Letters to the Editor

Destination Mars

Attn: The Young World Desk::Photo on Mars Opposition from the Executive Director, Tamilnadu Science and Technology Centre, Gandhimandapam Road, Chennai.Photo:Handout_E_Mail.14-08-2003

THIS is with reference to the Cover Story “Mission to Mars” (November 15). The Mars Orbiter Mission, if successful, will establish India as a major player in the field of space exploration. As an emerging economy, India should make more efforts in the fields of science and medicine.

While there are questions whether it is right for a country beset with poverty to spend Rs.450 crore on such a mission, it should not be forgotten that a much larger amount is siphoned off from the national exchequer through corruption and scams.

The scientists of the Indian Space Research Organisation deserve special praise for pulling off a remarkable feat in such a short time.

Ritvik Chaturvedi

New Delhi

G.P. Deshpande

19GPD by Sanjna 2

G.P. DESHPANDE was a stalwart among Marathi intellectuals (“One who lit many lives”, November 15).

It is said that he wrote the revolutionary Marathi play “Udhvasta Dharmashala” as a response to the McCarthyism of the 1950s in the United States. This play gave him a distinct identity in the Marathi literary world.

He was a man of many dimensions. Among his books, “Ityadi Ityadi” (meaning etcetera) is the only book of his poems that was published. He did not pay much attention to the poet in him. He also acted in Vijay Tendulkar’s much-celebrated play “Ghashiram Kotwal”.

GPD was indeed a multifaceted personality.

Ujwal S. Jagtap

Shelgaon Deshmukh, Maharashtra

Manna Dey

BANGALORE, 16/10/2009: Legendary Bollywood singer Manna Dey, performing during a function to felicitate him on being conferred with Dada Saheb Phalke award, in Bangalore on October 16, 2009._Photo: K. Murali Kumar

ONE of the most popular songs “Coffee Houser sei addata” sung by Manna Dey is popular among every generation of Bengalis (“Golden voice falls silent”, November 15). Interestingly, Manna Dey had never visited Coffee House of College Street, the place depicted in the song, before rendering the song. He always gave credit to the lyricist Gouri Prasanna Majumder and the music director Suparna Kanti Ghosh for the popularity of the song. In today’s success-craving world, qualities such as giving credit to fellow artists are very rare. Manna Dey was not only an artist with a golden voice but was a man with a golden heart.

Sayan Chatterjee

Nabagram, West Bengal

I GREW up listening to Manna Dey’s songs such as “Ae mere pyare watan”, “Poocho na kaise”, “Phir kahin koi phool khila” and many others. I had a special fascination for his songs as his wife, Sulochana Kumaran, hails from my home town, Kannur, and her family is known to me. He enthralled Keralites with his immortal song “Manasa maine varoo” in the film “Chemmeen”.

It is laudable that the government of Karnataka has decided to pay his medical bills totalling about Rs.25 lakh.

N.C. Sreedharan

Kannur, Kerala

MANNA DEY’S songs will continue to soothe broken hearts, lift low spirits and regale us. He enriched Indian cultural heritage through his unique talent of being able to sing all types of songs. But the sad fact is that his family was unable to pay his hospital bills. The nation must stand up to support the family in its hour of need.

Tish Malhotra

Delhi

NO words are sufficient to mourn the great Manna Dey. His uncle Krishna Chandra Dey, a reputed musician of his time, encouraged and gave shape to Manna Dey’s musical journey. What followed was a remarkable blend of hard work and genius that ultimately made him a star in the Hindi and Bengali musical arenas. His death leaves a void that will be difficult to fill.

Jayant Mukherjee

Kolkata

WHAT made Manna Dey one of the best singers of his time was his rich and captivating voice, which could retain its pristine purity in every song he sang, be it romantic, patriotic, folk or fast-paced. With his death, an era in classical singing has ended.

K.R. Srinivasan

Secunderabad, Andhra Pradesh

Cleaning up politics

NEW DELHI, 22/11/2012: A view of the Parliament on the opening day of the winter session, even as both the houses stood adjourned in New Delhi. Photo: V.V. Krishnan

THIS is with reference to the Cover Story “Lalu’s nemesis” (November 1). To every citizen who wants to see a corruption-free India, Lalu Prasad’s disqualification from the Lok Sabha comes as a massive relief. Corruption at any level is intolerable, but it is the corruption at the highest level that causes the greatest damage to the country’s welfare.

The common man’s faith in the judiciary is dying, but this verdict will keep it alive for at least some more time.

N. Venkata Sai Praveen

Chennai

THE Supreme Court’s judgment to uphold the right of the voter to reject in secrecy all the candidates in an election through a “None of the Above”, or NOTA, option is a welcome move (Cover Story, November 1). As a first-time voter, I, among many others, will surely consider this option. However, the NOTA option is not enough to rid the system of corrupt practices. Candidates with a low vote share can still win in the first-past-the-post system. Maybe, it is time to tweak the system.

Rahul Bhowmick

Siliguri, West Bengal

WHILE the judiciary is getting the applause for the NOTA judgment, it is important to examine whether this is a case of judicial activism (“Unsettling orders”, November 1). As one of the key pillars of democracy, the judiciary should function in a manner that does not upset the equilibrium with respect to the other organs of the state, especially the legislature. Law-making is a parliamentary prerogative and it should not be done through impositions of the court.

Lijo Sebastian

Murickassery, Kerala

U.S. shutdown

WASHINGTON, DC - OCTOBER 04: Furloughed federal workers protest outside the U.S. Capitol to demand an end to the lockout of federal workers caused by the government shutdown October 4, 2013 in Washington, DC. Today marks the fourth day of the government shutdown as Republicans and Democrats remain at an impasse over funding the federal government. Win McNamee/Getty Images/AFP== FOR NEWSPAPERS, INTERNET, TELCOS & TELEVISION USE ONLY ==

THERE is a lesson for India from the U.S. shutdown (“Shutting out the progressive agenda”, November 1). If corporatisation of medical care is allowed in the country, it will surely lead to our own version of “Obamacare” and shutdowns.

Araveeti Ramayogaiah

Hyderabad

THE U.S. has the most number of Nobel laureates in Economics—three more have been added this year. Yet its economy is going through a crisis, and it recently faced a shutdown of key government services. Of what use are so many Nobel laureates if they cannot look after their own economy? No Chinese has ever won the Nobel Prize in Economics, but its economy continues to surge and is poised to overtake the U.S. economy.

K.P. Rajan

Mumbai

Climate change

FILE - Smoke pours from a chimney at a cement plant in Binzhou city, in eastern China's Shandong province, Thursday, Jan. 17, 2013. Scientists from around the world have gathered in Stockholm in September 2013 for a meeting of a U.N. panel on climate change and will probably issue a report saying it is "extremely likely" - which they define in footnotes as 95 percent certain - that humans are mostly to blame for temperatures that have climbed since 1951. (AP Photo)

THE tech-savvy generation cannot afford to be illiterate about or insensitive to ecological matters (“Irreversible now”, November 1). Governments can be made to take the initiative to reverse climate change only when there is collective pressure from the public.

B.B.C. Chandrasekar

Madurai, Tamil Nadu

Cinema

THE special issue on cinema covered brilliantly the achievements and important turning points in the history of Indian cinema (“100: Celebrating Indian Cinema’s Century”, October 18).

It is a widely accepted fact that Frontline is a good source of information and is useful to IAS aspirants, of which I am one. For us the price increase is unwelcome.

Ankur Yadav

Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh

Crimes against women

THIS is with reference to the article “Mumbai's shame” (September 12). Crimes against women are on the rise. There are many cases that go unreported and many that fail to get the attention of the media.

Crimes against women happen in cities, towns and villages. Mumbai is no exception.

The governments at the Centre and the States and the police should draw up a strategy to put an end to crimes against women once and for all.

Secondly, our girls should be taught martial arts from the elementary school level itself so that they can defend themselves in times of emergency.

Sravana Ramachandran

Chennai

Renewable energy

THIS is with reference to the Special Feature “Independent India at 66” (August 23). While the feature highlighted the achievements in the areas of space and nuclear technology, there was little mention of renewable energy.

Wind energy has a higher installed capacity than nuclear energy, which has seen massive investment over the past 60 years.

Solar energy has the advantage of reaching villages beyond the grid, but India has not woken up fully to its potential. No wonder China threatens to flood the market with low-cost photovoltaic panels.

D.N. Bose

Kolkata