Artistes come together to pay tribute to India on Valentine's Day

While some will be spoiling their significant others on this day of love, others are choosing to make India their Valentine this year. Starting today till February 16, over 25 artistes, including Vishal Bhardwaj, Rekha Bhardwaj, Swanand Kirkire and Ratna Pathak Shah will come together to celebrate their love for India.
Swara Bhasker, who is the co-organiser of India, My Valentine, says, "No matter what our political differences may be, we can all agree that we love India." And this is the idea being celebrated this Valentine's Day weekend across 10 cities.

It is our first valentine with our country: Swara Bhasker
India, My Valentine, which is being organised by a group of friends, including Swara Bhasker, producer Aditi Anand, activist Fahad Ahmad and Mitali Bhasin, will begin in Delhi and travel to other cities before culminating in Mumbai. In Delhi, the event will be organised at JNU and at the protest site of Nizamuddin East.

Talking about the significance of the event, Swara shares, "We are fighting for India so ultimately we all love our country. We can rise above our differences, so the idea was that instead of a protest, let's celebrate the fact that we all love India. It is also Valentine’s weekend so it is really a celebration and not a protest."

She adds, "Why Valentine's Day? Well, because it is about love. Bachpan se, what has been our first love apart from our family? It is our country, right? We have been taught to love our country so it is actually our first Valentine’s with our country."

Aap pyaar se hi dil jeet sakte hain: Rekha Bhardwaj
Rekha Bhardwaj, who will be performing at the event in Mumbai on February 16, says, "I will be including my composition based on Kabir's doha – 'Moko kahan dhoondhe re bande' and of course, 'Tere Ishq mein'. Swara contacted me for this event. The idea of this event is to celebrate the India that we all love. Our aim is to overcome our differences with love. Yeh Valentine weekend hai, aur pyaar ki itni baatein karte hain sab, so this event is like romancing your own country. It's a celebration of that feeling that we have for our country."

She adds, "My religion is love, it doesn’t teach me to hate. I can never be violent, not even in thoughts. Vishal said it in 'Haider' too that hate cannot overcome hate. Aap ahimsa aur pyaar se hi dil jeet sakte hain."

Film producer Aditi Anand, who is also co-organiser of the event, says, "For the last few months, India has been at war with itself but what is common on both sides is that each side claims to love India more than the other. It is an effort to celebrate those that have held the tide so far, and to start a new dialogue with those who are not comfortable with protests."