Mail Bag
Bitter truth
“Attacking real democracy” (May 6) by Kalpana Sharma reveals the bitter truth about the implementation of the policies written in our constitution. The article also shows how careless our politicians and people are about democracy in the country. It was said that women will be given 50 per cent reservation in gram panchayat elections. But it remains on paper only. Politicians hardly remember what they promised once they are elected.
Shailesh Kumar,
Bangalore
Similar practices
“Strangely mirrored lives” by Soma Das (May 06) was informative. The Devadasi and geisha traditions had so many similarities. In India leaders succeeded in abolishing these practises. Was there a similar movement in Japan to abolish the practice?
V.L. Santhosh,
Erode
Rich legacies
“Lankan legacy” by Kausalya Santhanam and “Carved by time” by Aruna Chandaraju (May 6) were both good. Surprisingly neither the TTD nor the Andhra Pradesh Tourism Department have tried to showcase this geological wonder. It was also interesting to read about the tomb of a Ceylon King in Vellore. The Government of Tamil Nadu should realise that Vellore is an important tourist spot. I hope they realise the potential and do the needful to put Vellore on the tourist map.
V.S.Ganeshan,
Bangalore
There were rich cultural links between Sri Lanka and Tamil Nadu. But today it is fractured with violence and any link with Kandy evokes mixed reactions. Only peace in Sri Lanka can enrich the cultural heritage and bonds between the nations.
Singanallur Sundaram,
Hyderabad
The revelation that the last king of Kandy, Sri Vikrama Rajah Singha, was deported because the British were unable to digest the King’s popularity is interesting. It is sad that the King’s descendants live in poverty. The Government of India should take up his case to restore the political pension at the least, which was stopped by the Ceylon Government.
R.Murali Kumar,
Srirangam
Aruna Chandaraju’s article was good reading, but her geological facts are wrong. First, the rare structure is not 1500 million years old as she states. It is the rock from which this structure is carved. She has mentioned the age of the rock as 2500 million years but this is in fact the age of the underlying older Archean basement rocks. The “Eparchean Unconformity” is not a fault in the geological sense, but a geological discontinuity or time gap (hiatus)of 1000 million years between these two formations of 2500 and 1500 million years, which is represented by an erosional surface. And the formation of the natural arch has nothing to do with this discontinuity except that it happened to be there. The natural arch or bridge is formed in a highly fractured and jointed quartzite formation. Such structures are merely chance creations of rock weathering and erosion both by water and wind. It is also not correct to say that there are only three such structures in the world. The Rainbow Arch of Utah (U.S.) and the Arch Cut Through (U.K.) are the most marvelous of such structures, but there are many others. But the article is to be appreciated for drawing attention to Nature’s marvels.
K.V.Ravindran,
Payyanur
Universal stories
Nilosree Biswas’ “Need for a universal story” (May 06) was informative reading. There is a need for Indian filmmakers to shift the focus from everyday boy-girl love-relationship to the larger question of identity and to embody the universal man’s situation. Only then can Indian films make their presence felt at film festivals like the Cannes.
Dipu Shaw,
New Delhi
Simple advice
At a time when computer professionals often complain of neck pain and throng orthopaedic clinics for treatment, the simple advice given in “A pain in the neck” (May 06) will be of immense help to them. The easy-to-follow measures in the checklist, if followed correctly can help one avoid neck injuries.
S. Nallasivan,
Tirunelveli
In Cannery Row
With reference to “Black Marigolds in Steinbeck country” (May 6), I have just returned from the Monterey Bay after taking guests to see the Aquarium and other sights of my hometown. When we got back to our office in Bangalore one of our colleagues gave me a clipping of this article. All of us felt we were again re-visiting Cannery Row. In college, we studied Steinbeck and discussed the fishing village and the relevance of the Indian poem. The article truly succeeded in transporting us back to awesome Monterey
Sybil Sluzman,
Bangalore
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