Happy Valentine’s Day! or as Some Might Say Unhappy ‘The West is Corrupting the Youth’ Day: As I’m sure you know, today is Valentine’s Day, which means that foreign correspondents all cover the world have spent the past couple of days visiting colleges and schools to write a feature story on how local youth celebrate the holiday.
USA Today visited Lahore’s Kinnaird College, a women’s college where “the girls, clad in a spectrum of reds, happily accept [Valentines from boys], even as they peer around nervously to see who is watching.”
(It should be noted that a year ago, there were several large anti-Valentine’s Day protests in Pakistan. Despite that, many of the residents of Islamabad interviewed for this video piece seem to view the holiday positively.)
Meanwhile, in India, a Pacific Standard contributor writes that in a country “where many kids are hungry to share their love with one another, February 14 is an opportunity to openly oppose their conservative parents’ values.”
Back here in the United States, Buzzfeed talked to Aziz Ansari as he prepares for his Modern Romance tour. Dating in the 21st century continues to be on the comedian’s mind:
“An average dude who might struggle to meet the right person at a bar can go online and meet 80 women who are perfect for him…“That’s a very new thing. You used to have to work up a lot of courage to talk to a girl. That’s not necessary now because you can just send them a text. So what happens to someone who used to struggle to talk to girls in person and can now message 80 women any time he wants? What happens when people’s barriers to the opposite sex have gone down?”
Now on to some non-Valentine’s Day news: We noted earlier this week that Penguin India has agreed to withdraw all copies of Wendy Doniger’s The Hindus. In protest, the founder of an Indian arts organization is urging people to send their favorite books back to Penguin with a note that says “pulp this as well.” (Scroll.in)
Even Amul has weighed in on the controversy (Twitter)
Amul Topical : Publishers pulp book on Hinduism. pic.twitter.com/Uij1Tck2bU
— Amul.coop (@Amul_Coop) February 13, 2014
It’s our birthday! In addition to being Valentine’s Day, today marks the one-year anniversary of the launch of The Aerogram. We couldn’t be where we are today without loyal readers like you. Find out about how you can support us here.
And yesterday marked another special day, especially for fans of The Office:
Happy Anniversary to Ryan & Kelly. pic.twitter.com/i8BBRgkLUC
— B.J. Novak (@bjnovak) February 13, 2014
Follow Lakshmi Gandhi on Twitter @LakshmiGandhi and follow The Aerogram at @theaerogram or on Facebook.
