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E-mail from readers the world over
Date sent: Tue, 16 Jun 1998 13:56:57 EDT I deeply respect Mr Subramaniam,, but if I was in his place, I would think ten times before saying that India may disintegrate like Russia (actually USSR) if the debate about constitutional review continues. A national debate is not enough to disintegrate India. Many states depend on central assistance to support their economies. Besides, they do not have enough autonomy to decide whether they would like to separate themselves from the Union or stay on. The USSR was a union of socialist republics strongly held together by a Russian center of power. It was only after the erosion of the Russian influence besides the liberal stand of Gorbachev with the backing of Yeltsin that the republics dared to separate from the union. It couldn't have happened during the times of Stalin and Brezhnev. Unlike the USSR, India is not an empire and the states are not autonomous republics. The states may separate from the Union only if they raise their own armies and engage themselves in a civil war. Anil Bhat
Date sent: Tue, 16 Jun 1998 13:05:09 -0500 Inconsistencies have been the hallmark of Hindi (and also Tamil, Telugu, Bhojpuri whatever) films. So, what's the surprise? Many a times I have seen Army officers in films with hair as long as a lion's mane. The ranks are shown with wrong decorations routinely. The unit insignias never match. The arms and weapons which they are shown using don't exist in the Army's arsenal. I remember one movie in which Shilpa Shirodkar was an ITBP commando -- ha, ha, ha. And in another, Shammi Kapoor is a brigadier -- donning a beard which will be the envy of M F Husain and despite being a commander of some crack infantry unit, he is wearing RVC uniform (or a part of it). I don't think the Armed Forces allows its officers, except Sikhs to sport beards. I am a civilian, yet I can readily point these glaring mistakes. What about the real Army guys, they would just die laughing at it. Not only that, even in general day to day activities -- there are inconsistencies, the hero boards the train carrying a "ghathari" -- a bundle and alights the train with a suitcase. The poor village bumpkin travels in the all AC Rajdhani express -- Shah Rukh Khan did in some movie. The chase begins on a Kawasaki Bajaj and ends on a monoshock Yamaha dirtbike....remember Anil Kapoor in Ram Lakhan. Then you have the beta returning from Amreeka on a Boeing 737 if not an Avro. A police inspector becomes commissioner routinely -- what about the IPS cadre??? In one movie Nana Patekar's wife takes the civil service exam -- and instantly becomes district magistrate in a big city and her own city. What happened to the initial postings of IAS officers as SDMs and ADMs? The list is endless... Rakesh Dubey
Date sent: Wed, 29 Apr 1998 19:58:27 +0530 Excellent piece. Very touching. Helped me to understand people on the other side of the border a bit more. We need more such articles to clear the air of suspicion, hatred and lies that surrounds us. Jose K
Date sent: Thu, 11 Jun 1998 20:09:53 +0000 Sooner or later, something of this nature (mediation) will need to be done. The added nuclear dimension has given escape velocity to the Kashmir question. "Internal matter" will not cut any ice with anyone in the next few months. Today, tomorrow or the next day, India, Pakistan and the world will have to face this issue with courage and sincerity. Ras
Date sent: Fri, 12 Jun 1998 22:36:06 -0400 Why is international attention on Kashmir so unacceptable to us Indians (especially in the government and in the media)? It is clear that we have a serious problem with Pakistan over Kashmir, and that this issue cannot be wished away. For fifty years we have made no progress through "bilateral" interactions either on the battlefield or at the negotiating table. What's wrong with accepting the help of other countries? Are we afraid we don't have a case? Venky K
Date sent: Mon, 1 Jun 1998 18:40:39 -0400 The article is a useful counterpoint to the wholehearted approval of the BJP by the Indian public. Though I support the tests per se -- which have brought into focus the glaring double standards of the West, it is quite evident that the BJP was acting on a survival instinct, faced with the unpredictability of Ms Jayalalitha's moods. The Chinese threat seems to have been invented for purely Western consumption and might end up doing us a lot of damage. Gautam
Date sent: Fri, 12 Dec 1997 10:06:54 -1000 Dr Jhunjhunwala's home spun DECT system for WLL is a clear example of the best of "innovative and customised" thinking that can happen outside of DoT. The DoT monolith has been built on a bureaucratic PT&T formula that has been discarded as obsolete by almost all countries. India can and should be a leader in telecom and IT because it has one of the greatest of all resources -- democratic people with tenacity and sharp minds. In the US, the FCC has taken the approach to "let the market decide" as to which technological approach for providing new services should win out. India should adopt the same policy.
Stuart Browne
Date: Mon, 25 May 1998 22:52:32 -0400 It's some kind of news I've been looking out for, as I have been wanting to pursue music as a career. A great piece of news. Has made my day!
Date: Tue, 02 Jun 1998 18:28:09 -0300 Raj Kapoor's fame started in India, and went all the way up to Europe and the Soviet Union. He was a man who added fame to this industry. Raj Kapoor's films had a unique style. Sooraj Barjatya, Nasir Hussain, Subhash Ghai and even Yash Chopra have had styles. Nasirji makes love stories just like Yash Chopra who sometimes goes for some intensity. Rajshree Productions concentrates on family bondings and Subhash Ghai usually makes movies on society and souls affected by the Indian Hindu culture. Similarly, Mani Ratnam's movies are patriotic. But Raj Kapoor was a man who had ideas in every field. Its hard to imagine one director who excelled in comedies, love stories and dramas. His films at the same time had a message that not many have today. Raj Kapoor will be remembered as we go on to the next century as the father of Indian cinema. I can't believe 10 years have passed. Your article refreshed some close to the heart memories. Thank you and Long Live Raj Kapoor.
Date: Wed, 27 May 1998 18:33:21 +0400 Enlightening. Absolutely excellent!
Date: Mon, 25 May 1998 16:55:40 +0530 It was a pretty interesting feature. Quite informative and attractive. This column should be continued -- of unusual holidays. By the way, can you just tell me what is the best mode of travel from Madras to Gopalpur-on-Sea and the approximate fare and travel time? Thanking you in advance ...
Date: Thu, 21 May 1998 17:20:32 -0700 Thanks for a most interesting article. It took me back to remember my friendship with a Jain merchant in Calcutta. He was kind enough to take me to visit three Jain temples. It also took me back to rural village scenes and to my stay at Hyderabad. I was wondering why it was necessary to go from Delhi to Hyderabad by Calcutta and Puri --- why not south and east from Maharashtra to Hyderabad?
Art Rowe
Date sent: Thu, 29 Jan 1998 03:29:27 EST Brilliant.
Date sent: Fri, 17 Apr 1998 01:10:06 -0700 (PDT) I am a Tamil who has been questioning my parents whenever we go to the temple about the problem the DMK is trying to solve. I have been very keen in knowing what the priest is trying to communicate to the Gods. As a devotee I have all the rights to know about it. I will know only if the communication is done in the language I know. The sad part of this is that most of the devotees who go to the temples don't know what mantras the priest chant. I am not pro-DMK, but as a Tamil I am confused at times about how to communicate with God in a language which is alien to millions of people. The communication rests with a few people who are so closed, and try not to let anyone come into this area of the holy language. It is a well known fact that Tamils are very God fearing people. The resentment about changing the language inside the sanctum is not because they love Sanskrit, but because they fear getting punished by the Gods. As it was said that there has been a rise in research activities in Germany for Sanskrit, let the Germans use it if they think it is their language so they can take pride in doing so. What is the logic behind using a language which is not known to more than 95% of the population in Tamil Nadu? It is logical to use their mother tongue "Tamil" in the most auspicious place which gives a devotee a sense of great love and satisfaction than to wonder what the priest is saying, and resting our faith on the priest to say the right things. As one of the zealots of Sanskrit said: "The essence of the words are lost when Sanskrit is translated into Tamil because Tamil is just not as rich a language, not does it have as many alphabets." This is absolutely true but this doesn't mean that you can use this language where people don't understand. Well, it can be used privately to enjoy the richness of the language but it is logical to use a language which people speak and understand. I appreciate the steps taken by the present government to fulfill the longing of millions of Tamilians to use Tamil inside the sanctum, than a language which is not familiar. The people who don't want the change are the ones who are more bothered about their pride in knowing "Sanskrit" than to help the common man to hear the holy words uttered inside the sanctum. How Readers responded to Varsha Bhosle's recent column
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