The Hindu : New Delhi News : Do not disturb

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Monday, Aug 13, 2007
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New Delhi

New Delhi

Do not disturb

I have a mobile phone connection (98970-49024) from Airtel.

I keep getting hundreds of tele-marketing calls and messages from them day in and day out in spite of calling their Customer Care, e-mailing nodal authorities, speaking with managers, etc, to not disturb me, but to no avail.

The calls when returned are computer-generated, and every time I am told that my name would be put on the “Do Not Disturb” list within 24 to 48 hours. I am still waiting.

Mohit Dixit,

House No. 12, Rajendra Nagar, Bareilly (UP).

South calling…

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi’s lamentation years ago that “North prospers and South decays” is true even today. In spite of several ministers from the South occupying prime positions at the Centre, propagation of the Vedas in the South is suppressed by Northerners, by not including Vedic scholars from the South in any of the committees of the Veda Vidya Prathishtan, Ujjain.

They thus gain the upper hand in all the decisions, totally ignoring the voice of the South. Countless appeals to the Union Ministry of Human Resource Development over the years have been in vain. Just why isn’t anyone from the South offered a place in any of the committees of the Prathishtan? None of the MPs from the South has taken up this matter earnestly in Parliament. No one seems interested in the subject. Nor is the salary to Vedic teachers paid according to their qualifications in keeping with the prescribed norms. When they talk about financial constraints, why do they invite all students and teachers to Ujjain for the final examination in winter? Can’t an examiner from any part of India be deputed to oversee the final examination in the South? When several universities of the country hold examinations at various centres, why cannot the Prathishtan hold its exams at centres in places nearer to the Patasalas?

Dr. N. V. Vasudevachariar,

Secretary & Treasurer, Sri Ahobila Math Veda Patasala, West Mambalam, Chennai – 600 033.

Soft Government

The Capital’s bus operators met the Delhi Chief Minister and poured out their woes, and were pardoned! They can now be back in force and rule the roads as before. On earlier occasions, too, the Delhi Government has proved that it can raise thunder and then fizzle out meekly. A prime example of this is the parking mafia who refuses to adhere to the norms; the Government toes their line and hikes charges instead. Then comes the recalcitrant auto-wallahs whose meters never run. These are replaced by electronic meters, but the situation remains unchanged and the commuters are fleeced even more than before; again after hiking the charges. Is this what the Capital’s citizens deserve from the powers that be? Can’t we have just one efficient bus operating company for public transport in the Capital, such as Mumbai’s BEST? We can also emulate Singapore, London or New York where a single operating company runs the city bus service and the vehicles are maintained in top condition. It is a delight to travel in their clean buses. It is a shame that the Delhi Government bends over backwards and allows the mafia to hoodwink it all the time.

V. M. Govind Krishnan,

C-305, Plot 1A, Sector 13, Dwarka, Delhi – 110 078.

Gone away

The death of The Hindu’s former Racing Correspondent K. Srinivasan the other day was sad, as was the passing away of R. K. Raju, another senior journalist and author. Raju died quite some time ago without anyone being aware of it. Friends who went to his residence in Charmwood Village got the shocking news when they tried to find out the reason for his long silence. His wife Buela is serving abroad with an affiliate of the United Nations, and Raju, a septuagenarian heart patient, used to live alone as they had no children.

Raju had a long innings with The Statesman and retired as Special Representative. After that he spent his time writing books, of which “Why Africa?”, “Salom Israel” and “Col. Blimp & Other Stories& #8221; became quite popular. Whenever he was free, he would go abroad to be with his wife. On one such trip to Kenya, he and Buela visited the grave of Jim Corbett in the shadow of Mount Kilimanjaro and offered flowers on it. Raju particularly noted the epitaph commemorating the great hunter: “Until daybreak and the shadows flee….” As a matter of fact, his favourites were Corbett (whose house in Kumaon he also visited), Mother Teresa, and the Delhi-based Hungarian painters Elizabeth Bruner and her daughter Elizabeth Sas Bruner, whom he had interviewed over the years.

A man of fixed habits who for many years lived in Delhi’s YMCA hostel and was considered a confirmed bachelor, he sprang a surprise when he married Buela from a distinguished Christian family of Dehra Dun.

Their inter-faith marriage lasted till his death. On his mantelpiece the pride of place was occupied by his wife’s photograph and a Barbie doll, presented to him when he visited the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Raju, the loner journalist from Andhra Pradesh, will be sorely missed along with K. Srinivasan.

R. V. Smith,

E-20-E, MIG Flats, Mayapuri, New Delhi – 110 064.

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