Competing With Cupid

One can’t compete with St Valentine using sticks and stones. We need to build an alternative Indian exotic theme to successfully compete with the West

One who has a little acquaintance with ancient Indian culture and Sanskrit poetry knows the importance of Vasant and how it imparted immortality to Kalidas. Such deep was Vasant’s effect on Indian psyche that a Bhakti marg poet like Tulsidas contemplates Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati as embodied in Vasant scenery, that too in his Vinay Patrika which has highest vairagya content.

But February, with which Vasant coincides yet again happens to be in the news for cultural vigilantes–from Bajrang Dal and Hindu Mahasabha– threatening to play party poppers on Valentine Day which they see as a sinister ploy of Western culture to lure Indian youth away from Indian culture.

It is an invasion but not of the kind they perceive. West has little capacity to carry out cultural invasion of India if we put our ancient culture in the right perspective. Shuffle through the pages of Mahabharata and you will find Pandav ancestor King Samvaran advancing one of the most romantic marriage proposals to the Daughter of Sun God, Tapti. We find monogamy, polygamy and polyandry all existing in the same society. Mahabharata Adi Parva, while detailing the marriage of King Dushyanta and Shakuntala defines Gandharva Vivah as the one whose solemnization does not require “any religious ritual”. So, Hindu society was experimenting with so called live-in relationships in an era when so called “Western culture” was still to take birth.

Ancient Indian society experimented with gender relationships in all perceived ways in an open atmosphere. It recorded its observations regarding pros and cons of all such relationships and left the decision on people. So we see Dushyanta-Shakuntla Gandharva Vivah/live-in resulting in problems of social recognition of matrimonial relationship, marital rights of wife and legitimacy of progeny. The tale points towards problems that may emerge but does not decry the phenomenon. And the nation eventually gets its name Bharat from son of Dushyant and Shakuntla. That was the Hindu way of dealing with socio-cultural issues.

We had our own Cupid in Kaamdev who was a powerful deity whom nobody can ignore. But yes he was not allowed to run riot. When he tries to obstruct the spiritual advancement of society, Shiva burns him down through His third eye of knowledge. But that did not exterminate Kaamdev and Shiva acknowledges him as Ananga, the one still having an incorporeal presence in all beings.

So, Shringar Rasa poets were not running an erotic riot by the standards of Hindu society. Have our cultural vigilantes ever cared to read Kalidas’ Ritu Samhara, Malivikagnimitram or Vikramorvasiyam? Even if they dont want to go that back they may read Holi phaags composed in Brij during medieval era when Hindu society was in awe of Islamic aggression and was forcing its women into purdah. But Krishna-Radha’s exotic love still survived in countryside poetry. They may very well be surprised to find that they are not at all reviving Indian culture when they break glasses of neighborhood gift shops on Feb 14. They will find that they are actually reviving medievalism or at best Victorian era viewpoints which for obvious reasons have little to do with Indian cultural nationalism.

Hindu society is the last pagan society which not just survived but is still thriving. It has never been shy of experimenting with things. It learns by experience and observation. All attempts, militant as well as religious, to thrust some exclusive truth down its throat have invariably failed throughout the history. It has its own pace and own ways of learning. It does not like any affray in its social lab.

Those who plan to beat couples on Valentine day are unknowingly trying to change the free will inherent in the basic nature of a pagan society. They try it every year but are unable to stop the cultural invasion they think they are resisting and end up cursing the West while scratching their heads in frustration. In the whole process they alienate more and more youngsters from cause of cultural nationalism.

No I am not making a case for St Valentine. I see the Valentine Day phenomenon as a part of our cultural trade deficit. I am unable to understand why Holi is not as popular in West as Valentine Day is in India. I am unable to figure out how Valentine Day can stand in competition with the Holi Shri Krishna played with Radha. Even from spiritual viewpoint Radha-Krishna’s love constitutes devotion and an esoteric connection which is more pure than ever conceived in any other culture. The only reason this is happening is the wrong approach of our cultural nationalists. Valentine Day and Cupid are brands. When you compete with a brand, you have to come out with a new and better brand and you need all the marketing strategies to build that. You can achieve nothing by vandalizing few out of thousands of your competitor’s business outlets.

If you own a restaurant but couples prefer to go to your competitor’s restaurant, you don’t go out and beat the couples. What you need to do is to renovate your own restaurant, rebrand it and make it a more romantic place.

One can’t compete with St Valentine using sticks and stones. We will have to befriend Kalidas and learn shrangar ras from him. We need to build an alternative Indian exotic theme brands to successfully compete with West.