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Redefining the concept of beauty THIS refers to ‘Indian beauty goes public’ by V. Gangadhar (February 6). If mothers wish their dauthters to emulate beauty queens as their role models in life and old women also have become fond of visiting beauty parlours, then this ancient country is certainly undergoing a beauty revolution these days. But the moot point is: Is this social revolution really positive? I think the beauty revolution is a brainchild of the business magnates. They don’t have any sympathy with the sufferings of women nor do they want them to attain political and economic equality with men. They are always in search of charming and bewitching female faces which can help them in creating markets for their products. The concept of ‘beauty queens’ is an off-shoot of capitalist values. It imbibes a specific mind-set among the common people: Either you promote the profit-making culture or you become its vocal supporter. There is no third way out. From the point of view of a capitalist, great is only that person who owns the maximum wealth in this world. A beauty queen becomes great because she gets thousands of dollars and is entertained for days in five-star hotels. In the eyes of a consumerist society, she becomes instantly ‘‘a role model" for her entire tribe. |
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| It is ridiculous and uncovincing to
describe the beauty queens as "great women". I
don’t believe that they are actually independent
since they have to abide by the norms of a
market-controlledsociety. It is also wrong to claim that
these beauty contests test the mental and physical
qualities of a young woman objectively. Her looks
overshadow her intelligence in such contests. Having won the beauty contest, most of them become models or film heroines and keep miles away from the genuine problems of common people. Except taking part in charity functions, they lead a life of comfort and luxury. RAJ BAHADUR
YADAV Tools of motivation This refers to the article ‘An Indian View Of Motivation’ by AP N Pankaj (January 23). Companies use various tools to motivate their employees. Motivation is a continuous process and companies have to device new methods to keep their manpower motivated. As far as an individual is concerned, he has to be self-motivated in order to achieve something. Working for the sake of work only is called self-actualisation. Once one starts working without any selfish motive, then one realises the joys of living and giving. Such persons are blessed by God with peace. The worldly things like wealth, fame, recognition have no significance for these people. MUNISH BAHL Healthy diet This refers to How nutritious savvy are you? (February 13) by Anup Deb Nath. Health is a priceless possession. There are, however, many misconceptions, and illusions about the concept of health. Spiritualists and scientists have stated a balanced diet promotes a strong immune system, prolongs life-span, reduces disease-risks, builds up helthy moods, behaviour and character, temperament and a higher state of consciousness. The Ayurvedic system divides food substances according to six tastes — sweet, sour, salty, astringent, bitter and pungent. During and after the agricultural and industrial revolutions, a sea change was noticed in the ingredients of food and nutrition. These ingredients were named proteins, carbohyderates, fats, vitamins minerals and water. Any imbalance, impurity or deficiency began to be associated with diseased. VIJAY SHEEL
JAIN Changes needed This refers to Subhash C Kashyap’s article: "Changes needed for better governance" (January 23) as highlighted in this write-up, our founding father had hoped that those would be called upon to work the Constitution would be men of character, competence and integrity. However this was not to be. We have failed miserably in implementing our Constitution. So what is called for is the proper implementation of the Constitution and not its revision. We would take a look at the aims and objectives that the founding fathers set out to achieve and see to what extent these have been realised during the past 50 years. We must carry out a soul-searching exercise with a view to ensure strict implementation of our Constitution and full realisation of the vision of the founding fathers as enshrined in its Preamble and the Directive Principles of State Policy. ONKAR
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