Tagore

The Cover Story paying tribute to Rabindranath Tagore on his 150th birth anniversary was interesting and informative (Remembering Tagore, January 13, 2012). The photographs of Tagore with eminent personalities, such as the one with Helen Keller, are rare and wonderful.

Among Tagore's works, the ones that immediately come to my mind are Gitanjali, Gora and The Home Coming. Gora takes the reader straight to Bengal, its essence and traditions. The Home Coming too does the same.

Balasubramaniam Pavani Secunderabad

Kudos to Frontline for publishing such a beautiful issue on Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore. Frontline should come up with more such special issues.

Jayant Mukherjee Kolkata

Reading the Cover Story was like walking and living with Rabindranath Tagore. The photographs are rare and precious. The poem, translated by Partha Ghose, was a treat.

B.P. Pereira Madurai

The issue is a collector's item, especially for academics and students. Only a great person like Tagore could match the wavelengths of people as diverse as Mahatma Gandhi, Albert Einstein, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and Sree Narayana Guru with equal ease. Over 15 countries have issued special postage stamps commemorating Tagore, which shows the admiration he commands the world over.

G. Anuplal Bangalore

Many of us are unaware that Tagore's real name was Rabindranath Thakur. Mispronunciation by the British led to the change in name.

History will remember him for following his own teachings, such as I love my God because he gives me the freedom to deny him.

Syed Khaja New Delhi

This is yet another collector's issue from Frontline, like the ones on M.S. Subbulakshmi, the Kanchi Paramacharya, and R.K. Narayan.

S. BalakrishnanJamshedpurMario Miranda

Mario Miranda, who created memorable characters for decades, was no doubt a uniquely gifted cartoonist (Humble genius, January 13).

It is no exaggeration to say that he was to The Illustrated Weekly of India what R.K. Laxman was to The Times of India.

Although he got the Padma Shri and the Padma Bhushan awards in 1998 and 2002 respectively and a lifetime achievement award from the All India Cartoonists Association in 2001 for his notable contributions, many feel he deserved more.

V. Krishnamoorthy MaduraiPDS

IN terms of pure economic theory, subsidies are bad, but in terms of political practice, they are manna from heaven (Understanding the PDS, January 13). The initiative of the Central government to re-engineer the existing systems and processes cannot be termed as undermining the PDS system. The ultimate objective of the government is to reduce the scale of untargeted subsidies and limit the government's fiscal commitments in a phased manner. Apprehensions that the direct transfer of subsidies will ruin the PDS system appear to be without any basis. Opposition parties should wholeheartedly support this reforms initiative.

The overhauling of the existing PDS and fertilizer subsidy schemes will not only improve delivery but also help the Union government contain a substantial revenue outflow; the money thus saved can be utilised for other flagship programmes of the Centre.

Ettirankandath Krishnadas Kinassery, KeralaGlobal warming

THERE is confusion among countries of the world over the issue of climate change (Uncertain stand, January 13). The need of the hour is to find a solution to global warming. To achieve this goal, developed countries should help developing countries with adequate finance and technology.

P. Senthil Saravana Durai Vazhavallan, T.N.UAE

THE success of the United Arab Emirates is attributed to its strong administration and the broad vision of its rulers (Meteoric rise, December 30). The monarchy strives to adopt European standards in infrastructure development, higher education, health services, law and order, and science and technology.

However, its rulers have a big task at hand at present to unite the local population in a democratic way, in this era of people's revolutions in the Arab world. The absence of an effective human rights cell in the public domain has come under criticism from the United Nations. Though the emirates consists of seven states, only Dubai and Abu Dhabi are witnessing overall development. It is high time the authorities concentrated on the development of the other five states.

Sree Vidhya K.P. Perambra, Kozhikode KeralaANNOUNCEMENT

Letters, whether by surface mail or e-mail, must carry the full postal address and the full name, or the name with initials.