Valentine's Day 2012

Today in the morning, when I reached metro station to go to my office, I saw a young guy standing near the ladies coach with his girlfriend (I know many of us don't like this term as you consider the one you love beyond that, but let's use this term here just for reference) with roses, teddy, chocolates, card and of course his heart, to celebrate the day of love.

With love in the air, streets are filled with young couples and newspapers, e-mails, television channels full of discounts and articles on love. However, there was one specific article that caught my eye and I just couldn't take the topic off my mind. Article posed a question- "Is it possible to love two people at the same time?"

Though the article continued in a witty and humorous tone, I couldn't help but wonder about the seriousness of  the situation that the question posed. Honestly, this question has been hovering over my mind since quite sometime and I really don't understand is this even possible or is it legal or doesn't this hurt someone?

This question arose in my mind when I saw Bella in The Eclipse kissing Jake even though she knew that she is in love with Edward. It somehow seemed strange for me to hear her tell Edward (after kissing Jake)- "I love you more". As if being in the arms of someone and kissing that someone, while you say that you're very strongly in love with someone, isn't considered as cheating.

I asked a few of my friends the same question and they came up with different answers. Some of them said Yes, saying that your feelings for one of them will be stronger. This argument came from people who had already experienced such feelings. But such emotions are felt only by those who are not happy with their current relationship and have found someone else who can fulfill all their requirements, be it emotional, financial or physical. And those who believes that loyalty is the most important thing in a relationship believed that if you are in love with a person, no matter how imperfect he/she is, you will never find someone else to replace them in your life.

In a restricted society that we live in, where having an affair before marriage is considered to be a sin, falling in love with someone after you are married/committed to someone is something that might make society kill that person! Example of which can be seen in a lot of Bollywood films (I'll be giving a lot of examples from films as I am a cinephile).

Rockstar starts with lines of Rumi which are- "Beyond the concept of right-doing and wrong-doing, there's a field, I'll meet you there". The film shows Heer and Jordan to be in love but Heer has to get married to someone else as per the society rules. But, when they meet again, both of them couldn't control their feelings for each other and they end up meeting and making love. They seem to be passionately in love and the very presence of Jordan in Heer's life infuses a new breath in her (as she was suffering from leukemia). The passion and the love for each other made me cry in the theater and my heart went out to Jordan who lost his love twice - one after her wedding and in the end, forever.

As per society's norms and principles, it was wrong on Heer's and Jordan's part to have an affair when Heer was already married. But, did anyone think of Heer and Jordan and Heer's husband that- were they truly happy in their lives? When society knows that two people are in love then instead of letting them stay together, they separate them due to innumerous bloody stupid reasons like- difference in status, caste, belonging to same gotra etc. without thinking that it may leave them unsatisfied with what they have in life and might pave a way towards an Extra Marital Affair.

But falling in love with someone after getting married or getting back to your ex when you are married- is this love pure? Or the rights and duty towards your partner makes this love to be impure and illegal? Living in a country where Love is considered at par with God, how can love- the purest form of feelings and emotions be considered as Illegal.

The question still remains unanswered- Since when did any form of love became ILLEGAL or a SIN and does any form of love exists which can be considered to be Pure even if you are married/committed?