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Geetha Padmanbhan’s “Raise a toast to coffee” (February 17) was a real treat like filter coffee. While the number of swanky coffee outlets have grown, the quality of coffee with fancy names dished out by them at a fancy price is far from satisfactory. The less said the better about the quality of coffee served in hotels. Over the years with mushrooming coffee bars, the price of coffee seeds has gone beyond the reach of the middle class. Let someone bring back the good old filter coffee that everyone can afford.

A scintillating article. Coffee has been a popular beverage in Madras. It is a household ritual. India Coffee Houses were very popular in the 1950s as much for the tasty coffee as for selling quality seeds. Filter coffee remains a glorious drink even today in districts like Thanjavur. Let us give three cheers to the magic brew.

Drinking coffee is in vogue today. The brew has become a fashion statement. It is a welcome trend that people meet over a cuppa in cafes rather than over alcohol in bars. As a famous byline of a café goes, a lot can happen over coffee. Cheers to the greatest stimulant ever discovered!

Ramesh Krishnan has indeed been one of the most unassuming sportsmen to have brought laurels for the country (“In praise of a touch artist,” February 17). By winning that vital last reverse singles match against Wally Masur to take India into the Davis Cup final in 1987, Ramesh emulated his father Ramanathan who defeated Thomas Koch of Brazil after saving match point in a pulsating contest in 1966 to take India into the Challenge Round against Australia (as the Davis Cup Final was then known).

Ramanathan and Ramesh Krishnan are perhaps the only father-son duo in India who have been the genuine ambassadors of the game. Today tempers run high and tennis has undergone a radical change. They might not have won many Wimbledon titles but the way they played the game is a lesson to the younger generation.

With reference to “The mother of all American elections” (February 17), Shashi Tharoor’s comparison of the 2008 U.S. presidential elections with an World Cup ODI is apt. The U.S. is yet to elect a non-white or a non-Christian or a female president. If a democrat wins, the country will have either its first female or first Black president. But, some may prefer Clinton to Obama because her victory will end the monopoly of men in a country, supposed to be free from gender discrimination.

“Breaking the silence” was informative. It portrays how the Centre, state governments and NGOs can work in tandem to eradicate this dreadful disease. Radha’s commitment to spread HIV awareness, prevention and dispelling fears in people’s mind is commendable. The Red Ribbon Express has undertaken a marathon journey. Kudos to those participating in this stupendous task.

The introduction of the Red Ribbon Express is a good move to create awareness about AIDS. Given that casual sex is no longer considered taboo, it has become imperative to make youngsters aware of the spread of AIDS . Sadly, the train till now has chosen only premier stations as halt stations. It needs to stop even at minor stations, especially in the rural belt .

This refers to “Beyond stereotypes of the self” (February 17). Man and woman are inseparable. One ceases to exist without the other. Both are equal victims of violence and abuse. Then why do we need separate movements? Let us amalgamate the two movements into one: A movement to empower humanity irrespective of their gender.

With reference to “The vandalisation of heritage” (February 10), Dr. B. Jambulingam from Thanjavur writes:

Dr. David Shulman is quoted as saying “nobody has done any serious work on Tamil sthalapuranams”. I wish to point out that Dr. V.R. Madhavan’s book Tamilil Tala Puranangal (in Tamil, two volumes, Paavai Publications) deals with sthalapuranams of temples in Tamil Nadu. This work deals with the sthalapuranams of temples in the Chola nadu, Pandya nadu, Tondai nadu, Kongu nadu, Malai nadu, Tuluva nadu, Vada nadu and Eela nadu. it gives brief information about the temples in general and their specialities in particular.

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