I have been an Outlook reader for some years now. It has got me through some highs and lows, and some frequent train, bus, auto, plane and bike rides too. Your The Fling Thing (Jan 24), however, had me laughing. You guys come up with these sex surveys every year, but this edition was funny. On one page, you had a full-page ad of Moods condoms, and the next one bore quotes from distinguished people like Dr Ashok Gulati (“We start digging a well when the house is on fire.”) and Dr M.S. Swaminathan (on a “holistic approach on demand-supply”). Make the connection to sex, and it’s really funny.
Abhra Bardhan, Delhi
Your survey (Making Whoopee, Jan 24) results seem tame; in fact, they’re wide of the mark. I’m in my mid-50s and even I know that this ‘fling thing’ is under-reported. Forget the cities. Go rural, and you will feel the real pulse of the nation.
Ravi B., on e-mail
It would be better if you did a survey on the other side to these short-term ties—unwed mothers, babies thrown into dustbins, mms scandals involving teenagers, and so forth.
Fine, Delhi
Sex sells. This truism is exemplified by Indian newspapers and magazines, each determined to outdo the others in the ‘shock-them-all-and-sell’ department. This sexual ‘Russian roulette’ will scar the nation.
Scaria Varghese, Melbourne
There is a vested interest for Moods to be involved in your survey. The ‘results’ show Indians are having casual sex like never before, encouraging the fence-sitters. The average college student is thinking: “Hey, really? Am I missing out?” So more casual sex, more condom sales and more profits for Moods. I don’t trust the results.
Nerus, San Diego
What useful purpose does it serve to conduct an annual ‘sex survey’ in which you go to just 10 cities, pick up just 1,006 adults and cook up a report called ‘Sexual Behaviour of Indian Adults’. Stupid enough!
M.C. Joshi, Lucknow
These bogus surveys by pseudo-liberal magazines hope to encourage youth to give up their principles and go mad like the West. But no one is fooled.
Rajesh, Bangalore
Outlook is going the India Today way. They had a cover story once on the female orgasm. I was scratching my head over the point of it all.
Prasanth, Melbourne
Well, it takes all kinds to make a nation of a billion plus—even those unfortunate women in the red-light areas.
Akram Haidar, on e-mail
What a fall! From Radia tapes to sex. Mr Mehta is back to his Debonair days. Not done, sir.
S.S. Nagaraj, Bangalore
You seem to think all humans are animals and ape the West.
Somasundaram, Chennai
My regard for you, Mr Mehta, has nosedived.
Ragav S., Chennai
