Defence shares that sales go up astronomically on Valentine’s. “We would prepare for the 14th the night before and would have to carefully forecast how many flowers or arrangements we would need. Even then, by the end of the day people — usually men — would come begging for flowers. They dreaded going back empty handed. It is pressure — pure and simple. But it was nice to see people making an effort.”

“Valentine’s Day means a couple’s night out,” says Samina who has been married for seven years. This year, like the last, Samina’s friends and their husbands have a predictable theme of red and black. “There’ll be reservations at a restaurant and late night coffee sessions at a friend’s place. It’s all very suave and delightful… Saying “I love you” — we said that a lot when we were younger,” she brushes it off with a laugh.

Shakir, married for 14 years, says that he wanted to take his wife to a ball at one of the five star hotels this Valentine’s. “But the
charges per head are exorbitant! And one certainly doesn’t want to go alone,” he says good-naturedly. “But don’t tell her, I don’t want her to expect too much.”

Thirty-year-old Mubin says he only gives his wife flowers because he knows she expects them. Like most men, he feels that these gestures are superficial. “Of course my wife is important to me,” he says deftly avoiding the word ‘love’. “She’s the mother of my children! But do I actually need a box of imported chocolates and an overpriced bouquet to justify the intensity of that love?”
Munira, who has been married for 15 years, claims that her husband isn’t romantic. “He doesn’t believe in flowers or exchanging gifts; yet what he does for me every day cannot measure up to any number of roses.” She explains that her better half makes her the first cup of tea of the day. “Sometimes, he’ll tell me I look ravishing even though I will be in the kitchen looking like a maasi!” Munira also reminisces about her pre-marriage days. “I’ve received my fair share of cards and flowers. The most thrilling are anonymous notes. Everyone deserves to experience that specialness.”

Jumana, who tied the knot last month, anticipates that Valentine’s Day will help make her bond stronger. “It’s gestures and words which reveal how important someone is.”

There are many singles out there who do not spend Valentine’s Day whining about the absence of that special someone in their lives. “In this era of strife and unrest, isn’t celebrating love exactly what we need?” says Tasneem, a single 20-something. “Ever since I can remember, my sister and I have exchanged gifts on Valentine’s. Wishing someone on their birthday is expected, but when you give someone a gift on Valentine’s Day it speaks volumes.”

An A levels student says she plans to bake cookies for her friends at college, “I’m glad it’s a week day; it’ll be great to meet friends and exchange such tokens. It’s all harmless yet great fun.”

Xeynab, a writer, feels passionately about Valentine’s Day, “Let’s make a difference this Valentine’s. Let’s tell all those people
whom we usually take for granted how much we love them. The people who gave us birth, picked us up when we stumbled, made us better human beings.”

Let’s throw caution to the wind, let the ice on our hearts thaw, let feelings guide the tongue. Let’s tell all who make our lives beautiful just how beautiful they are — it may be your spouse, your parents, your siblings, your friends and colleagues; it may be someone who makes your life complete by just existing. ‘I Love You’ — these three words make hearts throb and souls lighter.

So say them. With abandon! Because words make reality; they create worlds and entwine hearts.