SOWMEN MITTER | সৌমেন মিটার

My Dearest Sanjhbati , Though this wish comes a little later than Daughter's Day, I hope you will accept it with the same warmth and love with which it is written. Love does not keep a calendar; it simply finds its way to the people who matter most. Watching you grow from a little child into a thoughtful adolescent has been one of the greatest joys of my life. Every stage of your journey has taught me something about hope, courage, and the beauty of becoming your own person. You are no longer the tiny hand I once held all the time, but you will always be the little girl who holds a permanent place in my heart. As you step into the exciting and sometimes confusing years of adolescence, remember that you do not have to be perfect. You only have to be honest, kind, and true to yourself. There will be days when life feels difficult, when you may doubt your abilities or feel misunderstood. On those days, never forget that your family believes in you, and I believe in you more than words...

It's the new normal now. Once you have a son, or a daughter, or a brother killed, you get to become an MLA, courtesy of the ruling party or the party that's likely to grab power. The trend was set by Mamata Banerjee whose insatiable lust for power set such a kind of series of precedents as can only be matched by a prodigal son who is already known by the very vile company he keeps. Nobody will ever know which circumstances allegedly led to Rizwanur Rahman dying by suicide, even though that's precisely what his elder brother Rukbanur and the TMC, which fielded him as a candidate, capitalised on to evoke the sympathy of the electorate and thereby, secure the mandate.  Then, came Mrs Debnath, who is still, and continually, clamouring for justice for her slain daughter, but in vain. Politically naive as she is, she is yet to realise that she must keep mum. Maybe, a few 'snubs' would do that, and I'm afraid she's already got the necessary 'hint'.  And now...