Valentine's Day Only For Couples? Nah, Love Has Different Forms

Valentine’s Day is right around the corner. Love, discounts and preparations are at their peak. Couples are planning new ways to make the day special. But, is Valentine’s Day only for couples? Does it only celebrate the romance and love that couples share?

The definition of Valentine’s Day changed for me a few years ago when my close friend used the day to treat her friends with homemade chocolates.  For her Valentine’s Day was about celebrating every bond that has love in it. Similarly, I too started celebrating Valentine’s Day differently. I wish and hug my parents on this day to celebrate the love that we share.

In our society, love is a scandalous word. It is used to either suggest romance or treachery. It is never seen as a platonic relationship that doesn’t always have romance in it. Even if people try to use the word love, the relationship is automatically labelled seditious.

Love is understood in only one way. People don’t relate love with parenthood, sisterhood or other platonic relationships. And this is the reason why the expression of love is restricted too.

A person cannot express love for their parents, family members or friends by hugging or kissing them. If they do so, their intentions are doubted. Just recently, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan was trolled for kissing her daughter on her lips. People labelled it as a shameful way of expressing love between mother and daughter. Many called it creepy, homosexual and non-conventional. Moreover, American Footballer Tom Brady was trolled for kissing his teenage son Jack on the neck and posting an intimate picture with him.

But dear society! Who made the conventions? Who decides how a person should express love for their close ones? Why can’t love be understood as an inclusive idea? Why can’t it be a feeling that connects people in relationships beyond that of marriage or romance? Is a relationship all about dating?

Love Has Different Forms

The problem is that society has defined how a particular relationship should behave. For example, as far as parents are concerned, it is not normal for parents or kids to hug or kiss each other because as per society kids should be afraid of their parents. We have watched many movies in which friends are ridiculed for being ‘too close’. Do you remember the scene in Kal Ho Na Ho where Aman and Rohit sleep on the same bed and hug each other which disgusts Rohit’s caretaker? This is exactly what I am talking about. Society doesn’t accept any closeness that is more than the accepted standard.

But this Valentine’s Day, let us expand the idea of love. Let us celebrate the love we share not only with our partners but also with friends and family members. Let us recognise that love can be expressed in different ways and different relationships. Every relationship should be based on love, not fear or compromise. ‘I love you’ is a feeling that is common in every relationship. Let us not restrict it to a certain type of bond. If we do not give love an outlet in platonic relationships, the bond won’t be strong and transparent. Hiding feelings and not trusting the other person with your feelings will be frequent. And this will ultimately impact the relationship which fades out for the reason it exists.

So let us say I love you to close ones without minding about social norms. I love you denotes love and not romance alone. Just like there are different perspectives to an idea, similarly, there are different intentions of love.

Views expressed are the author's own.