Culture cops? warnings go unheeded in city

?LOVE IS Blind?. Youth proved this phrase correct on Tuesday. They celebrated Valentine?s Day despite protests by various parties and associations. Some parties had warned youth to keep away from any sort of celebration. The culture cops were of the view that celebration of Valentine?s Day was an attack on Indian Culture. However, paying little heed to the threats, people, especially youth, exchanged flowers and gifts with their Valentines. Most college-going youngsters celebrated the day on the campus.

‘LOVE IS Blind’. Youth proved this phrase correct on Tuesday. They celebrated Valentine’s Day despite protests by various parties and associations.

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Some parties had warned youth to keep away from any sort of celebration. The culture cops were of the view that celebration of Valentine’s Day was an attack on Indian Culture.

However, paying little heed to the threats, people, especially youth, exchanged flowers and gifts with their Valentines. Most college-going youngsters celebrated the day on the campus. However, there were few, who were disappointed because of the protest. While some even chose to celebrate the day, a day later, on Wednesday.

Anurag, a student, said: “I have celebrated this day and enjoyed it also but not in the way I had planned. I was forced to limit my celebration to the college campus only. I wanted to go for a long drive with friends and wanted to enjoy food in a restaurant.” However, to ensure safety, Kaushik, a student of Chhatrapati Shahuji Maharaj University has decided to celebrate the day with his friend on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Valentine’s Day also brought smiles on the faces of florists, as their sales soared. Various types of flowers, such as tulips, tuberoses (Rajnigandha), roses and many others were most sought after on the day. Bouquets were available in all ranges and its cost depended on the flowers preferred. Shanker, a florist at Mall Road said that V-Day is supposed to be unique as youngsters pass love messages through beautiful flowers. He further said that special orders for flowers were already placed knowing well the demand for the same on the day. “I feel that without flowers the message of love is incomplete,” he added.
V-Day also brought happiness for gift sellers and card sellers. The gift shops were crowded with number of people. Nitin, an owner of a gift shop said college-goers were maximum buyers and prefered teddy bears and feng-shui items for their beloved. Card shops shelves were packed with a number of V-Day cards.

Similarly, a crowd was also seen in jewellery shops, where school students and college-goers dominated the rush. Keeping in mind the demand on the day, jewellers designed light-weight jewellery and heart-shaped ornaments. Chocolates were another favourite gift for the day.