Anarkali as a Metaphor: From Love to Data

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Oh, dear Anarkali — the girl who pranced in Mughal courts, made even the powerful Salim clad in amour break into mushy poet and wore rebellion like the kohl in her eyes. She flowed like silk, spoke like poetry and dared emperors for a love that knows no boundaries. But let’s get real — she’d never last five minutes in the age of AI.

Picture her in 2025, swiping left on men who post “sapiosexual” in their bios, evading unsolicited DMs from “investors” on LinkedIn, ChatGPT auto-generating love letters for those whose mans can’t spell “ghazal.” Anarkali would be canceled before her jhumkas could twinkle. 

Courtly Intrigue vs. Algorithmic Accuracy

In a time and palace far, far away, Anarkali breezed through whispers and political mines with the elegance of a mehfil thumri. Today? The instant she's sliding into the DMs of Prince Salim, with a suggestive “Ishq hai toh dikhayiye, Meta’s AI warns "emotionally manipulative behaviour” and flags her as a potential bot. She's shadow-banned before she can say “Ishq.”

Before ghosting was digital, there was defiance in the durbar. Anarkali wouldn’t survive the algorithm, but her love still beats stronger than bots.

Love in the Digital Age: Will You Swipe Right to Feel the Love?

Now, let's talk about love. Anarkali had the sort of love for which you would get a prince to disown his father, sneak up to meet you in the dark of the night, possibly even murder a few people in the process (but that’s what love makes you do, doesn’t it)? Fast-forward to 2025, and love is … well, love is on pause for 20 minutes while you look at your phone.

You’re attempting to puree at your AI assistant “I need emotional support,” and instead of getting a hug, you get: “I’ve found 17 articles on ‘How to Manage Your Emotions Better.’” Oh, thanks. I really needed that algorithmic care, appreciate it.

Let’s face it: Anarkali’s love was genuine, tangled, and full of risks—not because she was hard to deal with, but simply because love itself comes with its own set of challenges. So, what about now? In today's world, love focuses primarily on making users feel good. AI is designed to understand what you want, ease your worries, and make sure dinner conversations flow smoothly without any awkward moments.

Is it possible to fall for a robot?

Short answer: highly unlikely.

Is there a chance for Anarkali to find happiness in the modern digital dating scene? Doubtful, honestly. There's no way she'd manage to stay on top of all the beauty filters, the endless emojis, and the latest TikTok crazes. 

Let’s be real here. If Anarkali went to curate her profile, it may read something like, "Free spirit, tasteful wine connoisseur, Ghazal enthusiast, but my history? Love narratives too sad to tell. Only message if you're hopelessly romantic.” She would still get no matches, just a message saying "Would you want to discuss your feelings in 5 sentences or less?”.

And still, she'd get ghosted. Not for being too much — but for being too real.

At the same time, Salim would be bored swiping through Anarkali’s profile wondering if he would be happier with an influencer who shares a new "manifesting emotionally available partners". while secretly running three parallel situation-ships that the AI has already tracked and categorized.

We Need the Drama!

Anarkali would not go viral. She wouldn’t trend, and wouldn’t care to “monetize her heartbreak” or launch a podcast on “healing in the digital age.” Yet, what she would do is bring to mind a time when love wasn’t easy, filtered, or curated by an algorithm. 

Because perhaps, just perhaps, a bit of Anarkali still lives in us. The Anarkali who would rather choose chaos over convenience, who isn’t scared to fall deeply, shatter expectations, and go all in for something authentic. AI could never give you the raw, messy love that came with Anarkali’s doomed fate. It could simulate it, but it could never feel it.

The only rebellion you’ll find in a chatbot is if you ask it to do your taxes without any input data. Now that’s a love story for the ages.

When it comes to love, let it be messy, dramatic, and effortlessly human.


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