Describing Nagpur, a sentence in the story Reign of the Prima Donna (June 19) reads: "There has been virtually no industrial or construction activity in this city, better known for its oranges and the Tropic of Cancer passing through it". The Tropic of Cancer passes through Vidisha in MP, not through Nagpur.
L.N. Srinivasakrishnan,
Michigan, US
Anita Pratap's impressions about the media are astute (Peephole Pleasures, June 19). Hype-building in the media has reached maniacal proportions. Courtesy our 'intellectual' English press and urban-minded journalists, insignificant events around town make news but not issues which genuinely concern India's poor rural citizenry.
Vimal Kumar,
on e-mail
It's heartening to learn that peta's expose on Indian cattle being killed for leather is having an effect (A Feeling for Native Skins, June 19). It's amazing how the Indian Council for Leather Export expects us to believe that the bulk of the leather in India comes from "natural deaths". How do they collect "naturally dead" cattle from all over the country? The truth is that young, sturdy and productive cattle is chosen and killed for its "healthy leather". Meat in reality is just a by-product!
Camellia Satija,
New Delhi
As an IIT Mumbai student, I was surprised to read Maneesh Soni's letter (June 19) regarding the spartan life led by IITians. At IIT Mumbai, the facilities are nothing close to what he's described them to be. And from what my friends at other IITs tell me, the facilities there are pretty good too. I hope Soni verified his facts before penning his diatribe.
Ravi Kakkad,
Mumbai
Referring to the IITians, letter-writer Krishna Narayanan says, "the cream always rises to the top" (June 12). He seems to have forgotten his elementary high-school chemistry. Scour also rises to the top: a fact we've amply proved over the years.
G. Pai,
Chennai
Why are politicians losing sleep if imported butter oil and milk powder are available at fair prices to consumers in Punjab (Swamped by a White Glut, June 12)? The consumption of milk and milk products has gone down in the south due to the high prices charged both by the government and private agencies. Perhaps some of the imported glut should be diverted to the south to enable consumers to avail of the fair prices.
V. Ramanathan,
Ernakulam
Rajinder Puri's tongue-in-cheek encounter with the PA in the pmo hit bull's eye (Polscape, June 12). Our politicians are willing to slash subsidies on the pretext that they hinder economic growth. But they're not ready to cut their huge salaries and lavish perquisites. And now they are considering building houses for ex-MPs in Delhi.
G.S. Hiremath,
Gulbarga
The advertisement of Hindware WCs in your June 12 issue has three young ladies dressed in very revealing two-piece outfits. To say the least, the advertisement is in poor taste and has no relation whatsoever with the product advertised.
Mustafa K. Sherwani,
Hyderabad
I am curious to know the price in dollars of the 'designer dress' model Sushma Reddy is seen wearing in Glitterati (June 12). Is she not as topless as Mamata Kulkarni was way back on the cover of Stardust? Is this what these women are about? Less dress and more undress!
Sanghamitra,
Hyderabad
I believe the Outlook readership has gone up by 13 per cent. I assume it's because of the quality of articles printed in the magazine. Why then does it have to sell its covers, the front flap to Mitsubishi Lancer and the back cover to Wills?
Manish Singh,
on e-mail
Your cover story Get Connected (June 12) was a welcome change from the boring world of cricket and politics. No doubt such technology would be available in the near future, but to how many? And how will this technology be of use to the common man who cannot earn his living even after working 12 hours a day, seven days a week and 365 days a year?
Devesh S. Jain,
Ludhiana
In future could you please grade the restaurants that you feature in Recommendations (June 5). After reading about Soul Kitchen, I had the bad fortune of going there with my husband. The service was poor and so was the food, compared to the prices. They refused us reservations, but on reaching there we found out half the tables were carrying reservation signs.
Avneet Kaur,
Delhi
Reading about Dalian's mayor, Bo Xilai, was very inspiring indeed (Daring Daliance, June 19). Perhaps we should send our politicians and administrators for a quick lesson or two! It might help them come out of the coma of populist socialism.
Devashis Kuthari,
Calcutta
The cover story, How 2 Invest (June 19), and Daniel Lak's column, Bullocks to Them, were an interesting read. It's sad that though we, the youth, have role models like Narayanamurthy and Azim Premji, we worship them for their wealth not humility, their business acumen not charity, their capital generation not social contribution. As Lak rightly puts it, the youth is always seeing green (as in a green card!).
Despite such wonderful examples in our own country, we do not get their message that self and nationalist goals need not be exclusive. One unfortunate reason is that most of us seem to be identifying ourselves with the West. After all, how many of us give any thought to what we want to do for our country? Lak's comments remind us of the dichotomy that is 'India' and 'Bharat'. A 'Bharat' we are reminded of only on the BBC, till we flip the channel that is.
Philip Jacob,
Mumbai
Cover stories like How 2 Invest boost the confidence of youngsters like me and inspire us to do something that could make our country proud.
Siddharth Honnihal,
Solapur
With the increasing appearance of celebrities in cover stories for all the wrong reasons, the presence of Narayanamurthy and Azim Premji came as a whiff of fresh air. Let their tribe grow. It's commendable that Narayanamurthy and his company are actually distributing wealth to people around while our Communist comrades are busy only preaching Communism and doing nothing to generate and distribute wealth. Only when people like Narayanamurthy come forward to govern India can we expect our woes to disappear.
Sundar,
Chennai
Your cover story was a wonderful example of dividends earned through hard work and timely decisions. Despite being the billionaires they are, Azim Premji and Narayanamurthy bring alive the ideal of simple living and high thinking.
M. Ramanujam,
Vizianagaram, AP
I belong to the despised Indian middle class Lak alludes to in Bullocks to Them (June 19). I was born in a Bihar village, have travelled on a bullock cart and loved it. But it still doesn't dim my impression that Lak, as also other British media, is negative in their portrayal of India. There are a lot of negatives in India, and they have to be written about. It's only the patronising, sniggering, pseudo-sympathetic tone that gets to me. And Lak has been a master of that.
Dr Satish K. Tiwary,
Edinburgh, UK
Daniel Lak bases his piece on a chat he had with a middle-class JNU student. I, a foreigner living in Chennai, am not surprised that the young lady didn't understand the socio-cultural symbolism of the bullock carts seen occasionally on the BBC. One can't overlook India's present dichotomy when the IT sector is striding forward while issues of poverty, education, transport, etc remain. As Lak points out, the new middle class prefers to hide its head in the sand.
James H.
Chennai
Lak's perspective is so distorted that it's difficult to believe he stayed in India for three years. Why would someone prefer wooden wheels to pneumatic tyres, if it weren't to indulge romantic fantasies? Does the White Man's ego refuse to acknowledge the rise of the Brown intellectual? I'd suggest a complete rethink for Lak, from the luxury that distance affords him. Hey, we like Indophiles... but with a reality check.
N.V. Krishna,
Bangalore
I sympathise with you Mr Lak, but do think you underestimate our psyche. Just because a middle-class lady berated you, you can't accuse her of being a green-card aspirant. If at all we middle-class Indians look to our future in the West, it's because of the corruption that assails our country.
Dr Sangeeta Rajiv,
Roorkee
Daniel Lak understands India very well. He is dead right on every issue he touches. There is perhaps one more issue that he should have addressed, that of delayed justice.
Milind Panditrao,
on e-mail
It's beginning to seem a bit like the scams and fixes you report on ever so exuberantly. Just who is Bhaichand Patel? How does he manage to gatecrash into Cannes, not that Cannes is anything great (Cannes Diary, June 12)? Even Murali's utterly crass Marana Simhasana wins a Camera d'Or and is consequently lapped up by the white First World. What is Patel's contribution to cinema as a filmmaker or even as a critic? What is this phenomenon of boneless wonders making it to international juries and filmfests and he, incidentally, is by no means unique. There are so many film hacks these days wangling their way to august filmfests. Give them a primary test in film theory or history and they would not even score a 20 per cent.
Sukhbir Garewal,
on e-mail
