India, Feb. 12 -- Valentine's Day has long been associated with expressions of love exchanged through thoughtful gifts, affectionate notes, and quiet moments shared over candlelit dinners. The day was shaped by evolving ideas of romance, gender, and desire, with the Victorians giving it new visibility through grand gestures and carefully chosen presents.

By the nineteenth century, the celebration had taken on an increasingly commercial character, driven in part by the expanding global chocolate industry. In colonial India, Valentine's Day entered public life subtly, through decorated shop windows, newspaper advertisements, and the growing appeal of sugar and chocolate as symbols of intimacy and modern romance.

Nineteenth-century Poona w...