HYDERABAD: Apart from the fact that Valentine’s Day is falling on a working day this year, looks like the amount of excitement it usually creates every year has subsided this time. While there are a few who still believe that February 14 is special, most youngsters in the city feel that V-Day is no big deal, as they do not need a day to express their love. A few avoid it for pecuniary reasons, while a few others shun it as they believe being single is smart.
A student from St Mary’s college, Abhinav Singh says, “Flowers, cards, stuffed toys, lunch dates and everything materialistic defines the day’s celebrations in the present scenario. I am just taking my girl on a drive, for some ice-cream like any other day. Both of us are happy that way and we don't need gifts to express our love to each other.” An employee from Emphasis, a software firm, Gouthami Kongara agrees with Abhinav that the day has become too commercial. “People celebrate it for the heck of it. The whole essence of the day is lost, as they compare it with what kind of gifts they get.”
On the other hand, a few youngsters give a thumbs down to St Valentine, because they think the whole idea of celebrating love is so old and boring. “After preaching all about modernity, it’s slightly funny that people make a big deal of it even now. I don’t get the point,” says Arun John, 25, a mass communication professor at St Francis Degree College for Women. Akshay Kulkarni, an employee of Redfine Solutions, ehoes his views. “I don’t believe in the whole concept of Valentine’s Day. It is really silly to see guys running around girls just to go out with them on Valentine's!”
Besides them, there are quite a few who appear to be deterred by the Bajrang Dal threat. A student, Siddharth Varun, admits, “A lot of my friends prefer staying indoors or plan their day by throwing a house party, due to the Bajrang Dal threat. What if I go out with a friend and they get me married!”
Some, though, are happy being single. Students and employees who have had their share of major and minor crushes, relationships and break-ups, say they believe in singledom. One such employee of Cognizant, Srinivas Avva says, “I am single and life is so simple that way. There are no worries!”