CAMPUS CRUSADE: St Xavier's College students at a Hallmark promo in Mumbai

Thomas Abraham is not one for mincing words. Ask him what Valentine's Day means to him, and he doesn't break into a schmaltzy paean to Cupid. "Every occasion," he says instead, "is a chance to make money. People have lots of it and it's our job to channel it in such a way that it comes to us." There's a reason why Abraham is not in a mood for mush during this interview-he's director, food and beverages, Hyatt Regency, Delhi. And with just days to go for February 14, this hotelier is too busy talking business.

With good reason. Through the 1990s, as Valentine's Day became a mass mantra courtesy greeting card companies in India, five-star hotels began to realise the potential of this celebration of coupledom. This year, with the September 11 effect on tourism, it is also an excuse to create a buzz around an industry in a slump. Says Anjali M. Chatterjee, director, marketing communications, at Grand Intercontinental, Delhi: "Earlier we were focused on our niche, year-round clientele. Now that the day has been mass marketed by Archies and others, it has meant an increase in inflow for us too." Chatterjee's hotel is moving beyond the usual cosy-meal-for-two package this year, for the first time offering couples a Rs 6,000-deal, taxes included, for a night at a deluxe room, dinner and champagne breakfast in bed the next morning: a combo that would cost Rs 10,000-plus on a normal day.

LOVE FOR SALE

EVERYONE'S INVITED: Candles, Valentine's albums, heart-shaped chocolates and even steaks at five-star hotels ... there's plenty to choose from in this day-long celebration of coupledom

Say "St Valentine's Day" and most Indians don't ask "what's that?" any more. So from young people stealing a kiss before the Taj at Agra, to love-struck students on campuses across Mumbai, to couples holding hands on the lawns of India Gate in Delhi, everyone's a target for the country's hospitality business, card makers, music companies and TV channels. "Actually, you'd be surprised how big Valentine's is with couples in their 30s, 40s and 50s too," says Ruchita Sharma, spokesperson for Grand Hyatt, Delhi. "They're the ones more likely to go for an intimate meal for two, while for the younger ones it's become avant-garde to say, 'We're going to a nightclub for Valentine's. Like to join us?'."

Those behind the idiot box can no longer afford to mindlessly screen routine romances these days. Everyone's doing that, anyway. So to be one step ahead, Hallmark channel is letting Dr Love loose on Mumbai colleges. The channel's "love expert" in a Hallmark van will scour institutions of higher learning in the city, counselling teens while promoting on-air programming. Contests, radio spots, a dedicated radio show and free gifts are also on the cards. "The response last year was so overwhelming that we have extended our promotions (minus the van) to Bangalore this year," says Laxmi Hariharan, marketing director for Hallmark. Channel V, the feisty youth channel that Indianised hip in the country, has a Valentine's week planned with "seven days of heart-tugging, knee-weakening specials that promise to shake up those thermometers and raise a fever".

Cards and flowers are still mandatory wooing devices. Archies, the people who started the fire, are not planning to quell it this year either. The company is introducing 400 new card designs and 300 varieties of gifts only on the love theme for Valentine's Day this year. The surprise of the pack is a 6 ft tall card priced at Rs 5,000 that is to be unveiled just a week before The Day. "Sales go up four-five times in the second week of February," says Rajesh Sayal, gm, marketing (west), Archies.

Those looking for innovative add-ons could serenade their sweethearts at restaurants or simply pick up one of dozens of specially packaged Valentine's albums that will hit the market. About 40 collections on the theme of love were released in February 2000. The figure rose to 60 last year. In 2002, Sony Music is offering love birds You Are My Soniya-Love Hits for the Season in Hindi and I Love You to Want Me in English which comes complete with a paper rose on the cover. But HMV and Tips lead the brigade with as many as 10 "love titles" each during this week. HMV's Messages of Love even allows lovers to record their own exclusive sweet nothings on the album before the song track begins. Samir Rajput of Mumbai's popular record store, Groove, says: "We sell 35-40 cassettes of love songs daily before Valentine's week instead of the usual five to seven." Cashing in on the hype is India's first boy band, A Band of Boys, who are releasing their first album on February 14-since it is "centred around the theme of love", explains manager Vinod Nair.

So there you have it, a day that no one can afford to ignore now. "Today, Valentine's is special not just for those with the purse for a five-star hotel," says Abha Negi, spokesperson for Delhi's Parkroyal. "See the ocean of heart-shaped balloons on sale on the streets on February 14, watch how the prices of red roses shoot up, and you will agree."

For most nightclubs, pubs and hotels, of course, the event is now second only to-if not on a par with-year-end celebrations. Parkroyal's Float nightclub will be hosting Russian dance troupe Amadeus for a month starting February 14. Egana India, parent brand for Esprit watches, will be giving out prizes such as heart-shaped candles, photo frames, college bags and blinking hearts at contests at Mumbai hotspot Geoffrey's to mark the Valentine's fortnight. Esprit spends 30-35 per cent of its ad budget to promote this day. Fire & Ice, also in Mumbai, is holding afternoon socials for teens with deadline problems. Djinns, the nightclub at Hyatt Regency, Delhi, is having a "Garden of Eden" theme party for couples only, complete with paradisial decor. Patrons spending more than Rs 10,000 at the hotel's flower shop, get a free weekend stay at the hotel.

"After ignoring their partners the entire year, this is one day when people are disposed towards that extra bit of extravagance," says Ritu Dalmia, a partner with Diva, an upper-end Italian eatery in Delhi. Dalmia, who is also a partner at Vama restaurant in London, says the 250 per cent increase in sales on Valentine's in her first year has been matched only by New Year's eve. Well, what were hapless patrons to do last year when she dished out an "aphrodisiac menu" from "Aphrodite's kitchen" for cooing couples, dropped love poems on their tables, and e-mailed them photographs of their intimate meal taken on her digital camera? What could they do? Come back this year, she hopes.

-with Himanshi Dhawan in Mumbai