Celebrate love all year round, not just today: happily-single women

If everything pink and heart-shaped is making you nauseous by now, fret not; you’re not alone. We spoke with some fierce, independent women— chefs, musicians and police officers— for whom, love is grander than just one-day worth of celebrations.

It’s that time of the year again when the colour pink seems to have taken over everything and ordinary everyday objects in your life are shaped like hearts, right down to the foam in your coffee at your local Barista.

Boys can be seen in shops as clueless as a pirate wearing two eye patches, figuring out what to buy for their girls, while your perfectly smart girlfriends seem to have turned into simpering idiots, yes, it is Valentine’s Day. If you are single, there is no need to hide your head underneath a pillow waiting for this madness to pass or become a fire-breathing dragon when someone says ‘Oh! You’re single’ like it’s a disease.

We talk to a few eminent women who are single and tell us that there’s no need to be a grinch; in fact, we should learn to celebrate love all year round for everyone special in our lives, not just your significant other.

Mansi Bansal, 25, chef and owner of Manna’s Sweetart Cakes, Chandigarh

I think it’s lovely to spend time telling someone how much you love them. It’s a hallmark holiday now centered on romantic love, but I think it should be about all kinds of love -- whether it’s for your family, friends or your own self.

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There are so many ways to love! It’s caring about someone and wanting them as a part of your life. It’s knowing that you are who you are because of them. It’s simply being on the same wavelength and in harmony. Only if you spend the rest of the year caring about people and loving them is it possible to celebrate the love you share. It’s a daily practice of love, but it is nice to take out time to do something special for someone.

As a baker, I’m fairly sure I’ll end up finishing Valentine’s cupcakes and chocolates orders for everyone else all day! Work keeps me busy around the holidays. If I get time, I’ll go out for a cup of coffee with loved ones or indulge at the spa.

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Varnika Kundu, 25, DJ/producer, Chandigarh

I have always been a die-hard romantic, and optimist! I believe, with all my heart, in the kind of passionate, insane, heart-wrenching love that poets have spent millennia dreaming, and writing about.

However, as far as Valentine’s Day goes, it seems to me nothing more than a pseudo-festival that is used as an excuse to party.

Fairy Godmothers are probably closer to reality than this modern-day marketing strategy that masquerades as the “day of love”.

So, no, I am not a big believer in the conventional “Valentine’s Day”. Every time I go home, whether an hour after stepping out, or six months, my dog sees me and can barely wait for me to sit so he can climb into my lap and stare into my eyes. Love, to me, is two people who feel that way about each other. The only condition in love is that it’s unconditional.

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Trying to fit this celebration into one day is like trying to fit an ocean inside a Coke bottle.

Anyone who has ever experienced being in love would know how ridiculous a notion that is! You’re sharing yourself with someone, and I think the other person deserves a little (actually, A LOT) more than just one out of every 365 days that you’re together.

I am going to give myself complete freedom to BE myself, without judgment, just like I do every other day of the year.

Also, loads of chocolate.

Jasleen Aulakh, 27, musician, Chandigarh

Apart from it being Valentine’s Day, it also happens to be my birthday and I feel like the whole world is celebrating this day with me and I am not doing it alone. Love is the most essential emotion in one’s life.

This to me is not only love for one’s paramour; it could also be for family or for the world in which one lives. Love is the most satisfying emotion, as one feels happy in giving and receiving it.

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No amount of time can circumscribe an emotion like love, but it’s a beautiful idea to dedicate one special date to celebrate it. Love can be celebrated by sharing with others, by being charitable.

On this day, one can give generously to those who are less fortunate. My Valentine is my music. It’s like an obsession and I love it passionately. So, besides celebrating the day with my friends and family, I will celebrate it playing and listening to good music.

Gurpreet Kaur, 23, fashion designer, SAS Nagar

I get that Valentine’s Day is one of the modes of expressing your love for someone. However, my only love, currently, is my fashion label, The SandooQ.

I am completely committed towards it and need no distractions. There have been Valentine’s Days where I have celebrated with my best friends by dressing in red and watching films.

This year, however, I will cash in on the ‘love in the air’; I plan to create a look dedicated to love. While most girls would go out and buy their partners things to express love, my outlet of love is and has been my creativity.


Rupinder Kaur Sra, 26, Deputy Superintendent of Police, Bathinda

From school to college to university, I have always been inclined towards sports, studies and other co-curricular activities.

I wanted to enable myself to reach new heights instead of getting into a relationship, as I had seen my friends going down that road. But, love is a feeling that gives one safety and security.

As for Valentine’s Day, I hardly think it’s about love. It could, however, be a reason to celebrate. For couples too, I guess, it’s just an excuse to spend time together.

For me, it’s a day that gives me a reason to have fun with my friends. After many years, I’ll be at my home in Bathinda this year; will take my family out for a nice dinner. Love comes in all forms, you know!