Public display of affection ?

References have been made to Latin America, and how it is very common to find public display of affection there. In fact, it is apparently an indication of the security of the place!

Sometimes I think it has become "fashionable" to condemn censoring of public affection. People sometimes make statements that India is becoming a medevial society, because we don't allow public display of affection. Why, I also hear that we need to grow up, and move on, because this is okay in other parts of the world. I don't understand this.

Let us take a historical perspective. Years ago, it is said, women used to walk around with few clothes on, they used to bathe in open rivers, and we were still one of the "purest" societies in the world. India is the country where the Kama Sutra was written. India is the land of Khajuraho and Konark, where you find scores of temples with erotic inscriptions. Why, even the Qutub Minar complex in Delhi has a few erotic inscriptions.

As time passed, salwars and bathrooms were invented, and women went back indoors. Somewhere along the line, sex was made taboo, and we began to fear our past. Maybe it was a Moghul influence.

But today, in this great land of Khajuraho and the Kama Sutra, we are still among those who condemn public display of affection. Is it wrong? The answer is that yes, it does make a lot of people uncomfortable. It does make elders uncomfortable to see people "getting it on" in public. That's their culture. That's what they have seen.

India is a country that is developing by leaps and bounds. A satellite channel influence means that the youth of today are becoming more and more foreign in their approach to life. But we should spare a thought for the previous generation, that still lives in a world where man-woman interaction before marriage is not allowed. This change is taking place too fast for them to digest. This change is in every aspect of our lives. And guess what, the lawmakers are still the elder generation.

We must change, I do not deny that. We must become more liberal in our outlook, I totally agree. But do spare a thought for those who condemn change. Change is never easy. Look at yourself. Did you get over your last girlfriend/boyfriend? Do you like your new job? I think that with time, we will all get used to it. But come on guys, give them some time.