It’s Valentine’s Week and love-struck couples are ready with plans to spend some quality time with each other and exchange gifts. But how are young homemakers planning to celebrate? A few of them shared their views on Valentine’s Day celebrations with Orissa POST.
Elora Mishra of Port Town Paradip, says, “Valentine’s Week is the time when you express your love for your significant other. Being a wife and a mother, I hardly get time to do something special for my husband. However, I consider myself a lucky wife because my husband, who works with Paradeep Phosphate Limited, never upsets me on these days. No matter how busy he is, he never forgets to give me a rose on Rose Day, a chocolate on Chocolate Day and a teddy on Teddy Day. We make sure to go out for dinner on Valentine’s Day. And I feel content.”
Pabitra Priyadarshini, who lives in Singapore, says, “For me, Valentine’s Day is a reminder to take a break from the daily grind and make some special plans for a memorable day. I believe that technology has intruded into our personal space devaluing relationships. We need days like this to reconnect and be more socially involved with the people that matter most to us. This is one reason we try our best to live every moment of the day with the family. Again, I must admit that we used to have a blast during Valentine’s Week in the initial years of my marriage and before being blessed with kids. In the last few years, we have preferred to spend time with the children.”
Manaswini Padhi, a Bhubaneswar-based homemaker, says, “Every moment in our life is significant. On Valentine’s Day, flowers, gifts and romantic letters are exchanged between couples. However, I feel that exchanging flowers, cards and gifts with your partner is not the best way to express your feelings. Sometimes your silence speaks more than that. For me, celebrating Valentine’s Week is not enough to express my feelings. You need a heart full of love, and your partner should be able to make you feel that every day is Valentine’s Day.”
Subhadra Rath, a banker, says, “Of late, celebrating Valentine’s Week has become a fad among young couples. Couples who truly love each other do not find the need to celebrate Valentine’s Day for validating their bond. For them, this is just like any other day. Celebrating Valentine’s Week has become a commercial exercise. My hubby stays in Kolkata while I stay in Bhadrak. But our love for each other is true and profound. We don’t need to exchange gifts to strengthen our bond.”
Expressing similar views, Sumitra Das Palai from Bhadrak says, “For many couples, gifting and having a date on this particular day is more like a status symbol these days. And many also want to show their single friends that they are better than them. That is why they celebrate the week and update their status on social networking sites. Being in a relationship, I can celebrate our togetherness anytime and a particular day in the calendar cannot dictate to me on how and when I should show my love to my partner.”
RASHMI REKHA DAS, OP
