Every day is Valentine’s Day for some

Dubai: It’s that time of the year when it’s not uncommon to see roses, pink heart-shaped balloons and gifts wrapped in pink paper exchanged between couples. Valentine’s Day can evoke a range of emotions, from heightened celebrations and dramatic reiterations of love to quiet, simple understanding of togetherness to a healthy dose of scepticism of the needless hoopla on the day.

Gulf News speaks to two couples on their take on love, and Valentine’s Day.

Love is ... a rediscovery of each other


Canadian Sangeeta Kumar, 39, and Rickson D’souza, 37, (left) Indians, living in Dubai, first met in high school in Dubai 21 years ago, but at the time were merely acquaintances. Many years later, the death of a mutual friend helped them reconnect with each other.

“I had known him when I was 17 and we were in touch on and off, but that was about it,” recalled Sangeeta. “At the time, he was seeing a friend of mine, but that friend passed away when I was in Canada. So I called him to inquire about his well-being. Then, when I moved to Dubai, we decided to catch up. Soon, we became very fond of each other and a year later, he proposed to me.

“It’s been a decade of being together and he is the biggest part of my life. I love him a lot and we have two beautiful children. Our journey together has had other benefits as well — he has shed weight from 150kg to 75kg. I encourage and support him to stay fit.

“As for Valentine’s Day, it’s not a big deal for us as we have date nights almost every week but we will have something special planned anyway.”

Love is ... sharing the same last name

Egyptian couple Patrick Sarkies, 27, and Lena Sarkies, 25, (left) not only share the same last name, they also share the same birthday. They were born hours apart. They celebrated their engagement a day before Valentine’s Day.

Speaking about how they met and got to know each other — by sheer chance as it happened — Lena said that she never knew she would fall in love with her competitor.

“Patrick and I work in the same industry and we were competitors but we never got the chance to meet, even though he had seen me on many occasions. Since my first year in university, I’ve always wanted to marry someone with the last name Sarkies. I would tell my friends that when I marry and have babies, I would like them to have that as their last name. I would joke and say marrying someone with the same last name as mine means I wouldn’t have to change my name after marriage.

“[With both of us being in the same industry] people thought we were related and that’s how we found out about each other. And one thing led to another ...”