Belan...tine Day!!

 Happy Valentines! Or should I say 'Belan ..tines', in India there are many who get their phonetics mixed up, with "V" being pronounced as "B" or "S" being pronounced as "SH" or vice versa. Valentine for the Eastern UP Bihar and even some parts of Bengal becomes Belantine, which I dare say is probably more appropriate in our part of the world. After all the  "Domestic power does flow from the belan", to paraphrase Mao's "Power flowing from the barrel of the gun". Are you at a loss as to what is the connection, well the 'Belan' is the Roller pin which dishes out the Chapatis or Indian breads. Traditionally Belans were used or at least depicted as used for putting the harried husbands in their place. So naturally one who wields the belan rules the roost! Most of us much married guys would rather sing paeans to the Belan rather than to that Valentine which transformed into this all powerful person.  

 The advent of Valentine in India came about with the liberalisation  which started to unfold in the 90s with the emergence of a nouveau middle class which did not comprise the Babus alone, but also young professionals employed with these multinationals. Since their employers were Westerners, the philosophy and thinking also started to undergo metamorphosis and soon the Archies and Hallmarks made their foray into this exotic land. I wonder, how many of you would recall the quality of greeting cards in India in the pre 91 era, I do, as we all received birthday and Diwali greetings while we were in RIMC Dehradun, staying in a boarding. The cards  almost always comprised beautiful roses with may be a Cake added more as an afterthought and for Diwali the Earthen lamps 'Diyas' or an occasional candle. Archies and Hallmarks recognised the potential of this untapped market and suddenly in every nook and corner in the metros, these Galleries mushroomed with accompanied media blitzkrieg in the form of print and electronic advertisements. Naturally the youth swooned, not to be left out and just lapped it up.  It surely was no coincidence nor was it a sudden realisation of the finer nuances of Indian feminine beauty that "Miss Worlds" and "Miss Universes" started appearing on the global beauty pageants with the frequency of the IPL sixers. The cosmetics industry had woken up to this untapped market and lo and behold......

Valentines being an alien concept does not necessarily mean love itself is alien in our land. There are many who would go on about our age old tradition of Love and  this being the land of Kamasutra and our temple architecture depicting love in all its forms and there would be many who would blame it on the British for the Victorian prudence to have got us so  mixed up in our values and traditions. Vasant Panchami or the fifth day of the Lunar calendar in the month of Magh which normally falls in the month of February is also dedicated to the sacrifice of the Lord Kama or Kamdev as he undertook the suicidal mission of attempting to disturb Lord Shiva while he was in deep meditation thus inviting Lord Shiva's wrath and ended up being reduced to ashes by the third eye of the Adiyogi. All for a good cause.....the cause of Love!

  Be that, as it may, I am not sure how many of us are actually aware of the ancient festival of "Bhagoriya" celebrated by the Bhil tribals in Western Madhya Pradesh, a festival to celebrate just this "Love". Bhagoriya coincides with Holi and the youth come adorned in their Sunday best with the boys wielding their bows and archers intoxicated with the Spring festive spirit as also spirits which are freshly distilled from the Mahua (Madhuca logifolia) flowers (local produce). Love is literally in the air. The petite dusky damsels are attired in their colourful skirts,  decked up in silver ornaments, bangles, necklaces of beautiful beads and are naturally so attractive! The young couples dance  in gay abandon and then the boys apply 'Gulal' (red powder colour used extensively during Holi festival) on the foreheads of their chosen beloved to declare their love and then elope.....with the tacit approval of the parents. The finer details of the matrimony which follows are left to be tied up between the two sets of parents, which by the way is a reverse dowry where the groom's side has to shed some cattle to the bride's side and also host the villagers. 

Call it what you want but a festival to celebrate love is always welcome. I wonder whether in todays India these festivals and traditions are an anachronism or are they still relevant?