Changing Concepts of Love

Ritesh is greatly excited with his new mobile connection. No more nagging calls of Nita, those boring miss calls of Fatima and “take care” beeps of Shiny for none of them knows his new cell number. Fresh with a more wanton smile, Ritesh is busy with his new ‘connection’- Shruthi.

Today, mobile phones have penned a new leaflet to the rosy epic called ‘love’. Contrasting views may arise as to such passing fancies cannot be mentioned anywhere near the legendary sagas of Romeo and Juliet or Pyramus and Thisbe. Yet what calls the heed is the change in the concept of love that has invaded the minds of today’s youth.

“There was a halcyon time when love was in the campus’ air of Kerala”, remarks Gopakumar winking at his 15 year ago classmate-turned-wife, Gayathri. Cinemas like Sukhamo Devi and Sarvakalashala casted an eternal spell of love ‘disillusionment’ to the youth that a musical Shankar and a gorgeous Urvashi was not a difficult sight to spot in the early campus days. The coloured ribbons of the plaited knots shared the rosy tinge of shyness as the newly propped up whiskers threw across naughty exchanges.

And as the hawks flew by, it was the period of “Niram”, a time when critics had a great time vehemently preaching about the girls of the day losing all respect to boys. A trend set with “Kuch Kuch Hota He”, friendship blooming to love developed into another new chic.

As the legendary love reaches the hi tech era of cyber age, it has more garbs to wear. From the nominal chat rooms to virtual ambiences, rapports take up different nuances cleaving deep chasms across the engendered establishments of morality.

To ensemble the all-evasive concept of love into tiny packets of eras and titles would be a grave wrong to do. Love lacks an equation. It is not that A and B used to fall in sincere love a decade ago, while they are no more flirting prodigals today. Love transcends all ages beyond all predicaments, but yes there are tremors of changing dispositions, that might not necessarily correspond to an impending trepidation. The flowing river can have intervening dams and tunnels drifting its stream, but cascading the impediments of time, nothing ever can beat its flow!