What is love?
A sense of belongingness. Butterflies in the stomach. All eyes for each other and the eagerness to walk hand-in-hand with the love of your life. Feeling all the while fluttery and heady with love.
The idea of being in love has been washed down our psyche with the poster image of dreamy looking heroes and heroines, humming romantic tunes in bountiful gardens. The Yash Raj Films’ brand of love. But have you thought of a different sort of love. Different, for we have narrowed down the definition of love. Funny, as I thought love can’t be defined.
The teaser of the short film, SISAK by Faraz Arif Ansari, has left me unsettled at many levels. What we perceive as normal actually stops many among us to defy it. The love between a man and a woman which is celebrated, automatically becomes a sin between same sex individuals? Love remains the same, it doesn’t change. In the end the feelings don’t differ owing to one’s sexual orientation. The awareness around LGBTQ community has at least opened the doors for discussions and debates around it. Is it enough?
Our reservations run deep regarding people whom we cannot relate to and our prejudices restrict our understanding. Orlando gay club shooting and other such hate crimes against the LGBTQ community shows a much deeper prejudice we harbour in our hearts and minds. In our daily lives, our isolated acts of transgression leads to such hatred. Why not celebrate love and look past the labels?
An FB post about that beautiful feeling called love which does not need validation and is free. There is no political agenda here, no loud cries for equal rights, simply put a journey of two women who are in love and are celebrating ten years of togetherness.
After being in loveless marriages and leading a ‘normal’ family life, they have chosen to be in love. Breaking out from dead marriages and after fulfilling their familial responsibilities, these women wanted to live a life for themselves. What makes this story heartening is the fact that, there are so many people out there who choose to suppress their real selves in order to fit in. These women dared to think for themselves and showed the courage to love. It does take courage to love, to be true to yourself.
We celebrated Valentine’s Day on Tuesday, which is about love. My logic, celebrate love even when it is not about love. Love remains the same, for heterosexuals or homosexuals. The above story restores my faith in love, which goes beyond mush and norms. We have this just one life, why to put on a show to impress others? Why not live it for ourselves?
Love transcends boundaries. It is time we also bring down our guards and prejudices.
Images' Source: Pinterest