At the airport before boarding the flight to Chennai, I decided to browse through the bookshop. To my surprise, the new books — arrivals/bestsellers — were titled I Too Had A Love Story, Thing Between U And Me, You Were My Crush and Accidentally In Love — all variations of love. I asked the salesman whether there were any thrillers and he pulled out one by John Grisham, shrugged and said, “Love is what people want. They want to read this. It’s the simple demand and supply formula.”

Valentine’s Day is around the corner. Although one school of thought discards it and says that the concept was created by a greeting card company to promote its sales, a lot of people still wait for this day and the spirit it stands for. Over time, the expression of love has changed drastically. At 16, I had someone who would put a rose in my letterbox 10 days prior to Valentine’s Day. On the day itself, I would receive 100 roses and at least five cards from him.

In schools and colleges, a rose with a card would be left on a desk by a boy asking her to be his Valentine. Heart pendants and roses were sold out. Restaurants too were sold out to couples celebrating the evening with romance and promises to be together forever.

Today, Valentine’s Day is still big, but the approach has changed a great deal. No doubt the card companies are still inundated with orders, but they may be from either of the genders. Gifts are more than just a token. It could be a car or even jewellery! The attitude is more of an expectation of a gift than one of gratitude with a blush. A day when gifts are exchanged and expected — maybe like love which is no longer selfless, but selfish? It’s now a day that has become another reason to party rather than giving oneself completely to the person one loves. Is it just the changing world we live in? I decided to ask a few people what Valentine’s Day meant to them.

“It’s all rubbish,” was the first one, cruelly hitting at love’s vulnerability. “What’s the difference between that day and any other?” said another. “You don’t shower love on a person for 24 hours to felicitate a day. If you love, you love. If you don’t, you don’t,” was a practical response. “It’s a day you spend entirely with a loved one, when you do something you don’t do everyday,” said another. Thank God, I was getting closer to a warmer place. “A Valentine is whom you love even if they are not by your side,” was a special answer, adding, “It’s a feeling that stays with you the whole day.”

The meaning of Valentine today has been extended to a friend, a member of your family, a parent or a child. Everyone has someone to love selflessly and unconditionally. And in its true form, it is also possible to celebrate the day without purse-strings attached. To use the day to revive love if the sheen has faded. To do something that one does not do every day and tap the emotion between the two. To be around in a positive space with people you love and who love you. Just to simply celebrate love on Valentine’s Day!