Jhoomur Bose: You know Valentine’s Day has just gone by when you see love still lingering in the air, what with residual heart-shaped balloons floating around in offices, belated-e-greeting cards, telephone companies spamming inboxes with love tunes and looking-in-love couples everywhere.

Most (young) couples in love – barring the private few – have the peculiar habit of wanting to scream out their love from rooftops.

Come V-Day and even the silent ones declare their love by infiltrating coffee shops, markets, parks, park benches and bushes. Much as the moral brigade complains, one can’t really blame the declaring-their-love-couples.

Perhaps it’s something to do with ‘when you’re happy clap your hands’, or show your love. However, what happens when one partner is comfortable declaring s/he is in love and the other does not want to acknowledge it? What when one partner wants an affair to remain a "secret"?

What when your girlfriend/boyfriend shies away from introducing you to his/her friends? Or denies having a relationship when in company?

What when your Facebook profile says you are "In a relationship" but your partner’s profile reads "Single" or worse still, "Single and looking"? This is one of the emails that came in response to the ‘Why does she still talk to her ex-lover’ article.

"I have been in love with a girl (V) for the last seven years. She knows very well that am in love with her and we used to talk a lot over the phone. However, she always insisted that we keep our ‘relationship’ a secret.

But now suddenly, she says she wants to be ‘just friends’ and says she will not go against her parents wishes. I believe she loves me but is not willing to accept it. She insists that I will soon find a ‘better girl than her’. At times she does not reply to my messages and ignores me. However, she wants us to remain good friends forever. Should I accept her friendship and suppress my love? Or should I just walkout? Please suggest." -- M