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Potato: The king of vegetables

"Aloo all the way” (Spectrum, Oct 31) by Pushpesh Pant was a mouth-watering and delectable write-up. Some people dismiss the potato lightly but there are several vegetables which can’t be cooked without the potato.

In fact, potato can be dubbed as the king of all vegetables and is still regarded as the staple vegetable of the commoners. Ghaul Daale Aloo may be exclusively related to Uttar Pradesh, but it was also a favourite of the children in the villages of Punjab in the days gone by.

TARSEM M. BUMRAH, Batala

Wrong reference

In his article ‘Faith and festivity’, (Spectrum, Oct 31), Dhanajaya Bhat has narrated five reasons for the Divali celebrations in the Sikh community. All these reasons are based upon the different facts of Sikh history.

J.B.S. NANDA, Ludhiana

Mothers in mythology The article, ‘What’s in phrase’ by S. Raghunath (Spectrum, August 8) was very informative and scholarly. The phrase “Achille’s heel” from Greek mythology referring to Thetis, the mother of Achilles, who tried to make him invincible but due to an error could not succeed, has a parallel in the Mahabharata. Gandhari, the wife of King Dhritarashtra, in empathy, had put a bandage over her eyes to experience the sufferings and ordeals of her blind husband. At the end of the war, Duryodhana, her son and the only survivor, hid himself in a pond to evade humiliation and death. Searching for him, she came over to the pond and asked him to come out, assuring him of invincibility provided he appeared stark naked before she opened her bandage and had a look at him. Duryodhana came out, as told, but on the way the remarks of a passerby (Lord Krishna in disguise) that how could he appear before a woman stark naked even if she were his mother, made him put on a loincloth to cover the groins. Gandhari on opening her bandage had a look at him. His whole body, except the groins, turned stone hard. As a result, when Bhima challenged him for malyudh (physical fight), he attacked Duryodhana on the groins and tearing him apart, killed him. V.K. RANGRA, New Delhi

Brahma temple

I read Mukesh Khosla’s article (Spectrum, Oct 10). He claims that the one and only temple of Lord Brahma in India is situated in Pushkar in Rajasthan. I have to correct this.

There is a temple of Lord Brahma in Kerala — God’s Own Country — also. It is in a small town in the Malabar area called Thavannur. This is on the western bank of Kerala’s longest river — Bharathapuza.

GOPALKRISHNAN, Kangra