The Hindu : Opinion / News Analysis : Corrections and Clarifications

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Tuesday, May 09, 2006

Opinion

Opinion - News Analysis

Corrections and Clarifications

{gt}{gt}Ammu Joseph writes to say that the obituary "A man of many parts" on Pattabhi Rama Reddy ("Newscape", May 7, 2006) was not written by her (as the byline stated), but was a press release prepared by the family, which she had re-arranged and forwarded (without her byline). Also, the reference to "Samskara" winning the President's Gold Medal for Best Feature Film "in the same year that Satyajit Ray's `Pather Panchali' was in competition" is factually way off. (Ray's classic debut film came out in 1955, a decade and a half before "Samskara" won the President's Medal. The Ray film in competition that year was "Pratidwandi".) The corrections were made in the on-line edition.

{gt}{gt}A few readers have pointed out factual errors in "A daring experimenter", a tribute to Naushad Ali (May 6, 2006). (The errors were rectified in later editions). The music for "Mahal" and Barsaat" was wrongly credited to Naushad. The music for "Mahal" was by Khemchand Prakash, and that for "Barsaat" by Shankar-Jaikishan. About "Pakeezah", Gulam Mohammed died before he could complete work on the music, and the credits have both his name and Naushad's. "Baiju Bawra" was a period film released in 1952, and not 1950. The reference to "Mughal musician", about this film, was intended as a period tag, with no ethnic or religious identity implied, Ranjit Hoskote clarifies. The story relates to a young musician, Baiju, who challenges the great Tansen, Akbar's court musician and confidante, to a musical duel.

{gt}{gt}Referring to the second of his reports on the Kargil war ("Resolving the Kargil conundrum", Op-Ed, May 6, 2006), Praveen Swami clarifies: "Colonel Pushpinder Oberoi, one of the officers referred to in the article, belonged to the 16 Grenadiers Regiment, and not the 3 Punjab Regiment, as I erroneously wrote."

{gt}{gt}A reader writes: "The article `A friend of India' (Op-Ed, May 1, 2006) has a subheading `Very few Americans have endeared themselves to Indians. John Kenneth Galbraith was an honourable exception.' The same sentences conclude the article. Would I be wrong in concluding that John Kenneth Galbraith was an honourable exception to the few Americans who have endeared themselves to Indians?"

{gt}{gt}Another reader has raised the point of an error in "Corrections and Clarifications" of May 6, 2006, where there was a reference to "the printer's devil" [in connection with the review of the film "Re-creation and reactions", Friday Review, May 5, 2006]. The reader says: "Printer's devil does not mean an error in print. Printer's devil simply is an errand boy of the printer. This word is used in the wrong sense by Indians." While the point is correct, we had only quoted the reader.

{gt}{gt}The report "Bid to revive `vanishing tradition of India'" (Delhi, "Region", May 4, 2006, page 2), on the India Habitat Centre organising a series on the "Lost Art of Story Telling in India", had a sentence, "And if you happen to be one of those rather busy parents who never seem to have enough stories to put your child to sleep, then India Habitat Centre (IHC) is probably where you should head this week." A reader points out, one does put injured animals to sleep, but never children. One only puts children to bed.

{gt}{gt}"Summer quencher" (Young World, May 5, 2006, page 1), an article on the architectural splendour of the baoris or stepwells in Bundi, Rajasthan, had a reference to "Varuna, the Aryan god of water". A reader says: "Varuna is a Vedic god, and should be described so." It should have been edited to "god of water".

It is the policy of The Hindu to correct significant errors as soon as possible. Please specify the edition (place of publication), date and page.

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