Baadshah of hearts

THIS refers to the article "Baadshah of hearts" by Surendra Kumar (October 3). The writer appears to be a great admirer of commercial blockbusters and terms them as great entertainers for viewers of this era. In this regard I would like to quote film- maker Adoor Gopala Krishnan: "Commercial cinema gobbles up the attempts of those film-makers who stand for social responsibility".

According to the writer, Shah Rukh Khan clicks with the teeny-boppers because to a great extent for them he is the Indianised version of Hollywood film stars. Shah Rukh exhibits a tendency to ape the West. He does not like copying Dilip, Amitabh or Rajesh but craves to borrow the style of popular American TV stars. It is pity that as a nation "copying" is in our blood.

ONKAR CHOPRA
Ludhiana

Role and responsibility

Apropos of Taru Bahl’s write-up "Role & responsibility" (Sept. 26) nobody likes to be held responsible for things and situations which can be termed sticky or unpleasant. That is human nature.

We are pathologically shy of responsibility. Wriggling out of an uncomfortable position and pinning the blame on others comes easy. If it isn’t a situation that we wish to wriggle out of it may be a complex, a weakness which we, despite being aware of the problem, don’t want to own up to. If life is a mess we point an accusatory finger at our parents, family, colleagues, society — anybody but ourselves.

Why pick on people alone? How about our government? It is ever ready to blame the "foreign hand" whenever anything goes wrong. Recently a new theory has sprung up — if you are an alcoholic don’t bash yourself. It is the dizzy alcoholic gene at work. And if you have a criminal streak, you aren’t answerable — it is the criminal gene’s handiwork.

Yes, it is audit time. For once we must accept responsibility instead of passing the buck.

K.M. VASHISHT
Mansa

II

The tendency to shirk one’s duty is more prevalent among the younger generation. Young men and women expect their parents, elders and society to fulfil all their demands while they themselves show highly irresponsible behaviour. When they are reminded of their duties and obligations they term it as interference in their lives.

ANSHUL GUPTA
Alampur

III

A responsible person, in addition to the virtues mentioned in the write-up, also realises the omnipresence of God and the fact that he will be accountable to Him for his evil deeds.

In the post-poll scenario, we expect responsible MPs to maintain decorum on the floor of Parliament. They must learn to appreciate the viewpoints of one another.

S.K. SHARMA
Lucknow

Commerce without conscience

Apropos of Manohar Malgonkar’s article "Com-merce without conscience" (October 3), we celebrate the vanamahotsava every year. Celebrations in which ministers and bureaucrats make speeches from public platforms exhorting people to save forest wealth by planting trees and keep rivers free of industrial wastes, have become a mere formality. The fact, however, is that most of these schemes exist only on paper. After Independence, there has been large scale felling of trees and hills are being burdened with high rise, concrete buildings, unauthorised mining, hotels and tourist resorts. This has led to landslides and forced the rivers and rivulets to change their course. In fact the whole ecological balance of the hill water has been disturbed.

Immediate steps are needed to save the hills and rivers from further destruction, by formulating strict laws for regulating construction activity in the hills, and saving river waters from extreme pollution.

O.P. SHARMA
Faridabad

ET spacecrafts

Apropos of "Hello! Somebody out there?" by Maharaj. K. Koul (Sept 26), indeed ET spacecraft still remains one of the most elusive mysteries of mankind.

Perhaps one of the earliest record of ET spacecraft is written on an ancient Egyptian payprus, describing it as "a cricle of fire brighter than the sun.... it had no head.... mouth had a foul odour.... its body was one rod long and one rod wide...." This papyrus also mentions the reign of King Thutmose III of 15th century BC.

In his Return to the Stars, Eric Von Daniken argues that intelligent beings from outer space had knowledge of genetic engineering. Frank Scully in Behind the Flying Saucers writes about aliens from Venus whose bodies were found after the saucers had crashed in United States. These aliens were short and wore clothes of a material which could not be torn. Their bodies were taken away by the American Air Force.

In 1948 an American pilot Capt. Thomas Mantell, who was ordered to chase an ET spacecraft after he reported sighting it, met with a crash. Mantell’s body was discovered but it is significant that no relative was allowed to see it.

Star Trek actor William Shatner, former boxer Muhammad Ali, the Russian landscape painter Nichlos Roerich and even former US President Jimmy Carter are among the many who have sighted ET spacecraft.

ROSHNI JOHAR
Shimla

Tea tales

I read with interest, I.M. Soni’s article "Tasteful tea Tales"(September 26). Tea has its own history. It originated in China where it became enormously popular and after that it made its way to other countries. Seeing a Chinese in a Boston restaurant pouring out tea from the cup into the saucer and then sipping it, a shocked American was forced to say, "Sir, that is not the way to drink tea". The irritated Chinese quipped: "Do you know who made the cup and saucer?"

"Chinese" the American said.

"Do you know who started drinking tea first?"

"Chinese", said the American again.

"Then don’t teach me how to drink tea" shot back the Chinese.

Tea has romantic and poetic associations at well. Gladstone, a British Prime Minister wrote in praise of tea thus:

If you are cold,

Tea will warm you.

If you are heated,

Tea will cool you.

If you are distressed,

Tea will cheer you.

If you are excited,

Tea will calm you.

Another enthusiast, Sydney Smith expressed his love for tea, saying "I am glad I was not born before tea". There are no fixed hours to have tea. During office hours more than half the wok force may be found sipping tea in office canteens. "Love and scandal", wrote Ludwig Feuerbach, "are the best sweeteners of tea."

VIJAY SHEEL JAIN
Ludhiana