Valentine's Day: Age no bar for elderly couples

The concept of Valentine's day celebration is still not known to everybody in India. There's much excitement among the youth and the newly-weds for Valentine's day and the week around it. However, there remains considerable stigma when senior citizens celebrate the day.

Despite all the flak they receive, there are several old couples who celebrate the day in their own novel way. One such couple is Dolly, 62, and Kishor Shah, 69, who started celebrating the festival since last 2 years. Kishor begins the day by gifting his wife a card and Dolly makes Kishor's favourite dish for lunch. Later, they order dinner from a restaurant where they celebrate all their anniversaries and birthdays and they enjoy their dinner talking and cherishing their memories.

When asked if they have ever been criticised for celebrating the day, Rohit said, "We live alone here in Ahmedabad. Our son and daughter are in the USA. We spend the day with each other. We do what we like and we spend time together. We enjoy celebrating small things. I don't think anybody should interfere in the private life of someone."

Celebrating Valentine's day is not always smooth. They're often judged for wanting to celebrate the day. 72-year-old Rohit and 65-year-old Jayana live in a joint family with their son, daughter-in-law and grandchildren.  They enjoy the day by going out in the evening and giving a rose to each other and dining out.

While some old couples get teased in their own homes, others receive criticism from their friends and community. Harish, 73 and Ranjan Patel, 70, celebrate by Harish gifting Ranjan a chocolate along with an old picture of them together on Valentine's Day.  Harish mentioned that they have a small group of old couples who meet regularly and spend their time in the evening. They often laugh and make fun when my wife and I celebrate Valentine's day.

It's important that we understand Valentine's Day is the perfect occasion for showing love and affection to family and friends. It’s also a great opportunity to spend quality time with our loved ones.  "Valentine’s Day isn’t just for couples. It's for everyone."

LOVE BLOOMS

• Despite much exc-itement among the youth and the newly-weds about Valentine’s day, senior couples in city celebrate the day in their small way.

LOVE IS IN THE AIR FOR YOUTHS

Valentine’s day celebration is against our culture.  Teenagers are in infatuation when they think they are in love. Indulging in the celebration leads to distraction rather than focusing on career and spending time in doing fruitful activity.
—Aashka Amin, Student

Most people view Valentine’s day as an occasion of love. We are influenced by western culture. It’s good to be accepting, especially when it brings people closer. Rejecting something just because it’s a reflection of western world stops our growth as a nation.
—Pooja Shah, Student

I don’t think celebrating Valentine’s day is against our culture. Our identity as ‘Indians’ is not defined by the way we choose to celebrate. I believe that we are free to celebrate and follow any culture or festival. Celebration of Valentine’s day is not breaking any culture.
—Prachi Khandelwal, Student

Celebration means happiness. Though there cannot be a single day to express love, but every religion or culture preaches love. It binds all of us. So, if people celebrate it on a particular day, i don’t see a problem in it.
—Dipna Kirpalani, Owner, Dipashna

As an educator, it’s my responsibility to spread a broader and open mindset in society. There’s nothing wrong in celebrating the Valentine’s Day if we stick to the piousness associated with the idea of celebrating the day.
—Shraddha Modi, Assistant Prof at Xaviers’

We live in a free independent country. If people choose to celebrate the day, then we must not have any issue with it. If one doesn’t believe in something, don’t do it.
—Anna Sacha, Professor of Functional English at St. Xavier’s