Dangerous state
The main emphasis in the article on “Fatigue, the enemy within” (Magazine, March 29) is that pilots should be provided sufficient rest between flights. Who is responsible for this dangerous state — the greed of the pilots or the flight owners wanting to make a quick buck? The pilots who hold the lives of so many innocent passengers at risk and who are unfortunately blissfully unaware of the state of affairs in the cockpit should demand mandatory rest period between flights. It should be possible for those who go on strike for their demands at the drop of a hat
This brings me to an extraneous question. Do not these dangers of working without rest apply to doctors and surgeons whose error of judgment costs a patient’s life? It is said the medicare is the only profession, which does not have limited hours. In all cases ‘flogging a dead horse to reluctant exertions’ will only perpetuate the accidents.
R. Ramachandra Rao,
Hyderabad
Women today
This is in response to the article “Woman and Superwoman” by Dr, Vijay Nagaswami (March, 29). He is right when he says that women today are not home-bound. They have to manage their homes and the workplace at the same time, not compromising one for the other. However, it is not wholly true that women do this for the sake of being a superwoman. What I strongly believe is that every adult must have one’s own source of survival. It has become a necessity for the partners to earn together for a better life. Yet, I do agree that the feminist theories and the other women’s liberation movements have been inspiring or rather forcing women to excel in the outside world too. But is it true that by working, women have gained independence? Certainly not.
Tarala S. Deshpande
Belgaum
I disagree with eminent psychiatrist Nagaswami’s statement that women nowadays suffer from the superwoman syndrome. Women, down the ages, have been battling with their self and the patriarchal set up trying to define an identity for themselves. When services at home become unrecognised, it becomes mandatory for women to find a meaning in life. Women at home nowadays are no less than a doormat. Even children need them only for a while. So women seek silence and peace in work outside the domestic sphere. Though one can argue that there are exceptions, exceptions do not always set examples. Women face a lot of dilemma when it comes to family responsibility. Yet employment outside the home is the only escape route to the feeling of neglect. Women assert their independence and fight repression through hard labour. The feeling of being useful to others can be obtained only when a woman takes up a career. Outside home, a woman is heard and mostly recognised. At home, the chances are very thin.
C. Anupama,
Lecturer, MCC,
Chennai
Soul-stirring
Mahesh Bhatt (“Urdu and I”, March 29) has made a soul-stirring confession and his undying love for urdu language touches every heart which has tasted the sweetness of Urdu. Urdu is the lingua franca of the entire Indian subcontinent. There is no need for official support. It is bound to grow and flourish in the fertile soil of secular and democratic India.
G. Azeemoddin
Gooty
Rich in detail
I enjoyed reading the article on Angkor Wat by Prema Kasturi and S. Suresh (March 29), which is rich in detail. The close ties between India and Cambodia are known in a general fashion but the details given in the article are indeed enriching and extremely interesting. For instance the depiction of the churning of the Ocean of Milk, of Ashtabhujavishnu, the inscription of the names of disciples of Adi Sankara on the walls and so on, found in the Angkor Temple, are really great. The gift of a block of stone from Cambodian king for the temple in Chidambaram was a gracious act indeed. After reading this article one is tempted to visit Cambodia.
Dr. R.Krishnan,
Malakoff, France.
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