Perils on the Net
This is with reference to Nishant Shah’s “The importance of being cautious”, and Anand Parthasarthy’s “Connect withcare” (September 2). Both writers deserve kudos for not only highlighting the perils of sharing personal and professional information online, but also for emphasising the need to be cautious while on the Internet. The two “ORKUT deaths” —that of Koushambi Layek and Adnan Patrawala — confirm that it was the amount of personal information that they had revealed on the site, which led to their gruesome end. I think some sort of regulation of these social networking sites is called for. Site providers like ORKUT, Friendster, Face book, Myspace should install some sort of ‘pop-up’ warning to the users: “Revealing too much of information to Cyber strangers could be dangerous”.
Dr. R.K. Malhotra,
New Delhi
The articles made very informative reading. Social networking sites may seem exciting and harmless but they also serves as a window into one’s personal profiles. Banning these sites may not be a good idea ,as every technology comes with it positive and negative points. It is up to the user to differentiate betwen the two. Networking and building communities can also be used for good purposes.
Ankur Paliwal,
A.M.U.Aligarh
Goa’s entry into India
It is revealing to know from the article “Recalling the ‘liberation’ of Goa” (September 2) that eminent people like Rajkumari Amrit Kaur, Rajaji and others were not happy about the way Goa was brought into India since it spoiled India’s image.. John Foster Dulles of the U.S. vehemently castigated India’s action claiming that, by international law, Goa was a part of metropolitan Portugal, absence of geographic contiguity being immaterial. V.K. Krishna Menon’s angry retort to the American pressman was “Do you expect us to send a postcard to the Pentagon seeking its approval?” With the benefit of hindsight, we may now claim we did the politically wise thing instead of referring the matter to the United Nations where it would still be pending as one more unsolved territorial dispute.
C.P.Srinivasan,
Minneapolis, the U.S.
Positive impact
Nupur Basu’s “The stuff of fairy tales” (September 2) was inspiring as well as thought-provoking. The plight of Indian women is dangerous even in her mother’s womb. Bollywood’s decision to create a movie like “Chak De India” with King Khan playing the lead role is a great move to highlight the issue. When characters in TV serials are said to have a major impact on women, one can hope that the movie will have a more positive effect.
Jinitha Varghese,
Kochi
The article about how an unrecognised girls team won the Hockey World Championships reminded me about the actual match that inspired this enjoyable movie. In 2002, the Indian women’s hockey team won the gold at the Commonwealth Games, in Manchester, under dramatic conditions with controversial and even racial refreeing in the final.
Arijit Ghose,
By e-mail
Wonders with words
Madhu Gurung’s “Magnificent obsession” (September 2) was magnificent. The life story of the “word painter” Laxman Rao should get more publicity. We have several people with “hidden creative talents”. “Zunoon” or obsession is the right word for such people. I wonder where he had his schooling, who taught him the nuances of rhymes. Likewise there are several examples of people who have such inborn talent from our soil doing wonders with words or brush.
V. K. Joshi,
Lucknow
It’s amazing to note that Laxman Rao, who sells tea to make a living, has authored some books in Hindi. His relentless pursuit of the difficult hobby of writing is something incredible. For aspiring writers, Laxman Rao’s advice, “Publish your own books”, must be highly encouraging.
S. Ramakrishnasayee,
Ranipet
The literary pursuit of Laxman Rao was awe-inspiring. People like him instil confidence in our lives and force us to take a re-look at any trace of complacency that might be creeping in to our everyday life. They are people who make the best of their lives. They are beacons of light to those dwindled in the drudgery of life. They re-read meanings into life. May their tribe ever grow and inspire humanity.
Bro. V. Benedict Santosh SJ,
Thiruvananthapuram
It is interesting that Laxman Rao loved writing books and publishing them on his own without any ambition to mint money. His perseverance in writing and publishing the books on his own with the intent to reach libraries and public is heartening. His readers must be happy that his hard work has brought him laurels and recognition in literary societies.
Koothappakkam R.Murali Kumar,
Srirangam
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