THIS refers to Khushwant Singh’s column "This above all" (October 21). The author writes about how the menace of terrorism was stamped out in Punjab. It has been rightly brought out that in Punjab as well Terai, it was only after the peasantry turned against terrorists and the police stopped prosecuting innocent people that the two were able to join hands and root out the menace.

Dr Jatinder Kaur deserves praise for her courage in dealing with sensitive subjects like, ‘corruption in the management of the Delhi gurudwaras’ and ‘political perception of the Punjab peasantry’ in her books. Her examination of the origins, eruption and impact of violence and means adopted to quell it (with Punjab and Terai as case studies) in her latest book should form the basis of further discussion on the subject of rising violence in our society.

ONKAR CHOPRA
Abohar

This is with reference to the article "Trendy trousseau", by Vimla Patil in which she has described the experiments being undertaken by superbly gifted and adventurous designers nowadays. The ever-changing fashions add a lot of pep to our lives, saving us from the boredom that would inevitably creep in if we were to wear the same sort of dresses year after year.

So far as the saree is concerned, I think there is no way to actually improve upon it in any way, the traditional way of draping it being already perfect. It must have taken centuries of experimenting to reach this specific way of draping it for optimum effect. It must have been painstakingly evolved to suit the basic physique of the Indian women in general. With a little bit of variation from state to state, its basic guidelines are the same.

AMRIT PAL TIWANA
Kalka

Apropos of S.S. Negi’s article "Heaven and hell — creations of our mind" (October 21), what we think, we become.

If we are weak, the reason may be that we have allowed failure to dominate our thoughts and minds, creating a deep unconscious belief that we do not have the ability to succeed. The solution lies in reversing the mental image of ourselves. This may not be easy because negative mental habits may have channelled deep grooves in our consciousness and our mind will protest a positive reorientation. But we must realise that our mind has been actually lying to us about our real abilities, deliberately causing us to fail.

O.P. SHARMA
Faridabad

I fully agree with the writer that heaven and hell are creations of our mind. Nobody has ever returned to this world after his/her death to tell whether he/she had been residing in heaven or in hell.

Plainly speaking, heaven and hell are on this very planet. Only one’s good deeds matter. One should think positive and try to find peace of mind to experience heaven.

TARSEM S. BUMRAH
Batala