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| A couple enjoy a dance at the beach party on Sabbalpur Diara on Valentine’s Day. Picture by Nagendra Kumar Singh |
Patna, Feb. 14: Cupid’s arrows sent clouds scurrying for cover on Valentine’s Day. Skies were clear. Weather was pleasant — perfect for a beach party.
Young and not-so-young lovers turned up in large numbers at the first-of-its-kind Dolphin Valentine’s Beach Party organised by Bihar State Tourism Development Corporation in association with RK Enterprises in Sabbalpur Diara. Families and senior citizens, too, were not left behind.
The festivities were supposed to begin at noon but were delayed by nearly two hours. Sources said the plans for the party had been shelved last night after a forecast of downpour today and light rain yesterday.
“So, we had to prepare everything this morning,” said an employee of RK Enterprises at the booking counter for the party at Gandhi Ghat.
The delay, however, did not deter those struck with the arrow of Cupid. Couples took leisurely walks in the sandbar, holding each other’s hands.
One such couple was newlywed Nagmani Sinha and his wife, from Chhapra.
Sinha told The Telegraph: “I often visit Patna and recently got to know about this sandbar. The beach party shows that the society in Patna is opening up to a cosmopolitan lifestyle.”
The cover charge for the party was Rs 200 per person to begin with. But after 3pm, the organisers decided to allow couples and senior citizens to enter for free.
Many of the couples at the party were shy in the beginning. They were inhibited to come up on stage and express their love for their Valentines through songs, dance and other performance. But after repeated appeals from the host and performances by cheerleaders, one Sonia Pratap stepped on the stage and sang the popular romantic song Tinka tinka zaara zaara… from Priyanka Chopra- and John Abraham-starrer Karam (2005).
She dedicated the song to her husband Vijay Pratap. Sonia said: “We married on May 18, 2011 and live in Delhi. My parents live in Patna. My husband is also from Bihar. The idea of coming to this beach party was his. I loved this party. I could never imagine that I would take part in a beach party in Patna. This is a completely new thing for the city. I believe such events provide young couples a chance to celebrate Valentine’s Day without inhibitions.”
Other couples also started to come on the stage. Shekhar Suman, a student of the city, sang the classic Pyar hamara amar rahega… from Mithun Chakraborty-starrer Muddat (1986) for his girlfriend. “I have been in a relationship with my girlfriend for the past six years. I love her more than anything in this world. This song is just a token of my feelings for her,” said Suman.
The song had the desired effect and he got a huge hug from his girl.
Rahul Verma, the owner of RK Enterprises, said: “We got a very good response today. Hundreds of people came to the party. Many saw it from outside. We intend to organise more such events in the future.”