14th February , 2017…(around 10 o’clock in morning)
I was returning home from tuition …the roadsides seemed to be busier than usual, lovebirds chirping here and there… I saw a man coming towards me .. his face seemed familiar ….. those eyes behind the specs seemed to look straight at me… i still couldn’t identify him.
“how are you diya??” …the middle aged man asked me
A busy road of Kolkata, busier than usual…occupied by valentines all around… in between all these a half-stranger (who knows my name) asks me how m i!! Now what m I to answer…
Me: m … m.. good!! (should I tell him that i didnt recognise him??)
He: early morning out for date??
I was shocked..what’s he talking about..
“huh??” i replied
He: hahahaha… don’t get scared.. its u people who celebrate valentine’s day and all..in our time we never had these things… yaa we had love bt there wasn’t a day for this…
He began with his long gyan list…nd i didnt know how to escape from there…then suddenly the manuscript sort of ‘gyan’ became interesting when he began his own story…
“valentine’s day was never celebrated among us..bt ‘the day of love for us was saraswati puja’ {bengali’s have a tendency to celebrate this day as lover’s day ..its still prevalent in Kolkata}….in those days if there was a girls’ school in front of a boy’s school … the sense of love kinda grew more. It was fun watching girls and secretly falling for them. Once i liked a girl..nd dreamed about her but one day my friend comes and tells me that ‘my girl’ has been seen with a guy from the neighbouring lane. I was so angry…my girl wouldn’t be mine. The next day was saraswati puja..and coincidentally it was on this day that is 14th feb.
I woke up from sleep listening to mom’s daily spanking ….got ready and went out for school. In the mid way a thought..rather a mischievous thought sprang into my mind .. i took out a pen a paper and wrote a long love letter for my beloved. Then i gave it to my friend to pass it to my girl… she was sitting under a tree outside her school with her friends… i watched her from the corner of the gate as my friend stepped inside the school boundary with my msg for her. After some time I saw her coming towards me…my heart palpitated …. she came to me and asked straight ‘whats all this’ saying this she slapped me hard. At that point of time in front of so many girls..seniors, juniors nd others I felt like going underground … as if m mixed with dust. After that day i never wanted to meet her.”
I was quiet lost in ‘Mr. Dev’s’ story..oh yeah i forgot to mention during the course of his narration i recognised him… he was our old neighbour Mr. Dev Dixit…who had lately shifted to his new apartment.
“see m foolish that i engaged u in such stories”..he said
me: its ok.. bt only one question.. didnt u meet her anymore??
He smiled and replied “ I meet her everyday… ‘my girl’ ,Sona though now had become a woman bt is still mine”
Saying this mr. Dixit walked away…leaving me in awe. His simple story made me realise that ‘true love is not about celebrating Valentine’s Day but celebrating ur love throughout life’
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Wish u all a (belated) happy valentine’s day …. keep falling in love and loving ur dear ones… and if u enjoyed the story plzz comment….