Two students take a selfie in front of the ‘virgin tree’

NEW DELHI: For years now, Delhi University’s Hindu College has celebrated Valentine’s Day by choosing a Bollywood actress, called Damdami Mai , every year and pray to her in front of a ‘ virgin tree ’. The students believe that praying to pictures of the actress would help them find love and lose their virginity . However, many organisations have criticised the practice, calling it misogynistic.The union members said that for the first time a male celebrity will also be part of the 20-year-old tradition, for “equality”. Posters of actors Jacqueline Fernandez and Ranveer Singh would be put up on the tree this year, along with water-filled condoms and balloons.“Since we now have a girl’s hostel in our campus, we took their choice into consideration,” Sajeev, vice-president of hostel union said. Hindu College alumni, filmmaker Nalin Rajan has been invited as a special guest for the event.Women’s collective Pinjra Tod has also questioned the celebration in a statement. “It is just another trope which objectifies women. Practices like these contribute to rape culture.”However, the female college students claim they have no concerns over the criticism. “This is part of our tradition,” said a student.Coming down heavily on the ‘virgin tree’ celebrations, DCW chief Swati Jaihind said that she was unaware about the ritual until a few students explained it to her. “Posting pictures of women in this manner should be stopped as it is demeaning”. She added, “Action will be taken against those indulging in these practices.”