Love can make its own way out, same like the water does. Since I was a child and gradually understood that this electric box with people moving inside is known as a TV, I followed the Indian romantic movies till now at the age of 28 when I have my own little baby. In each and every movie which is based on Indian traditional bollywood culture, I saw a crazy lover swearing to get moon out of the sky and place it in her darling’s feet. They swear to die with each other in any circumstances but not let their love die. This whole romantic drama cannot end without the entry of Mr. Villain in the form of the kin of girl’s or boy’s family or a hard looking killer, thirsty of lover’s blood. At the end, love wins because it has to win. And then the ending says, “They happily lived ever after”!

Not globally but in India and Indian culture Love is something equivalent to the most significant part of one’s life. A feeling of Love is attached with our close family tie ups, friends and even Gods and Goddesses. The proof for this is present in the historical book s written or complied centuries before. In fact, if I say Love is simply another name of Indian culture then I am not exactly wrong and if I am then I would like to be corrected.

Let’s not go to the past centuries, we live in present and that’s the best way to live. If we talk about the present then we cannot ignore the presence of technology around us, the revolutionary gadgets like mobile phones and protocol like internet has left most of us infected or addicted to it.

To connect my two different points of love and technology I today want to combine the nature of human being and addiction of today’s world.

Recently in India some group of people objected on young women going to pubs. The objection can be accepted but their actions cannot be justified when that group of young men entered in a Mangalore pub hitting women like punch bags and showing the power of being man. Well, after that humiliations and horrifying day, those victims who were mostly girls returned to their homes. They were hurt both inside and outside but nobody ever knew that this incident will spark a revolution not on roads but a mass protest which started from nowhere else but internet. The love day 14^th Feb. was approaching and that same group of people who took hard actions against women gave another statement or a warning to people celebrating where they announced that Valentines Day and celebrations related with it and people involved will be bashed similarly the way they were being knocked in the pub. They will not allow any love greetings to be sold, they won’t allow couples to spend nice time in parks and the long list of “not allowed, to love” continues.

Well, Nisha Susan took the challenge in her hand, but chose internet as her platform to build support and to spread her voice all over the world. Nisha, a media person took a smart step of reaching heaps with very less efforts and started a campaign against enemies of love. Her campaign became famous with the name “The pink chaddi campaign” which started from social networking site Facebook to many others like orkut and hi5 too. Her blog gets millions of page views and thousands of visitors a day and her group on facebook has more than 30,000 members. Nisha was alone when she started this campaign but now she is supported globally by thousands of people. She started her protest from the medium of internet and now reached to the roads, media and even the famous Amul advertisement. In orkut, a number of communities with same name and theme of “The pink chaddi campaign” started. Its flowing fast like a fire in jungle sparked on net.

When social networking sites became the medium to interact with friends and family nobody thought that it will also become the most easy medium to voice against or voice in support for anything like this, but its easy and effort less to hear what you say to millions by social networking, after all its “social” net.

I don’t know where Nisha Susan will go with this campaign but she got publicity, and the best mode this time is social networking sites. Getting back to this new medium of saying what your heart is saying many people chose to be at home with their loved one online rather than going for an “un-peaceful” date outside. Even for those who can spit out some heavy cash and book a candle light dinner in any star hotel it’s not so safe this Valentines Day in India. So, how our orkut friends are celebrating this Valentine’s Day?

Check out most of the orkut communities and you will find at least 2 different threads related to valentine or love, big polls created for Mr. and Miss Valentine and many other forum games related to love and romance jammed with thousands of replies. Now, those who object can get ban by the forum owner or moderator. So, isn’t this much more peaceful than going out and getting some hard punches and kicks?

I visited many orkut communities in search for love, Hey! Not for love but for threads related to love and I found many. Some of the best replies in forum discussions I got to see are added here:

A community of south Indians known as “Fraud Mallu” has more than 8000 members and their forum is hitting every thread with not less than 100 replies. I found a thread “Happy Valentine’s day” and stopped on one story posted by a senior female member.

A long time ago, before the world was created and humans set foot on it, God had put all the human “qualities” in a separate room. Since all the qualities were bored they decided to play hide & seek.

“Madness” was one of the qualities and he shouted: “I want to count, I want to count!” And since nobody was crazy enough to want to seek “Madness”, all the other qualities agreed. So “Madness” leaned against a tree and started to count:

One, two, three…” As “Madness” counted, the qualities went hiding. “Treason” hid in a pile of garbage.. “Lie ” said that it would hide under a stone, but hid at the bottom of the lake. And Madness continued to count “.. seventy nine, eighty, eighty one…” By this time, all the qualities were already hidden-except “Love “.

For stupid as “Love ” is, he could not decide where to hide.

And this should not surprise us, because we all know how difficult it is to hide “Love”.

“Madness”: “…ninety five, ninety six, ninety seven…” Just when “Madness” got to one hundred….. ….”Love” jumped into a rose bush where he hid.

And Madness turned around and shouted: “I’m coming, I’m coming!” As Madness turned around, “Laziness” was the first to be found, because “Laziness” was too lazy to hide. “Madness” searched madly and found “Lie” at the bottom of the lake. One by one, Madness found them all – except Love. Madness was getting desperate, unable to find Love.

Envious of Love, “Envy” whispered to “Madness “: “You only need to find Love, and Love is hiding in the rose bush.”

“Madness” Jumped on the rose bush and he heard loud cry. The thorns in the bush had pierced “Loves” eyes.

Hearing the commotion God came into the room and saw what had happened. He got very angry and cursed “Madness” and said since “Love” has become blind because of u… ..u shall always be with him”

And so it came about that from that day on, Love is blind and is always accompanied by Madness.

In this same community and thread people are also praising Nisha Susan and her campaign of Pink Chaddi. Another active community on orkut Virgo Rulz has some very interesting threads going on dedicated to Valentine’s Day, one such thread is “Sing for your Valentine” started by a very popular community member Gaganjot Singh , community members are encouraged to write some lines of their favorite romantic song or their own made poetic lyrics, the best I could found in it was few lines which I never read anywhere and I hope its self made, here it goes :

Oh Wild Wild Wild Rose…
You planted love inside of me
And grew up from where nothing could grow
Wild wild wild Rose
Now your love is the only seed that I need
To get me back, naturally – posted by Anirudh.

Gaganjot said in one private conversation that he made this thread just for fun with fellow friends of the community, though he don’t believe in the idea of celebrating V-day online but he also advice people to stay back at home on Valentine’s Day as nobody wants anyone to be around in their privacy.

Like Gaganjot, many think same on Orkut. It’s better to create a romantic profile, romantic threads and romantic polls then getting romantic in any outdoor place. Internet and Social Networking gives good way to be alone and safe at the same time being surrounded with friends and loved ones too.

As I said earlier, love can make his own way out, so no matter how people reacts but lovers don’t care nor they get scared because love is still safe on social networking sites. But we cannot predict the future.

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