Love in India has become very transactional and superficial. While I was growing up, a visit to a relative’s house, a visit to a zoo, a visit to the tailor or the barber gave me immense joy—the conversations I had with each one of them was intimate and crisp. My father worked in a company for 35 years and considered his Lala to be his Mai Baap. Today, the relationship between an employer and an employee is like a taxi cab relationship.
Relationships And Love Endured
My mom never said a word against my Dad, even though on most occasions, he was wrong. That was not because of fear but because of genuine love and respect. Very rarely there were cases of divorce in the 70s, or even 80s or 90s. I used to communicate everything through my mom to pass on a message to my Dad. Today, we don’t have any value for relationships—we take it at face value; we just take it for granted.
We are now living in a dangerous era, an era of speed dating, blind dating, and relationships end through a WhatsApp message. Now, it is love at first sight and divorce at first fight. Love is not a noun, it is a verb, and it is beyond the three words “I love you”. Earlier, love was about respect. Now, it is finite and all about romance.
As a society, too, we have become emotionless. We are caught in the conundrum of position, power and privilege; we only think about ourselves and our near ones. We don’t understand we have the power to make a difference in someone’s life.
The way one can do it is by giving love in small ways whenever you can. That could mean a smile at the checkout counter, sharing food with the hungry, a soulful hug. The best exercise for the heart is when you bend down and pick people up. Just like Gandhi said,
“The simplest acts of kindness are by far more powerful than a thousand heads bowing in prayer.”
Love is less about my rights and more about responsibilities about your welfare. Love is also about accepting the thorn, which comes along with the rose.