Cupid misses his Valentine in state

VADODARA/AHMEDABAD: It''s like staging Hamlet without the Prince of Denmark.With Cupid set to strike on Friday, there is love in the air. But, good ol'' Saint Valentine is missing.
Blame it on the invisible saffron threat, the usual Valentine''s cards and paraphernalia gifts like stuffed hearts, soft toys, balloons, key chains and jewellery marked with "You are my Valentine" are hard to come by.Every card shop, be it the snazzy ones at Fatehgunj and Alkapuri in Vadodara or at C G Road and Sattelite in Ahmedabad, are selling only "I love you" cards. Many retailers say they do not wish to incur the wrath of the saffron brigade which feels expression of love is okay but Valentine''s Day is an alien and unacceptable concept. Significantly, while the Shiv Sena in Maharashtra is on the offensive on the subject, the VHP or the Bajrang Dal haven''t taken a strident stand on the issue in Gujarat this year. Yet, the retailers and even manufacturers are abiding by the unwritten code.
Speaking to TNN on conditions of anonymity lest they offend the offensive of the saffron gang, the official of a Pune-based company says sarcastically: "It''s all right to throw stones at card shops that have glass frontage but not right to express one''s feelings on Valentine''s Day. What kind of logic is it that says it is okay to hate but not right to love?"
The official of a Calcutta-based company, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of irking the anti-Valentine lobby, says, "We have consciously taken a decision not to mention the word Valentine on the cards as we don''t want to be involved with any controversy."
"Fearing a backlash, card makers like Ambassador,Wilson, Marks and NR have stopped printing cards with the word Valentine written on them," says a retailer Ashok Soni in Fatehgunj.
Indicating a general slump in the overall card market, Ashwin Amlani, a franchisee of Archies cards in Alkapuri, says that Valentine-centric cards have witnessed a significant dip over the past three years. "Against the 250 samples we get each year for Valentine''s Day, we have ordered only for the love messages," says Amlani.
Another reason for not keeping Valentine''s Day cards and gifts is that shop-keepers say the cards become redundant after February 14. That''s the reason why companies like Archies have even floated concepts like ‘Valentines week'', adds Amlani. In Ahmedabad, the card shop at Fun Republic is waiting and watching before it blows the candles. Book Bay and Sonic State team leader Sunil Shastri said, "We are planning to keep all celebrations low-key. We don''t want any trouble."
Another Hallmark card shop, Heer''s Planet, has a similar story to narrate. "We believe in keeping things subtle and are trying to make it more ethical. We want to make things more realistic and keep up the level of decency," said owner Ramesh Suchede.
Card companies -- Archie''s, Hallmark, Expressions -- have brought out subtle cards. Archies, for example, has brought out a series of cards featuring the ICC World Cup mascot, Dazzler, playing Cupid. Even the ‘I Love You'' line has gone missing from most of the stuffed toys and other V-day gifts. Instead, the ‘heart shape'' has replaced these words. Ahmedabad''s Crossword has also been subdued in its Valentine''s Day celebrations. But necessity is the mother of invention. Archie''s Gallery, a franchisee of Archie''s cards, in the Satellite area has kept up the hype, but with a few restrictions.
"We have a huge Valentine''s balloon which we generally fly but this year we haven''t. We don''t want to attract much attention," said Archie''s Gallery owner, Aakash Agarwal.