Mother’s Day

Yesterday was Mother’s day. Although this and many such more ‘occassions’ are largely Hallmarks’ creations, sometimes I feel that they do serve a useful purpose. For instance, I sent my mom flowers yesterday. Now it is true that she would have been happy to get flowers from me on any day of the year, but the fact that it was Mother’s day, made it extra special for her.

Its kind of a self-fulfilling prophecy I guess. And as with many other things, anything like this needs a certain amount of critical mass to take off. For instance, if no one acknowledges Mother’s day, it wouldn’t be special anymore. Conversely, if it isn’t special, then no one will acknowledge it. That is where a big company like Hallmark can use its muscle to push things into limelight, make an ordinary day special.

On a related note, I find it quite ironic that I can send a nice bouquet of fresh flowers from here to anywhere in India for less than 10 dollars, while the same costs more than 30 within the US.