Love going public

More and more youngsters are displaying affection in public. AT gets the real picture
Do you remember the first time you saw young couples in real life exchanging glimpses to express their feelings? Today, Public Display of Affection (PDA) kissing, hugging and at times even caressing in public places is cool with youngsters.
It’s nice to see people expressing their feelings in public,” says Vasu Patel, a student.“There is some sort of feel good factor involved in PDA,” chips in Harsh Sharma, a restaurant manager. “One should check out the place and the crowd before displaying PDA,” says Kashmira Modi, model-anchor.
But is this physical demonstration of affection in public genuine? “We indulge in PDA because it is a human tendency to show affection. But it’s also true that most of the time PDA is not genuine,” says Vishal Bhatt, an executive. “PDA does not necessarily signify a genuine relationship but there is definitely some sort of emotion involved in it,” feels Kamya Mathur, a student.
Interestingly, youngsters feel that the absence or presence of PDA does matter in a relationship. “I feel PDA brings people closer emotionally and physically,” says Kamlesh Jain, an executive. Kashmira explains, “There is nothing wrong in PDA if done in a right way.”
However, PDA is now becoming more acceptable in urban India. But, the Supreme Court of India has described public display of affection to be in bad taste and has defined such behaviour as unacceptable.
Despite legal and societal views, youngsters feel PDA is vital. “There cannot be a blanket rule for obscenity and PDA as some societies are more modern than others. Perhaps a federal form of government and separate rules of each state would be more appropriate,” suggests Karan Arora, a professional.
And until the moral police and court of law prevent PDA, seems like nothing’s going to stop the young from indulging in it.