"But when dealing with relationships, do we really need the dates to remind us about the bonds we share in our personal lives?" asked Pradip Basu, Joint Director, Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Kolkata.

Samiara Sen lives as a paying guest in south Kolkata though her home is in this city. Her reason to stay on her own is that she needs to meet her family only on weekends, and not everyday after college.

But she never forgets to wish her mother on Mother's Day (May 11), her father on Father's Day (June 22) and her sister on Sister's Day (May 2).

"I love my mother very much. Mother is God in the lips and hearts of children," Samiara says though she does not consider spending quality time with her mother, working in a bank.

"What are we achieving by sending cards when we dump our parents in old-age homes in their later lives; when we think that our old grandparents are old furniture that needs to be discarded?" says Basu.
"Increase in the observation of these days is nothing but marketing strategy to catch hold on the peppy generation to make money. It hurts to see that relationships have become a commodity with a price tag," he said.

Basu added that the trend of sending e-cards and SMSes are taking a toll on the real meaning of relationships. "Emotions are slowly vanishing from the heart," he lamented.

The list of days are endless with the likes of Boss Day (16 October), Hair Stylist Day (April 30), Daughter and Father take a walk together Day (July 7), Handshake Day (June 28), Step Mom Day (May 01), Father-in-law Day (July 30) and Kiss Day (April 28).

Sreya Sengupta, a 3rd year student of a private engineering college, however, says "I don't give cards to my father on Father's day. It's enough that I care for my father. I don't need a special day to show my love for him."

Sahana Acharya, a teacher of a reputed girls school, says she has no problem in receiving cards from her two sons, both students. "But will they look after me when I'm old?"