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Some of you have been with me right from my childhood; others I have met at different stops as I drove through the years.
Dear Ladies Near and Far,
As I am about to wish you for a special occasion, the words just get stuck in my throat. Truth be told, I was not even aware about the existence of this holiday until a few years ago when a message from a friend landed on my phone. “Happy Galentine’s Day”, it read! I was thrown aback, wondering what on earth did it mean.
Google came to my rescue, and I learned that it is the day when women celebrate love for their lady friends, single or not. The idea for Galentine’s Day originated from one of the episodes of the American television show “Parks and Recreation”. The character Leslie gathers her girlfriends for a brunch of waffles and declares: “Every February 13, my lady friends and I leave our husbands and our boyfriends at home, and we just come and kick it, breakfast-style!”
How strange that sitcoms can dictate so much in our lives! I am not complaining though because my female friends mean the world to me! Commemorating a day in their honor is a wonderful idea.
I dedicated a chapter to my friends in my book of anecdotes, for they have made my life complete! I strongly believe that friendships transcend all boundaries and norms. Anyone that I can mentally connect with, I consider a friend. Today I am thinking about all those extraordinary ladies who have made me happy with those sprinkles of smiles and sunshine.
Some of you have been with me right from my childhood; others I have met at different stops as I drove through the years. And interestingly, I am yet to meet some of you in person although I have come to know a lot about you through our online chats. There will be others who will read this note of mine for the first time. I value all of you so much!
Men and women coexist to build society, yet by the law of nature, they function so differently. No wonder it is said that “Men are from Mars and women are from Venus”! I do not want to sound sexist, but because of the commonalities we share, we need our woman friends to unload the thoughts in our minds. We look for solace and moral support from them.
We women have the patience to give a listening ear to each other’s problems. When bad times strike, we look for a shoulder to lean on and ask for advice.
Emotionally, we can identify with each other so well. Perhaps it’s just another mom who will understand why you cried on your child’s first day of kindergarten. Only your girlfriend will sympathize as you have those fat tears rolling down while watching a movie which is pure fiction. On most occasions, our hearts rule our heads, and we will find so many allies in our sorority.
Even when it comes to being goofy, we can be on the same boat and laugh at silly jokes. Only women understand the way other women behave. Outsiders may fail to see the rationale, but within the female club, everything is crystal clear. Actions that are deemed innate and stupid seem perfectly justified. All of the scenarios listed below look perfectly normal to us:
Why, after being on the phone for hours with a friend, do we remember upon hanging up that we still have lots more to talk?
Why, in spite of having a wardrobe full of clothes, do we feel we have nothing to wear?
Why do we want 2 or more pairs of shoes with the exact design in different colors?
Why do we like to be told that we have not put on weight though sometimes it’s far from the truth?
These are just the tidbits; there are many more details to make our stories complete and intriguing!
Being imperfectly perfect in our own ways, we ladies need each other because our friendships solidify our happiness and make our lives richer!
Not just on February 13, but on all other 364 days (well 365 when it’s a leap) of the year, I wish you all the very best . But let me sound a teeny bit trendy and go with the flow, as they say.
Here’s to raising a toast to friendship and wishing all the lovely ladies of this planet a very happy Galentine’s Day!
Image source: friends VikramRaghuvanshi from Getty Images Signature Free for Canva Pro
Rashmi Bora Das is a freelance writer settled in the suburbs of Atlanta. She has a master’s degree in English from India, and a second master’s in Public Administration from the University of read more...
This post has published with none or minimal editorial intervention. Women's Web is an open platform that publishes a diversity of views, individual posts do not necessarily represent the platform's views and opinions at all times.
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UP Boards Topper Prachi Nigam was trolled on social media for her facial hair; our obsession with appearance is harsh on young minds.
Prachi Nigam’s photo has been doing the rounds on social media for the right reasons. Well, scratch that- I wish the above statement were true. This 15-year-old girl should ideally be revelling in her spectacular achievement of scoring a whopping 98.05% and topping her tenth-grade boards. But oddly enough, along with her marks, it’s something else that garners more attention – her facial hair.
While the trolls are driving themselves giddy by mocking this girl who hasn’t even completed her school yet, the ones who are taking her side are going one step ahead – they are sharing her photoshopped pictures, sans the facial hair, looking nothing less than a celebrity with captions saying – “Prachi Nigam, ten years later”.
Doctors have already diagnosed her with PCOD in their comments, based on photographic evidence. While we have names for people shamed for their weight – body shaming, for their skin colour- racism, for their age- age shaming, for being a female- sexism, this category of shaming where one faces criticism for their appearance has no name. With that, it also has zero shame attached to it.
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