And it is Valentine's day today. Valentine's day and the opposition to celebrate it have become an annual ritual by now. The so-called protectors of Indian culture would suddenly turn into purohits and start conducting weddings at the street corners, if they found a couple.
Where do these people find the dos and donts of Indian culture is still a mystery. Remember we had something called as Ghandarva Vivah (Kalavu Manam in Tamil), which can be equated to the modern day live-in relationship. Our society was endorsing this also as a legitimate wedding previously. Indian society had 7 types of wedding, of which we follow only the "Saptapati way" now. Others types have gone into oblivion with time. But that does not mean they are not legitimate.
These people tend to get finicky about everything that comes from the west. We import everything from technology to clothes from there. If at all we need to worry about the western impact, it must be in the industrial side. What have we innovated in the last century? The answer is "nothing significant". We simply keep dwelling on the past and contribute nothing to the future.
If these groups find this day not worthwhile, the best way would be to ignore it. Let it simply pass off as yet another day, instead of giving it the negative publicity. We all tend to forget the fact that neither Valentine's day is so powerful to destroy our culture nor are we super powerful to guard our culture. Infact, it is Indian culture imbibed inside each one of us that is protecting us and not the other way round..
This culture has withstood numerous invasions because Indian culture is porous. It embraces all good things readily with an open arm. Remember only porous soil can hold water and in turn nurture life!
Where do these people find the dos and donts of Indian culture is still a mystery. Remember we had something called as Ghandarva Vivah (Kalavu Manam in Tamil), which can be equated to the modern day live-in relationship. Our society was endorsing this also as a legitimate wedding previously. Indian society had 7 types of wedding, of which we follow only the "Saptapati way" now. Others types have gone into oblivion with time. But that does not mean they are not legitimate.
These people tend to get finicky about everything that comes from the west. We import everything from technology to clothes from there. If at all we need to worry about the western impact, it must be in the industrial side. What have we innovated in the last century? The answer is "nothing significant". We simply keep dwelling on the past and contribute nothing to the future.
If these groups find this day not worthwhile, the best way would be to ignore it. Let it simply pass off as yet another day, instead of giving it the negative publicity. We all tend to forget the fact that neither Valentine's day is so powerful to destroy our culture nor are we super powerful to guard our culture. Infact, it is Indian culture imbibed inside each one of us that is protecting us and not the other way round..
This culture has withstood numerous invasions because Indian culture is porous. It embraces all good things readily with an open arm. Remember only porous soil can hold water and in turn nurture life!
