It's my day! Anyday!

Sunday, late evening I venture out with my friend M. I want to try out X&Y, Cold Play's latest album.I go to the music shop to buy a CD. Develop cold feet and buy a cassette, instead. That way, if it turns out to be a dud, my loss'd be minimal, I calculate. The fact that, later I liked the album very much and cursed myself for not buying the CD is a different story.
But when I reach the market place where the music shop is located, I find the market crowded. It's the place they call it as Chhappan (56 eateries lined up, no less!). Even on normal weekends the place will be crowded, but this Sunday it is as packed as sardines in a can. One curious thing I notice is all are teenagers! Then I realise, "Oh God! It's Friendship day today!"
M finds it very difficult to drive through the mass and we have to park well ahead of our destination and walk.I find it crazy, all this Friendship day thronging. True, I too got friendship sms from a friend, but it is a stray incident. Here, there is, an city's entire teenage population! In one place! There is'nt any music or dance programme going on. Just that, everybody milling around, patronizing all the roadside and pavementside eateries and in general making a hell of a noise. M laments, "I should have been with a young thing and roaming like these people. It's my bad time, I have you for company". I commiserate. Is it not my bad time too?
Adding to this shops are selling pieces of string advertising them as "Friendship Bends". lol. "All stupid young things out there! Come here and buy our strings and tie to your stupid friends and your day would be complete, your friendship survived the test of friendship day, and we are happy counting the money" is the motto.
Coming from a no-nonsense Chennai (except for NewYear when people at midnight go crazy, shout, drink, drive and accost girls, if there are any, at that time), it is strange for me. I can see through the greeting card companies' motive in promoting such non-events. Nowadays even music companies have joined the band wagon. They'll bring out one sugar candy oozing album, promote it like mad, and rake the moolah from people senti enough to buy them. If it is anything romantic, Celine and Elton will pierce our eardrums crooning thier high Cs. Or mostly, one local wannabe will rehash (calling it remix) some old song and let every pinky teeny bopper gyrate to it.
An entire city going ga-ga! Whoa! That's something, for sure. I don't know what difference they see from this Sunday to all other days! Infact when asked to wish in return, by a friend, I had craftily replied, "Everyday is a friendship day to me, since I cherish my friendships all the days". I hate specially marked days to cherish a thing, wish sweet nothings (What do you exactly convey by gushing out,"Happy friendship day"?") and in general make an occasion for extracting money someway or the other. Let me tell you, Men are suckers when it comes to such senti occasions. They are made to shell out money, one way or the other be it Feb 14 or Raksha bandhan! Bah, I'd say it's a women devised scheme to commemorate such things as love and friendship on a particular day! Mind you, I'm not against women. I am just seeing through the senti, sugar candy stuff. And what do I see? Not a heart of Gold, but a heart pining after gold! (Just couldn't resist the turn of phrase, nothing else) Hmm.. Am I too cynical or am I getting old?
Anyway, we have some snacks at one of the 56 shops, move over to a pizza joint some distance away for finishing our dinner. We do it leisurely, then drive home past the market place. Now police men are regulating the crowd and diverting the market bound traffic! At 10 PM on a Sunday! We've got an office to go the next morning. We drive by this phenomenon, not being a part of it.