Rendezvous with eValentine

Valentine's Day! The day devoted to celebrate love. There are debates forever enduring why there has to be a day to remember love but today we are not going into those details. Let's just talk on celebrating love on the day of love - Valentine's Day! It is observed worldwide as a day when one discloses love for one’s loved ones and let the loved one know the depth of one’s affection for them through gifts, cards, flowers or sometimes just through words. On Feb 14th, the Valentine's Day, I had been to a restaurant for dinner. The place is so dressed up for the event that even the strictest singletons would hope to get linked up for one hour to spend at that restaurant. On each table rests a soft red satin fabric with three candles, put up as the middle three fingers of one's palm, at the center of the table illuminating the golden glow along its diameter and the perfect romantic look completes with roses on either side of the plates. The walls were decorated with radiant stars and cartoons of Romeo and Juliet and the ceiling was voluminous with heart shaped balloons in red and white colors. The staff also color coordinated with the setting by wearing white uniforms and red neckties.

However, the abundant romance in the environment failed to strike the chord with its customers. The people, who have come with their family, partners or spouses, were not connected with the love in the air. There was a couple sitting adjacent to the wall with Romeo-Juliet hand in hand smiling over their shoulders but the hands of these couple were busy romancing with their cronies - The Cell Phones. And there was Cupid on the window waiting so long to smite his arrow at the young couple by the table only to be disappointed later that none would lift up their heads from gadgets they were holding to look into each other's eyes for the arrow to work its magic. There is also a family of Father, Mother and two sons. The total family time was hodgepodge as the Father would check his work emails on his phone, the Mother would watch a video on her tablet and the older son would play game on iPad; and the younger son constantly disturbing his brother to give him one chance to play the game but the brother would not even look at him as he is about to make a highest score. On another corner of the restaurant sits family of three members - Father, Mother and Daughter. While the Dad and Mom get immersed in their respective phones, the daughter who is still too young for e-world is unconcernedly ignored. The little girl perplexed at the situation entertains herself by glancing at clouds of balloons. The pair of the evening was the couple which argued over who should order the menu as both of them had to tend an important work with their e-partners independently. In my mind, I declared them as the Pair of the evening because, though they didn’t exchange any eye contact, they had at least exchanged a few words.

On the day of love, I witnessed people who are deeply in love, who wanted each other very badly and madly, who are truly faithful with each other and who would do anything for the loved ones; these lovers are very much in love but not with the bodies which inhale oxygen instead with paramours that exhale radiations. Valentine’s Day with eValentine, how romantic and how alarming!