Sipra's diary: Valentine Day - 2026

 It seems Valentine Day has come too early.  1st  January crossed the time too fast, snow and icy days kept us captive inside the home for a long time Beautiful bouquet of roses was delivered by post to my daughter in the morning to remind me the special day .It is a sunny bright morning .

I wrote several articles on Valentine Day I will repost one from them for now .

                    Broken Heart  

Starting from the youth to the end of life,

All thirsty hearts wait to be pierced 

With some sugarcoated arrow in the heart .

Life  has no charm without romance; 

It is better to be wounded and ooze, 

Rather than a barren  life  to chose.

Oozing heart caused by failure love 

Inscribes in blood long-lasting  

love - lyric  and melodious music 

That lingers long to  inspire  sensitive spirit.

An arrow piercing the the red heart

Symbolizes the vibrant juvenile love  

But random display of  Valentines' cards

Makes the image funny, naive and ridiculous!

But how heart can be broken ?

Is it of glass,  metal, or plastic?

It is a lump: soft and sensitive .

Is the 'broken heart' an utter literary fallacy?

Or a metaphor of intense emotion,

Popularly known as  depression.

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The theme of the poem focuses on the show-off or the plight of 'True' love: which is  gasping  under the piles of displaying cards;  it   prompted me to compose this poem .

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Sunday, February 18, 2018

Valentine's Day: 'Commercialised celebration of love'

Valentine’s day:  Commercialised   celebration of love

 Manhattan,NY

Feb 16, 2018

I was coming to home from doctor’s clinic, Columbus Circle. It was an enough cold evening. But lots of crowd was flowing on the road As soon as I saw a joyful young couple with red bouquet of flowers , I remembered “it  is Valentine’s Day!’ Among the crowd I saw only two or three  young couples with hand-in-hand and boquete of flowers .Most were found in groups. My eyes caught hold few male couples ,both young and middle-aged male couples clutching each others’ hands warmly .I twitted them silently ‘are you happy and “gay’! ……… 

So in this megacity high-tech super digital land of face book and twitter ,the  warmth of romance in valentine’s Day  brews much flavor among  the group or clan in place of  clan-destine romance of  love between two hearts in the  traditional world:  a game of change !

 But who was this St. Valentine and how his name was associated with love and romance?  I came to learn, mostly from internet and books  that this very old tradition originated from a Roman festival called “Lupercalia’ in 3^{rd or 5th} century AD;. Its history is shrouded  in mystery. There are different legends spanned around it. 

Some story says Roman emperor Claudius11banned all marriages and engagements in Rome. Because  he believed that love and bondage of family life discouraged the Roman men to serve in the Army. 
St valentine defied it. Emperor Claudius11 executed two men both named Valentine on Feb14th of different years in the 3^rd century AD. Their martyrdom was  duly honoured by the catholic Church with the celebration of St Valentine’s Day.

 Isn’t it an irony that modern ‘day of love’  is based on the unjustified martyrdom(!)(or murder,who knows)   of someone for courage and honesty?... 
It seems, less we know the history, more  we will be happy.

Other story is more brutal.  In the festival of Lupercalia  men  would sacrifice a goat  and a dog. Then  the young women who stood  naked in a line  would be whipped by those drunken men with the hides of the sacrificed   animals just slain. It was believed that this ‘ritual’ would make them fertile. It  also included a match-making lottery{s-o- ridiculous!} in which young men drew the names of  women from a jar.

And they will be coupled up accordingly to fertile the the field for future battle of brutality! The Roman introduced this festival with the purpose to expel  Pegan  rituals. Later on the Christians covered up  the cruelty by patching 'colour  of love' upon it.  The literary works of Chaucer, Shakespeare romanticized valentine Day in their work and it flourished reputation throughout Europe as significant cultural, religious  and ‘commercial celebration of love’.

Today valentine’s Day contains vestiges of both Christian  and  ancient  Roman traditions. 

Anyway, festival means business and Valentine’s Day is a big business :bumper sale of cards, balloons,  flowers, food, movies  and what not(sale of  marital loyality in'Tinder' love or in 'Just for lunch' for introductory love--- where the market has no sunset throughout the year instead of a single fixed day)! It has become almost global festival in uprising countries

Sipra's Diary : "fragments of MEMOIR"

  

"Inocent Divorcee"

During my stay in Mumbai, after trying hard somehow I managed to get a Bengali paper "Sunday Anandabazar Patrika" which contained a matrimonial supplement. My basic purpose was to search for a suitable bride for my son. This paper supplied us with more entertainment than news.  I noticed there the first time, to my surprise, advertisement of matrimonials even for dogs. Sometimes my daughter also joined me for searching her sister-in-law; some ad held 'marriage only in the paper'; while some ads of brides were'innocent divorcee'. She asked me innocently, "mom, what is 'innocent-divorcee'?
   I also noticed it several time but did not ponder upon because I had no interest in divorcee for my fresh bachelor son, though he had no objection. about divorcee. Now we two started researching what can it mean.
I said 'I don't know'; maybe there was no scandalous dirty story behind the divorce;..........................but the word 'divorce' itself is stained in the market of negotiation-marriage. How can it be innocent? 

Gazing at the paper amusingly,  we burst out into laughter as the' innocent divorcee' slipped out from our tongue simultaneously!   

It became a cliche between us from that time to make fun, whenever anything obscured comes us to be explained. As an excuse, we used to utter',   'look! it   seemed  'innocent divorcee'.

In some ad, the qualification of the bride was stated as,
'hah,seh,fah,'. It also remained beyond our comprehension for a long time. Later on, I asked somebody and came to know that it means  'Higher-Secondary-Failed'.
I thought it to be like some special high-fi -degree.
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I am a little selective in every matter, even selecting very simple items from grocery.
Yesterday I bought a sweet potato, perfect in colour, shape and size, nor crude or muddy as often they are seen. I roasted it in the oven; Before eating as I peeled and cut it into two pieces, I noticed the centre portion is as black as coal and also has a fungus, so I throw it in the trash with an automatic slip of tongue comment,

.... poor "innocent divorcee" and laughed to remember the background story. 

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Sipra's Diary : ..........."Old & New"...>>>26th Dec/2025

 

#(1)………………………….’OLD AND NEW “ 

New York

Dec26,2025

 

 

2026  is waiting eagerly  to  step forward ; or we are waiting for 2026.

 

December,--  declaring the year-ending, was full of joy to all of us  throughout our whole school life. Because annual exam was over; result was out on 22^nd Dec and school declared holidays to reopen on 2^nd January.  We were enthusiastic to be promoted to a new room for new class with the smell of new books &new copies.

 

The real attraction for Christmas was-to grab tasty cake; So far I  remember cake was rare to taste in our schooldays  throughout the year in small town except X-mas ! 

We thought it to be  celebrated by  the white-skinned people ;   I don’t remember any big-sized cake for X-mas  for ever in my house  or in my friends’ house .  we had always a  box   full of cupcakes with cream on the top brought by dad ; we kids used to lick the cream of top as long as we could do!.............  

 

We had Several picnic  parties in winter vacation (small & big ). By “Big”picnic  party I mean  lots of neighborhood families , and also some guests,  going by truck or bus to some picnic  spot near the river or mountain, away from the neighborhood.  

The menu was always almost same in every picnic party on every year : 

for breakfast :  muri (=crispy rice)chop,  beguni,  tea………. There was no mike or recorded music ;  but later mike and music was added.  

 

 In lunch we had Khichuri ,  fried eggplant , cabbage curry ,  papor  and tomato chutney .

 The greatest attraction of winter vacation was there was no home work ; no study hours ; real vacation !  Enough playtime without restriction!  

Also Circus , fair were added attractions of the winter vacation.. 

 

But most important matter was the ability to enjoy the abundance in small change from the regular life , ..just to peep out  to breathe a little from the routine  life!

 

    Larger has become the luxury  and  facility in modern time than that of ours.  But affluence  has brought  along poverty; ………..

 ‘Poverty of prosperity’ has stolen the ability  of joy from modern  childhood….It is sad that they become mentally  older at young age, they are bereft of  innocent bliss of childhood in much early age!

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Sipra's Diary: "Ode to transformative Journey."...............

 

Beauty is not always 'given',

But mostly our mental projection;

The real charm of "Beauty" springs from 

Creative mind: that's  why the poet sings,

'Half-created beauty'  any object inherits.

 Green shooting leaves  of the spring 

Bring joy; but dry leaves spinning in the wind  

Around the barren mother-plant 

Have also other 'shade' of beauty !

It is our perception to add color

 To the great and small 

 That Lord makes for us all ! 

If we embrace ‘change’ with love, even  

Hell is transformed into adorable Heaven! 

Dipped in the ambrosia of perfect 'perception'.

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Sipra's Diary: Excerpt from Canine Fable..........2026

 

Last week I saw in T.V. dogs of different species have gathered in a centre with their owner for DNA-test. It seems dogs are happy to do that; each of them climbed  on the clinical table, opened the mouth and after taking the test coming down quickly for the next one; they didn't forget to give thanks by wagging their tails! 

Animals are becoming important more and more . The  ancient architecture and sculpture  of  pyramid, Mexico, Mesopotamia witnessed the importance of some animals, specially dog, eagle, horse ,snake etc  in that age also!......

what will be the next project?

<<Photo of pegasus , minotaur , .crossbreed mythological figure

Keeping their eggs in the canine -banks like the human female specie? Besides dog and cat, some people had started now to keep pig and turtle as a pet.

Suppose the eggs of all these animals are kept reserved in chambers like in Noah's ark; as the environmentalists guess the threat of global warming may cause deluge and catastrophe which is alarming.

 

God knows, who will hatch on to whose egg, and what will come out! 

Real havoc for human specie! There is a chance for the next generation to witness this earth to be occupied by random roaming half -men and half-beasts: the real apocalypse!.....

 

 The evolution of life started from one-celled amoeba to its' highest form of a human being. Now the egg-preserving banks are turning episode of an experimental conundrum in the evolutionary journey of life. We, the normal human figure with the unique full form of limbs may be promoted  as super god   or demoted  as mythological creatures   in coming future........ 

So who will preside  this earth in future?--  Super- man or half -man-half beast?

Who knows? The adage says history repeats itself!

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Sipra's Diar :"SULOV SHOUCHALAYA" in India

  "SULOV SHOUCHALYA IN INDIA"  by Sipra  Roy.

Words=559 //               

Rashmi   reached Dumdum airport  via Bombay from New York, after a pretty long gap of sixteen years. 

She took a prepaid taxi from the Dumdum airport to go Sealdah station. Unlike other international traveller, she had only a light backpack and a cabin suitcase . Her final destination was Kalyani. She would take a local train to reach earlier .Local train was available frequently from SEALDAH station ;but the only problem was it didn't have bathroom system.

Rashmi was thinking with curious eyes gazing outside ,until the cab stopped coming near to the Sealdah  fly over. ...

There has been much improvement of roads in last sixteen years ! Rashmi noticed on the road side through the cab window  "Sulav Souchalaya' written in blue  color  on glazed tiles . It was public bathroom.  

Lot of people need to come daily to this metro city for medical checkup ,court-case,  shopping, job-interviews from the suberbs and go back home in the afternoon.  They cannot afford any hotel for the day -trip .Some great social thinker accomplished the project of public bathroom to meet up the need of the commuters and to keep the city clean.

She remembered  the letter  of her cousin sister's   which  was full of excitement.

  "Do you know  that  here in Calcutta  beautiful public bath room of luxurious glazed tiles  had been  made also for the use of common people  on the road side, like American-style ! People can take even shower! People need to pay little money which is necessary for the maintenance of cleaning etc!"

"Really?"

"When you will come next time you must release the pressure of bladder  before taking the local train from   Sealdah ok?" 

Rashmi laughed, " So  I have to buy a flight ticket  to experience the ecstasy of "SulavSouchalaya, right ?"........

Rashmi noticed most people from the bus or taxi were walking  under the fly over towards the station. 

It was 12:30.She got down from the taxi  with her wheeled cabin suitcase to have some novel experience.  

Coming near to the "Sulav..." she found a skinny middle-aged man with blue-colored  ill-fitted costume with badge stood up from his stool ,blocking the path ,

"I am the security guard .you have to pay first ."

"How much?"

"What will you do? Pee or poo?

 For pee: Rs 1/. For poop:Rs 2.

"If some  poop licked  at the time of  peeing, then what do you charge?"

The guard looked  little confused.  He  scratched his head , then made his throat clear by coughing to say,

....'Every item has separate price,; Look at the front board ;every thing is written clearly. I have also  a  catalog;" He became busy to fumble  a paper with menu from the drawer of the little plastic table in front of him .

"Keep it with you. I don't need it! Please take care of my luggage for a little while".She was about to move forward .

The guard interrupted  her" What type of mug do you want?

A chained mug:Rs1//  unchained steel mug: 1:50

Taking  a glance on the board, Rashmi said impatiently I will take the 'Luxury package' of  Rs3:5o."

She gave the guard Rs 5. The guard handed her a 'coupon'.

Before leaving she took her luggage with thanks to the guard .The guard was ready with the change 1:50 .

"here it is your change, M'm!"

"Not needed".  Rashmi proceeded with her luggage towards station.

"O, Didi your change!" The skinny man hailed  running after her.

Rashmi -"Keep it. I won't wish to touch it !" She crossed the road rapidly towards the station.

The  guard:    "ja Babba!"       (O my gosh!)

 

                          

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sipra's Diary: #....."Netaji Subhaschandra"....& Calcutta bookfair.

     " Adesh chilo, Delhi Cholo,

         Delhi mora Joi korechi ,

         Aj Tumi Kotha  Netaji!"

We grew up breathing  in  the elixir of patriotism ; The current flew   strong & powerful throughout our school life....,. 

My eldest brother of 13/ 14  years old,  who tried to sow seed of patriotism in     neighborhood  children team .   He taught them marching and patriotic music...... 

 My brother led the team of children to march with the music below:

 #. KADAM KADAM BARAYE JA,

      KHUSHISE GEET GAYEJA ,

       " YE  JINDEGI HAI  KAUMODI."

.......I was then too young to speak distinctly ; I  used to  sing  the last line  from my sister's lap  

        like....      " e-jing- b-jing- korbo-ki"!

All others made fun of it .

My father was posted in  HAZARIBAGH,,Bihar.

All the wealthy and elite class people of Calcutta [. so called 'Babus"] used to come for "change"in the healthy region of Bihar ;  Hazaribag , Ranchi Modhupur Giridih,  Jhajha, Jashidih , shimultala, Deoghar were  famous  among them. These wealthy people had their own buildings with large garden having variety of fruits and flowers  There were  gardeners,   care-takers  to look after the property. Throughout the year the children entered the garden for grabbing fruits by jumping over  the wall until they were chased by guard  to get out ! Sometimes the guard remained cool ;because the fruits were too abundant to be consumed by the boys.It was a time far from the hotel business flourished ! Most Babus had luxurious arrangements in the building ,not less than any starred hotel.

My father became close friend with some of the "babu" family. I mentioned  my father's story  in my google 'Blog' account. But now I will add a new story. 

Netaji's family  also used to come every year in Hazaribagh. I don't know whether that was their own house or rented !

They used to invite my father's family in  the 'yangna,'  performed at the end of 'SatyaNarayan   puja. It was perhaps  about 1946,  before India owned independence.

When the most invitees left, my mother asked Netaji's mother about Netaji curiously,

"  Do you think Netaji is still alive?"

Netaji's  mother  smiled sadly ; then shifting eyes from curious face of my mother  she replied,  

"Sure, he is alive very much to me!" 

Mom:   [in whispering voice] "may I know where he is now hiding? I wouldn't tell anybody!"

By the time my father came to call my mom. He started  asking common formal conversation with Netaji's  mother; before leaving .

Dr. Sunil Basu [ Netaji's brother] treated my brother and saved him from critical condition. My brother had  typhoid and Septic mumps  simultaneously. Dr. Sunil Bose operated him in our house .  He brought all his surgical instruments necessary for operation and asked my mom to boil water .  

He himself came near the kichen for more boiled water . My mother was frying some "pokora / chop." 

He sniffed and asked my mother  to taste some warm fries . My mother offered him with tea . He asked some more fries.

Operation was successful but remembering pain  my brother used to abuse  random to the Dr. but the Dr smiled and never minded .

He used to visit our home almost everyday of his stay in the town.       I heard the story from parent  I also heard that Netaji fled  from Gomoh station , near Hazaribag . He was seen lastly in Gomoh , India.

Then in Germany under the shelter of Hitler. But he remained mysterious  in the heart of all Bengalese  like a painful lump !.....   Time to time rumor of "Netaji has come"' ignited the Bengalese in new enthusiasm!

Slowly time healed up the rumor in silence under  multiple complexities! 

Calcutta Bookfair -2026  knocked to remind India as well as the world how much love and  adoration the Begalese still bear for Netaji . 

Thanks to Kunal Bose for publishing the book in the broad arena of the Book-Fair!

Hearty  Congratulations on behalf of  ever-alive-all- patriotic hearts!

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