Apropos your cover story A Stylebook of Webpages (May 2), men, both the young and the not-so-old, are now opening the score in the prinking game, once the preserve of women. From the old song Sajna hai saajan ke liye, it has come to Sajna hai sajni ke liye.
On E-Mail Mahesh Kumar
Sorry, Outlook, your May 2 cover story was exactly what you had headlined the previous cover story—‘utterly, butterly, foolicious’! I buy condoms online. So what’s the big deal? Will you devote a whole issue to people buying sex accessories online the way you did for those harried people buying clothes online?
V.N.K. Murti, Pattambi
While shopping for clothes online, a buyer gets to see— if not inspect—a whole range of apparel at a wide range of prices. This saves him or her the time and effort of trudging from shop to shop, cajoling sales personnel to bring on all the goodies. But online buyers beware: the images on display may have been edited, spruced and electronically air-brushed to make the products seem shinier, prettier and more desirable.
M.K. Somanatha Panicker, Cherthala
Why only clothes? Everything is available at online shopping websites. The net has changed completely the way shopping is done. While it saves time and effort, it robs us of the thrill of having struck a good deal after visits to a couple of shops and some hearty bargaining. Also, buying something without seeing it, touching it, trying it out might more often than not lead to disappointment.
M.C. Joshi, Lucknow
Thank you for a cover story that’s a relief from your staples—religion and politics. Online shopping is quite the trend with GenNext, though many buyers still like to touch and feel an object before buying. Everywhere, online shopping has put sellers on notice: buyers click around a few more times and settle for the cheapest, brand or shop allegiance be damned. It’s a win-win situation for buyers.
Sanjiv Gupta, Perth
While shopping online, spare a thought for those young men riding bikes, enormous bags slung on their backs, weaving through the chaotic traffic on our roads to make sure that you get on-time delivery. I wonder if the venture capitalists pushing these start-ups to maximise profits (while cutting selling price to attract customers) care at all for their low-paid delivery staff and the risks they run!
Sushil Prasad, On E-Mail
In your cover story on online shopping, the Click Your Heels section omits Myntra in all categories despite the main article quoting its chief creative officer. Was there any specific reason? I use the site and find their products very good.
Dr (Mrs) Sahgal, On E-Mail
Along with the product boom in the market, there’s also an advertising boom (Utterly, Butterly, Foolicious, April 25), but one wonders if what is advertised is really worthwhile. Aggressive advertising confuses buyers. Ads brazenly eclipse every TV programme and and they are irksome, irritating, annoying, exasperating, nauseating and infuriating. Especially with a cluster of celebrities who sponsor anything and everything.
M.Y. Shariff, Chennai
We Indians love jaldi, says an Amazon ad, and presents an image of a man chopping onions during a commute on a local train, purportedly to save time. Has anyone seen such a thing anywhere in India? Another ad promoting Amazon’s cash-on-delivery feature shows a man handing over a credit card to the caretaker of a pay-and-use urinal, who refuses to take it and points to the ‘Only Cash’ board. ‘We Indians love cash,’ it seems! If that’s so, and if need-based advertising and selling is the in thing, I wonder why Amazon doesn’t hand over cash to customers!
Hazar Galib, Perinthalmanna, MalaPPuram
The Puttingal temple tragedy—in which a fireworks display was held in contravention of the administration’s orders—made news because a large number of lives were lost and even the prime minister rushed to see the survivors. But instances are commonplace of local political heavies disregarding the administration. Young men and women channel their efforts over long hours of study to make it to the IAS and IPS—only to realise their efforts to make our country a better place can be overturned by political and religious bigwigs. It’s high time we, as a nation, cultivate discipline.
Delhi Lt Col Ranjit Sinha (retd)
Chetan Bhagat’s shallowness is rewarded by megaphones that he does not deserve
Anwaar, Dallas
The current dry spell follows two back-to-back bad monsoons. The rising frequency of weather shocks has compounded agrarian stress by slashing farm incomes and profitability. Scanty rain has always brought only knee-jerk responses from India so far. This will not do. Our ability to deal with weather shocks would depend on a matrix of carefully detailed administrative and policy solutions that ensure people’s participation while making politicians and bureaucrats accountable.
J.S. Acharya, Hyderabad
The article The Parables of Chhota Chetan (May 2) made me laugh throughout at this joke of an author called Chetan Bhagat. And by the end there was a tear for the suffering we have had to go through for decades at the hands of the largest democracy.
Old Fox, Mumbai
The writer has not really refuted any of the arguments that Chetan Bhagat makes in his Times of India article. He does not have a word to say about Ladakh, where the majority are Buddhists who are happy being a part of India, or about Jammu, with a Hindu majority. India is not going to bow to a movement based on religious hatred, fanaticism and ethno-chauvinism.
Varun Shekhar, Toronto
It is time to banish the word plebiscite from every dictionary in India. Otherwise we will end up balkanising the country.
M.A. Raipet, Secunderabd
In response to your story Qubool Hai, in Sugar City (May 2) on an inter-religious marriage in Mandya, Karnataka, I have just one question: If it was true love, why did the girl have to convert and change her name? Had she retained her religion, Islamic law wouldn’t accept the marriage.
Hemavathi A, Secunderabad
The timeline of the Kohinoor diamond (Koh-i-Noor, May 2) was interesting. The recent controversy over the diamond is really unfortunate. It seems India has an inconsistent stand on it. Whether gifted or stolen, Britain should clearly just return the Kohinoor to India—it’s an emotional issue for many here.
P.A. Jacob, Muscat
Though the Modi sarkar had said that India shouldn’t try to reclaim the diamond and then did a volte-face, we first demanded the return of Kohinoor in 1947. A second request followed in 1953. In the meantime, even Pakistan claimed it. They said Ranjit Singh was born in Gujranwala and his last surviving grand-daughter, Bamba Sutherland, died a Pakistani. The colourful provenance of the diamond is well-presented in Outlook’s helpful sketch.
Jayatheertha SA, Hyderabad
Famous diamonds sourced from India (apart from the Kohinoor) include Akbar Shah, Ashberg, Beau Sancy, Blue Tavernier, Darya-i-Noor (Pink), Golconda d’or, Hope Blue and many others. India was a pioneer in mining diamonds historically, and it was in Indian mines that most of the great stones were found. Even manuscripts dating to the first century BC establish that diamonds were known to Indians for its properties of brilliance, rarity and hardness.
H.N. Ramakrishna, Bangalore
The fuss over Kohinoor, a bauble of royalty, tells us that the Indian government sees itself as a successor to the British throne and not as a representative of India's people.
Mukul Dube, Delhi
Your story on the drought across several states, School is a Dry Lesson in Life (May 2), made me think about why such man-made disasters have become an inescapable reality of modern life. We have brought this upon ourselves by letting go of our rich tradition of building water-harvesting structures and managing them. Once control over these structures changed hands, with the State replacing the community, the focus shifted to the more lucrative and corruption-friendly big dams. The story also draws attention to how women bear the brunt of the drought—the men were seen lazing around playing cards while the burden of collecting and storing water was on the women alone.
Rakesh Agrawal, Dehradun
This is about the review of the book written by Salim-Javed (May 2). Kurosawa made Seven Samurai in 1954; the Hollywood remake The Magnificent Seven came out in 1961. Sholay had little in common with either. It was inspired by a number of westerns, but was an original script.
C.M. Naim, Barabanki
This is about the review of the book by Tavleen Singh (More Target Practice, May 2). Trying to defend Sonia Gandhi is fine, but the book review ought to have had said something else about the book!
Akash Verma, Chennai
The simple fact is, Sonia’s loyalty does not lie with India. She is an Italian by birth, upbringing and culture. Just because Congress chamchas make her a prima donna doesn’t mean she’ll start being loyal to India. She did and does whatever is needed to keep her family in power, at the expense of the rest of the country.
Ravi Jain, Hyderabad
It is a matter of pride that Dipa Karmakar is the first female gymnast from India to have qualified for the Olympics (Glitterati, May 2). Artistic gymnastics is graceful, but the Produnova vault requires considerable strength and courage. One hopes Dipa will win a medal at the Olympics.
Padmini Raghavendra, Secunderabad
The job of a coach is a thankless one, but one takes up the challenge for the selfless ambition to see his/her ward excel. Dipa Karmakar is lucky to have a coach like Bisheshwar Nandi.
C.K. Subramaniam, Navi Mumbai
This is about the story on the PF rule upsetting workers (With Safety Catches, May 2). What is interesting is the ability of garment industry workers—large numbers of them women—to mobilise quickly under the very noses of politicians, trade unions and law enforcement authorities. While it may have been sparked by a ‘misinformation campaign’, the government needs to shoulder some blame for poor communication. In the last three years, there have been too many changes in the rules governing the EPF. Each of these has caused so much confusion, having been preceded by so little information and debate, that it’s unsurprising that employee unions perceive them as attempts to confiscate the hard-earned savings of workers.
J. Akshay, Bangalore
The Modi government has again done a volte-face. The finance ministry should desist from making direct and indirect attempts to snatch the savings of common people who, unlike the Mallyas and owners of shell companies in Panama, mostly pay all their tax dues in full, without there being any need for a reminder by the government.
K.J.S., On e-mail
I write about the Seven Days item about Shaktiman the horse (Horse Tales of Shakti-Men, May 2). Maneka came out with scathing words, “Shaktiman was a police officer on duty...” but action speaks louder than words. I would like to ask her what she has done to punish the accused, MP Ganesh Joshi—a member of her party? Has she used her clout as a minister and had him expelled? When she does that, I’ll know that her concern for animals is genuine.
Nelson Petrie, Siliguri
Perhaps by thrashing and breaking the leg of the 13-year-old horse, Ganesh Joshi wanted to show the world that he is the shaktiman. What horse sense, Joshiji!
K.P. Rajan, Mumbai
Perhaps the only consolation for Shaktiman is that he spent his last weeks at the police lines at Dehradun, where animal activists and vets took good, loving care of it. A clear case of cruelty, the killing demands harsh punishment.
P. Arihanth, Secunderabad
