Aadvika 2022

San Antonio Bengali Cultural Community (SABCC) Aadvika 2022
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Board of Directors 2022

President - Supriya Chakraborty

Vice President - Rajat Ghosh

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Board of Directors 2022

General Secretary and Cultural Treasurer - Joydip Barman
Chair - Arindam Ray

Fund Raising Chair - Avishek Gorai IT Chair – Subhankar Bal

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Aadvtaibkleaof2022
CONTENTS

8 9 10

The Editorial President’s Note Puja Schedule

BOD Wish 2 2022 Committees Contributors
BOD 2022 3-4
Sponsors 7 Puja, Cultural & Decoration 15 Wonders by Aditri Pal 19-20
General Secretary Note 12
IASA President’s Note 14 Transportation, Food & 16 Ananya Ghosh 22
Fund Raising Aahana Mukherjee 22
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Editorial/Aadvika, 17
Membership/Subscription & IT

Water & Fire by Shaumprovo Debnath

Tiasha Padate 26

Samriddha Sarkar 26

My Trip to Puri, India by Risheen Barman 28

Pritam Dutta 30

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Cover-Page Edited By Design By
মনস্বিতা দে ( বষৃ্টি) Mala Chakraborty Subhankar Bal

Contributors

Lighthouse by Aarush Ghosh 32 Samadrita Sarkar 40
Sourish Datta 32
Ayatre Gorai 40
“MahisasuraMardini -A Nostalgia of Samadrita Sarkar 41
Be3n5gali Culture” by Subhankar Bal 34 Aahana Mukherjee 41

Anwesha Hor Bal 34 Samriddha Sarkar 42
Sourish Datta 36
Jishnu Das 36 Aahana Mukherjee 42

Aahana Mukherjee 36 Pujo Parikoma by Arindam Ray 44
“Vatsar and the Perfectly Ordinary
Blue Gem” By Aarav Bhattacharyya 37-38 My trip to San Francisco by Risheen Barman 45-46
Shrejita Saha 48, 50
https://www.facebook.com/sabcc Joyasree Roy 50

Anshuman Das 50

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Durga Puja Sponsors: Dr. Subrata & Mona Talukdar
Gold Sponsors: Dr. Bhaskar & Devi Majumdar
Silver Sponsors:
Supriya & Mala Chakraborty
Lakshmi Puja Sponsors: Abhijeet & Tina Trivedi
Lunch Sponsors:
Supriya & Mala Chakraborty
Milan 2022 Sponsors: Avishek and Susmita Gorai

Business Sponsors: Tapan & Rama Saha
Durga Puja: Saugata Datta & Chandrika Mitra

Milan 2022: Himalayan Bazar
Indian Super Market
Biryani Pot

Pastries and Chaat
Indian Super Market
Insurance after work
Bangla Bazar

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SABCC launched its Sharodiya magazine in 2017 when we started
celebrating our Sorbojonin Durgotsav in San Antonio and named it Aadvika.
Since then, it has been a tradition to showcase the literary excellence and
artistic expression of our community members and their children in this
annual magazine.

The term Sorbojonin (meaning all-inclusive) replaced the word “barowari”
or “Baro-Yaari” (written as বারয়াস্বর in Bangla) in recent times. Wikipedia
mentions that the word "Barowari" comes from the Sanskrit words "bar,"
which means "public," and Persian word "wari", which means "for."

The search of when the Sorbojonin or Baro-Yaari Durga Puja first took its
roots revealed that until the 1600s, the worship of Maa Durga was limited
to zamindars and rich families. In 1790, twelve brahmin friends in Guptipara,
Hooghly decided to change this status quo. After collaborating with the
residents, they conducted the first community Durga Puja called the Baro-
Yaari Puja.

Like past years, Aaadvika 2022 also reflects the talents of our community
members. I am grateful to all of you who encouraged their children to
express their talents in writing and artwork.

I would also like to express my sincere appreciation to the editorial board
members Amrita Mukherjee and Ananya Ghosh along with our IT chair
Subhankar Bal for their help in putting this magazine together.

On Behalf of ‘AADVIKA’ 2022 Editorial Board
Mala Chakraborty

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Biryani, Curries, Pani puri, Samosas, Chat, Dosa, Idly, Vada,
Sugarcane juice and other food & beverages to choose from.

Located at:
Biryani Pot, 9386 Huebner Rd. Suite 109,

San Antonio, TX – 78240

(210) 561 – 8874
(210) 561 - 7880

https://www.biryanipotusa.com
Email: [email protected]

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To our beloved SABCC members,

Welcome to SABCC’s 6th Durga Puja! We are honored and thrilled to spend this year’s puja season
with all of you. To us, the SABCC community is our second family, and we have worked tirelessly
during this year to plan several events for all of you.

Our 2022 board of directors (BOD) started its journey on January 2022 with Saraswati Puja. In April,
we had our annual picnic and sports event and in June, we celebrated Rabindra Najrul Jayanti.
Furthermore, in the celebration of “Azadi Ka Mahotsav”, we were delighted to present for the first
time, Milan 2022, a cultural reunion through performing arts. For this year’s Durga puja, we are also
excited to bring you fabulous entertainment and mouthwatering food.

We have all of you to thank to make our year-round programming possible. First of all, our events
would not have been possible without the generous donations of our sponsors. We could not be
more grateful for your support. Second, SABCC thanks all of our volunteers, who have repeatedly
stepped up, given their time and energy to fill whatever gaps have arisen, and helped make our
events run smoothly. Third, we thank Asokda for performing this year’s Durga Puja, as he has
generously done for many years. And finally, we are humbled by each and every SABCC member’s
participation and support in our events. SABCC is your community. This is your Durga Puja. And we
can’t wait to see you there.

Furthermore, despite the continued challenges posed to our lives with the COVID-19 pandemic, we
have much to celebrate. The past year has witnessed several successes in our community. We
congratulate our young members who have graduated and started college this year. We
congratulate those who made it through the last academic year, and wish you success in the next
one. We also congratulate those who have experienced achievements in their careers, received
promotions, and started new jobs.

Maa Durga’s victory against the demon, Mahishasura, reminds us all of the light at the end of the
tunnel—the good that can come into our lives despite the day-to-day hardships we may face. This is
especially relevant given the difficulties caused by the pandemic during the past two years. May Maa
Durga’s blessings give us strength to face any trials and tribulations that may come our way, and
may she protect our SABCC community so that we can live happy, healthy, and prosperous lives. In
light of this auspicious Durga Puja season, we wish that the festivities that SABCC has planned for
you bring you immense joy, not only during the puja, but also in the years to come. ….. Happy and
blessed Durga Puja. Jai Maa Durga!!

Supriya Chakraborty, President
On behalf of Team SABCC and
‘AADVIKA’ 2022 Editorial Board

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20 & 2022

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IASA President Note

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PUJA Cultural Decoration

• Asok Banerjee • Arindam Ray • Ramrup Mukherjee
• Amit Bhattarcharyya • Shanghomitra Das • Amrita Mukherjee
• Mohua Banerjee • Supriya Chakraborty • Chandrika Mitra
• Poulami Majumdar • Falguni Das • Ananya Ghosh
• Rama Saha • Satarupa Dutta Das • Ipshita Pal
• Mala Chakraborty • Sumit Sarkar • Shanghomitra Das
• Smita Bhattarcharyya • Sayantani • Joydip Burman
• Anindita Bhattacharjee • Smita Bhattarcharyya
• Sujata Pattadar Bhattacharyya • Sujata Pattadar
• Satarupa Dutta Das • Surajit Saha • Banashree Sen
• Avanti Mitra • Samrita Neogi • Avanti Mitra
• Sayantani Bhattacharyya • Sourav Das • Anindita Bhattacharjee
• Aparajita Ghosh • Samrita Neogi
• Ramrup Mukherjee
• Suman Kanji

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Transportation

• Joydip Burman Food Fundraising
• Arindam Ray
• Sumanta Mitra • Poulami Majumdar • Abhijeet Trivedi
• Avishek Gorai • Amrita Mukherjee • Avishek Gorai
• Rajat Ghosh • Mala Chakraborty • Amit Chaudhuri
• Ramrup Mukherjee • Anindita Bhattacharjee • Supriya Chakraborty
• Somesh Dasgupta • Avanti Mitra • Rajat Ghosh
• Sourav Das • Satyajit Pattadar • Ramrup Mukherjee
• Sumit Pal • Sayantani Bhattacharyya • Jayanta Das
• Sumit Sarkar • Shanghomitra Das • Devi Majumdar
• Arijit Dutta • Sumit Sarkar
• Sanjay Sen • Samrita Neogi

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Editorial & AAdvika Team

• Subhankar Bal Membership & Subscription
• Mala Chakraborty
• Amrita Mukherjee • Avishek Gorai
• Ananya Ghosh • Chandrika Mitra
• Supriya Chakraborty • Mala Chakraborty
• Shruti Chakraborty • Poulami Majumdar
• Joydip Burman

Information Technology

• Subhankar Bal

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Wonders by Aditri Pal

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I often wonder, who was I in my past life? Or what was I?
Flowers are my passion, especially orchids. What if I was an orchid? Is that why I
feel for flowers and their extravagant beauty and aroma?
If flowers do represent me, then...what part of me shows that I am derived from
such, in its soothing grace? My mind? Body? Heart? Or soul?

This question has popped up in my mind many times. One thing I do know is that
different flowers bring different feelings to everyone in particular. Lavender, for
example, produces oil that has aromatherapeutic properties, presumably able to
bring a good sleep to the person who beholds it.

I know there are many more flowers and plants, but I am happy to be part of the
group of people who knows Mother Nature is essential to us. I hope everyone
realizes that soon.

I love orchids for a reason. Not just because they look beautiful in their many
different colors, but also because they have special meanings. Over the past
months of tending to orchids, I have realized that orchids are a symbol of faith,
innocence, beauty, and humility. Was I an orchid? If so, then I am proud to know
that a part of me is one of my favorite flowers, and that I am able to express these
traits of an orchid in my human form.

We have all heard of people telling each other to enjoy the moment, so I agree.
But what would I do if I was a flower in my past life, just being in the moment?
Gaze up at the sky and think deep thoughts? Converse with other plants and
flowers? Or just wave in the soft breeze that blows, my laughter and happiness
turning into a wonderful smell blanketing the Earth?

Written and drawn by Aditri Pal
(Age 10)

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Water & Fire by Shaumprovo Debnath

Water: Fire:

Here the light wanders through Here the flames burn and brew
Where the droplets glisten blue Where the coals crumple to few
Here the creatures come for solace Here the creatures run from the soulless
To sip from it’s glassy face Window to Hell’s fiery case

All its contents do not linger All its contents do not linger
For the Wind is its vier For the Wind is its vier
And they’re cast away ‘till next rise And they’re cast away ‘till next light
When all its neighbors gather as one When all the flames dance with delight

Together, before the rise of the sun Together, before the rise of the sun
When they gather in the sky When they feast as one
There they long to say goodbye There they long to burn forever
And come back here And stay for each endeavor

Where they stay Here they stay

Where they lie on the wet, dry ground Here they lick the dry, hot embers
Where they cling to the slippery, rough sides Where they cling to the fraying or smooth bark or coal
Where here, the creatures come for solace Where here, the creatures run from the soulless
To sip from it’s glassy face Window to Hell’s fiery case

Until again Until again
The sun sees once more The sun sees once more
Until again the warmth of light wanders through Until again the flames burn and brew
Where the droplets glisten blue Where the coals crumple to few

When they gather in the sky Here they lick the dry, hot embers
There they long to say goodbye There they long to burn forever
And come back here And stay for each endeavor

To stay, in reply To stay, never to tremble

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My Trip to Puri, India by Risheen Barman, Grade 4

Which city is home to the Shree Jagannath Temple and amazing
beaches? You guessed it, Puri! In early August 2022, we went to Puri,
India for vacation. Puri is a coastal city in the state of Odisha. It
houses the Jagannath Temple, which is a very famous and sacred
place.

It started on the night of August 1, 2022, when we went to Howrah
Railway Station, which was built in 1853. We boarded the Howrah-
Puri Super Fast Express. This was my second time travelling in a long-
distance train, though I have no memories of the first time. I had a lot
of fun riding the train. I really loved that I could lie down in a bed and
watch the rail stations pass by. And at one point, I just slept off and
woke up only to find that we have reached Puri.

We had a sea facing room in our hotel and I had a great time, siting in
the balcony and watching the waves. The beach was very well
maintained, with lifeguards all over. There were places to sit, with umbrellas to protect you from sun and rain. I
could see people selling many things from sweets to toys. The waves were huge and I nearly fell down a couple of
times. I spent several hours playing in the water. I had different type of sweets from the sellers at the beach. For our
meals, we also had many types of fishes like Parshe and pomfret. We took a camel ride and it was a little bumpy and
scary. The camels were all decked up with colorful cloths and jewelry.

We visited the famous Shree Jagannath temple. I saw Lord Jagannath with his siblings, Balarama and Subhadra. I
bought souvenirs to bring back home. I also went to the Swargadwar area. This area was very busy with hotels,
restaurants, stores and lot of people. It was very crowded. There we bought Khaja. Khaja is a special sweet prepared
to offer Lord Jagannath. There were Khaja shops all over the city.

We stayed at Puri for two days and came back to Kolkata via train, again. Our return train was delayed because it had
a broken AC system. However, all was good at the end. I loved my short trip to Puri and will cherish the memories
always.

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Aarush Ghosh

Sourish Datta

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MahisasuraMardini – A Nostalgia of Bengali Culture

Mahalaya is the ending of Pitrupaksha and the beginning of Devipaksha, the worshipping of Goddess
Maa Durga. Mahalaya is incomplete without the voice of Shri Birendra Krishna Bhadra.

"MahisasuraMardini," a unique dawn radio programme broadcasted by Akashvani Kolkata since 1931, in
the auspicious inception of Devipaksha, crossed 91 years in 2022, that is the only longest running
country wide programme in the broadcasting history of All India Radio (AIR) Akashvani. Till 1965,
"MahisasuraMardini," was a live broadcasted program on the radio. From 1966, the pre-recorded audio
track broadcasted as one and a half-hour lengthy programme. This particular masterpiece was created
by a trio, written by Bani Kumar, with the narration & chanting of Maa Chandi slokas by Birendra
Krishna Bhadra and song directed by Pankaj Kumar Mullick. Since 1931, it has been aired at 4 am by the
Prasar Bharati Network, Radio and runs without loss in its glory.

Birendra Krishna Bhadra was born in August 1905, in North Kolkata. Birendra Krishna Bhadra was a
actor, narrator and theatre director as well. His voice in "MahisasuraMardini," is so popular that even
legendary actor Uttam Kumar’s rendition of it in 1976 wasn’t received as nicely by the audience.

I remember my childhood days, pre-Mahalaya day became an exquisite busy day, checking the radio is
operating or not, setting an alarm sharp at 3.55 AM and setting up a backup radio in case one of the
radios break down. There are many mythological stories revolving round Mahalaya. It is said, Maa Durga
begins her journey from Mount Kailash to attain her maternal home with Lord Ganesha, Lord Kartik,
Lord Lakshmi and Lord Saraswati. This tale is the most beautiful as it rings a bell in my memory of going
to my Mamar bari (maternal uncle’s house) and as a kid we all can associate with this. Today, things
have changed. Now we are able to listen to it any time all through the day, you don’t actually need to
awaken in the morning. But the Divine voice of Mahalaya has been chanted for generations of Bengalis
for more than ninety years. !! Jay Maa Durga!!

- Written by Subhankar Bal & Sketched by Anwesha Hor Bal

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Jishnu Das

Aahana Mukherjee

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Vatsar and the Perfectly Ordinary Blue Gem

By Aarav Bhattacharyya

Today I would like to revisit a common fantasy we have all had. Many of us have had a desire to have an ability we
have seen through our worship of the gods, some common ones being flight and superhuman strength. Another
common desire that many of us have had is the desire to become and animal at will, whether it be the colorful
peacock or to be the lion of Durga, helping her slay the bulls of Mahishasura. But one animal, or creature, that
speaks to me is the mythical dragon. They hold brains the sizes of trees and the powers of flight, superstrength,
and superspeed. I would like to tell you an original short story about a boy named Vastar who has the rare ability
to get some of the dream powers.

Vatsar had woken up, his alarm blaring in his ear. Have to change that sound, he thought. He got up, realizing that
his mom had already gone to work, and his dad was getting ready. He quickly got in his school uniform, ate his
roti and potatoes, and started his walk to school. He lived about 15 minutes away from his school. He saw a blue
rock on the ground. Why is it glittering like that?, He thought. He poked it with a stick that was on the walkway.
Nothing happened. Real climactic. He then was about to touch it, when he was, well, he grew wings. He saw his
hands turning into blue reptile hands. Talons, if I’m correct. He quickly got out his phone and went into selfie
mode. Oh wow. His mouth resembled, a long snout. He looked like a lizard head. However, he looked down and
he saw that instead of seeing his torso attached to two working human legs, he saw that it lead to a tail, which
had two legs on its sides. Well, am I going to have fun with this.

Vastar flew to the edge of the forest. He had never had a desire to come here. Here he had heard where the rare
Bengal tiger, the poisonous cobra snake, and the Javan mongoose lived. He thought the mongoose will be first.
He also saw that the forest was dark, but he could see well in it. He saw a few mice and some alarmingly large
spiders . Do the higher-ups know about those?!. He then saw it, the mongoose. He then quickly started noting all
the characteristics of it, the sandy color, the bushy tail, the eyes as black as the night sky. He then looked for the
cobra. He had seen it once, in their garden. Vatsar’s mom had chased it away somehow. He looked at this one but
didn’t dare getting close. He noted the graceful ways it hid itself from the mongoose.

He then decided to go find the tiger. He heard roars, but they couldn't be…. lion roars? There were a few in India,
(the rare Asiatic or Gir lions) and almost all in reserves. He had been to the African country of Botswana once due
to his parents’ work and had gotten the lucky chance to go on a safari, where he had seen elephants and lions
and zebra galore. But then Vatsar heard a tiger roar. He then went towards the noise. Cause that’s went well in
every movie and book in the world, He thought. He saw they were roaring at each other, however there was a
point where the animals would not cross. It’s almost as if there's a boundary there…. Oh wait. They respect others'
territory and claim their own. Poor guys probably think the other is trying to invade their territory, although I doubt
either of them want to. However right as he went to fly up and leave, the two majestic animals looked up and saw
him. They both charged and leaped at him. Vatsar flew away just in time.

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Whew.

While he was flying back, he knew that that image would stick in his mind, the lion and the tiger charging at him.
Vatsar also tried to appreciate the nimble mongoose and the graceful cobra, the fire colors of the tiger, the
desert of the lion’s fur, the brown of the cobra, the white tail tip of the mongoose, the fruits all around, and
obviously the ocean-cobalt blue of his own scales.
When he landed, the thought occurred to him that he couldn't be seen while he looked like this. However,
whenever he thought that he slowly became human again, with his uniform still on, except his jacket and
backpack which were in tatters. He thought, fly! His wings grew back. Cool. However, I must never abuse this
power. He thought Unless I’m racing Aadya... Aayda was his friend from school. He ran over to where his house
was. His mother started reprimanding him. “You never came home, nah, too good for that, so we went to the
school, and you want to know what they say. Your son never came!!What do you have to say about that?”
Vatsar smiled. “Well, I’m not hurt. Nor is anyone else. But I DID come home with something interesting”
“And what is that?”
Vatsar thought, Make me a dragon! And to his mother’s surprise he said, “Maa, I have the most exciting story to
tell you”

The End

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Samadrita Sarkar

Sacred Lotus By Ayatre Gorai

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Samadrita Sarkar

Aahana Mukherjee

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Samriddha Sarkar

Aahana Mukherjee

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My trip to San Francisco by Risheen Barman. Grade 4

It’s a city famous for its beauty, culture, cuisine,
diversity and known as the Golden City. It is home to the
Golden Gate Bridge, cable cars, Fisherman’s Wharf,
Alcatraz, Union Square. Yes, it’s San Francisco. In mid
April 2022, we went to San Francisco for vacation.

We took a four-hour flight from Austin to reach San
Francisco. On reaching the city, we rented a car and
went around. Our first stop was the Golden Gate Park.
It was a huge park, and it had a lot of colorful flowers.
The weather was clear, and we took lot of photos with
the Golden Gate Bridge in the background. I bought souvenirs from the gift store at the park. We then crossed
the Golden gate bridge and went to the city of Sausalito. It was pretty, small place with beautiful houses
overlooking the shoreline. I had ice cream, looking at the sea. After that, we took a boat tour, starting at the
Fisherman’s Wharf. The boat sailed on the Pacific Ocean and went past all historical structures. There was a live
commentary about the places of interest. We saw the infamous Alcatraz jail, went under the Golden gate bridge,
saw the setting sun over the sea and watched the sea lions playing. The sea lions are unique to San Francisco, and I
had a lot of fun watching them play. At the Fisherman’s wharf, we had the specialty of San Francisco, Clam
Chowder soup in a Sourdough bread bowl. Later, we took a rickshaw tour to Ghirardelli Square, where they make
Ghirardelli chocolates. I saw the chocolate making and had some yummy treats. We even rode a rickshaw one the
way back.

On day 2, we started our journey south. We first went to Half Moon Bay, which is 30 miles away from San
Francisco. It was a very pretty beach. We could not stay for long as it was very cold and windy. We saw the bay and

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left, and then started for Monterey, CA, another 90 miles south. Along the way, we saw continuous hills on the left
and endless sea on the right.

About 2 hours later, we arrived in Monterey. The town had Pacific Ocean on one side, with clear blue water, solid
rocks and trees lined the shores. It was such a beautiful sight. We had lunch at a restaurant, and then went on the
17- mile drive at Pebble Beach, which showed amazing views of the beach.

Day 3, we had a city tour. We visited Lombard Street, the Palace of Fine Arts, and Haight Ashbury. The dad drove
on the crooked street, which was scary and fun all together. We rode the 150-year-old cable car which was a great
experience. The San Francisco Botanical Garden was beautiful with different varieties of trees and flowers. We
visited the China Town to taste some authentic Chinese food. San Francisco China town is one of the oldest in the
country. It is a very lively place, full of restaurants, souvenir stores and Chinese bakery. I also had a good time
with my cousins at their place.
The day to return to San Antonio was here. I was sad that my vacation had come to an end but also happy with all
the experiences.

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Shrejita Saha

Shrejita Saha

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Milan 2022

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