KOCHI: Valentine’s week is on, they say. And I am left a tad sheepish, for my ignorance about the cutie-goodie days in the run-up to Valentine’s Day (Feb 14). I am told it starts with Rose Day on Feb 7, followed by Propose Day, Chocolate Day, Teddy Day, Promise Day, Hug Day, and Kiss Day. Never heard of these; maybe because I am a relic from another era.
Romance is in the air. And kissing is in the news. It was, in fact, breaking news in the US on Wednesday. Social media has been buzzing with video clips and stills of American First Lady Jill Biden appearing to kiss US vice-president Kamala Harris’s husband, Doug Emhoff, ahead of the State of Union Address at Capitol Hill.
American writer and analyst Clavis Tray called it a “sexy start” to the annual event. The New York Post termed it the “Smooch of the Union”. Several netizens quipped Jill was getting back at Joe, who had referred to Kamala as the ‘first lady’ at a White House event last year.
Kisses and embraces are closely watched in the West, especially in the US. In fact, Time magazine had once published a photo feature on ‘15 Awkward Political Kisses’, under the title ‘Pucker up’. Barack Obama always did a neat job. His pecks, hugs and waltzes with his wife Michelle had Hollywoody romantic charm to them. They still do.
Bill Clinton had an awkward kiss moment — no, not the Monica Lewinsky one — with his wife Hillary Clinton, when she appeared to “reject” him and instead kissed Barack on his cheeks. The 2012 video clipping is still in circulation, often with a cheeky tagline saying ‘women are behind successful men’.
After recovering, Donald Trump made a splash with his proclamation that he felt “powerful” and wanted to “kiss everyone in the audience” at a public rally in Sanford. “I will kiss the guys, and the beautiful women,” he added.
More recently, in January, American country music star Jason Aldean came under a nasty cyber attack after his wife Brittany Kerr posted a pic of Trump kissing her forehead at a New Year’s eve party.
Kissing people has been considered a political gimmick during election campaigns in the US, too. Many politicians made it a point to kiss babies in the crowds, too. Presumably to show their tender, caring sides.
According to an old article in Cosmopolitan, the ‘baby kissing’ trend started with Democrat Andrew Jackson in 1833. Spotting a woman supporter with a baby at an election rally, Andrew reportedly told her: “… I am glad to know you. And is that fine boy your baby? Let me have him. “Ah! There is a fine specimen of American childhood. I think, madam, your boy will make a fine man some day.”
Andrew, however, did not kiss the baby. “Then, with a quick gesture, he put the dirty face of the infant close to the face of Secretary [of War] Eaton, saying quickly and soberly, ‘Eaton, kiss him?’” says the article. “General Eaton pretended to do so with a wry face, amid the laughter of the crowd, and Jackson then handed the baby back to the happy mother.”
In Britain, as per age-old tradition, power flows from the ‘kiss of hands’ a custom where the prime ministers and their council kiss the monarch’s hands at a closed-door event. Only the Tories still stick to this tradition, according to British media reports.
‘Kiss of hands’ was back in the news in the UK recently, when Rishi Sunak became prime minister. “Thought to be an ancient act to show fidelity, it is one Rishi Sunak will carry out when he becomes the UK’s third prime minister of the year,” the Mirror noted.
Former prime minister Tony Blair, in his memoirs, recalls the painfully awkward ‘kiss of hands’ ceremony he had. “I was shown into a little antechamber, outside the room where the Queen was. I suddenly became nervous,” he writes.
“A tall official with a stick stood by me. ‘I should tell you one thing, Mr Blair,’ he began (note ‘Mr Blair’ until I had been appointed), ‘you don’t actually kiss the Queen’s hands…. You brush them gently with your lips.
“I confess that floored me. What on earth did he mean? Brush them as in a pair of shoes, or touch them lightly? While I was still temporarily disconcerted, the door opened and I was ushered in, unfortunately tripping on a little on a piece of carpet so that I practically fell upon the Queen’s hands, not so much brushing as enveloping them.”
Well, kisses can ruin one’s power, too. Former UK health secretary Matt Hancock’s political career took a massive hit last year as a leaked CCTV video showed him kissing his aide in office. Moving on to France, Emmanuel Macron has an “apparent habit of kissing a bald supporter on the head on election day”, according to news reports. French media identified the supporter, Grégoire Campion, and also wondered if the scalp kiss was superstition.
The French president’s most famous kiss, however, was the one he planted on his 40-year-old teacher’s cheek while in high school. He was just 15. Two years later, he proclaimed his love for her. Today that teacher, Brigitte Trogneux, is the first lady of France.
In Russia, Vladimir Putin is not known to be so romantic, at least in public. However, ‘Putin’s Kiss’ did make news once. It was a 2011 docu-drama on “contemporary life in Russia through the coming-of-age story of Masha”.
The most notorious kisser among all politicians was perhaps the former general secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, Leonid Brezhnev. The Soviets were famous for their “fraternal kiss”. Frames of Stalin kissing a polar pilot and Nikita Kuruschev kissing astronaut Yuri Gagarin are considered iconic.
Leonid, however, has been described as a serial kisser. His 1979 liplock with East German communist leader Erich Hockener was later immortalised as one of the world’s most famous graffiti artworks — ‘My God, Help Me to Survive This Deadly Love’ by Dmitri Vrubel.
“In general, he was the butt of many jokes, and his passionate man kisses often aroused laughter. The so-called “Triple Brezhnev” became famous abroad: one kiss on the left cheek, one on the right, and then finally on the lips,” notes a Russia Beyond article.
“Not everyone enjoyed Brezhnev’s warm greeting, and so, some visiting heads of state found ways to deal with the overbearing Soviet leader. For example, Cuban leader Fidel Castro decided to emerge from his plane at Moscow airport with a cigar in his mouth. Brezhnev, who had been waiting for his Cuban comrade, simply had no chance to demonstrate his traditional Russian hospitality.”
In India, we are yet to see political kisses. Narendra Modi’s trademark bearhugs, however, did make news. And his unique way of greeting global leaders gave birth to the term ‘hugplomacy’. Critics sneered at him for not following handshake etiquette. “I do not know all the protocols as I am a common man. The openness of this common man is liked by the world. Friendly relations come in handy,” Modi responded in an interview. Well, it’s time for me to set out looking for a comforting cuddle. Wish you a love-filled, romantic week ahead.
Blow (someone) a kiss: “To kiss the inner part of one’s hand and then act as if one is blowing the kiss off to be received by a nearby person.”
Kiss (someone’s) hem: “To express one’s respect, fealty, awe, subjection, or reverence to someone else.”
Kiss and make up: “To reconcile or resolve differences. The phrase can refer to a literal kiss, typically among a romantic couple, but is also used figuratively.”
Kiss away: 1. “To remove or relieve something by kissing (someone). In this usage, a noun or pronoun can be used between ‘kiss’ and ‘away’; 2. To kiss amorously for an extended period of time.”
Soul kiss: “A passionate kiss in which the kissers’ tongues touch (a French kiss); to kiss (someone) in such a manner.”
Kiss of death: “An action, event, or association that causes inevitable ruin or failure. An allusion to Judas Iscariot’s betrayal of Jesus Christ, during which Judas kissed Jesus as a way of identifying him to those who would put him to death.”
Judas kiss: “A traitorous action disguised as a show of affection.”
Kissy face: “An amorous facial expression with puckered lips, mimicking the action of a kiss. The phrase is sometimes hyphenated or spelled as a single word.”
Kiss the dust: “1. To die; 2. To fall down after being struck; 3. To be defeated or overcome.”
The kiss of life: “1. Artificial respiration; 2. Any thing or action that saves an organisation, business, etc.”
Steal a kiss: “To kiss someone very quickly and discreetly.”
Kiss and tell: “1. To tell others about a sexual encounter, usually in order to brag about it; 2. By extension, to tell others about something that was supposed to remain private between the teller and another party.”
Air kiss: “(verb/noun) To pantomime the act of kissing someone without actually touching them.”
As cold as a witch’s kiss: “(Rude slang) Extremely cold.”
SWAK: “1. An acronym for “sealed with a kiss,” a phrase written on an envelope to indicate that one kissed it to show love for the recipient; 2. By extension, written and sent with love and affection.”