Self-help books

APROPOS of Aruti Nayar’s write-up "What help are self-help books?" (March 8), admittedly, these self-help books may help us for a short while, but cannot be the panacea for all ills in our lives. In everyday life no skill is as important as interpersonal communication and this depends on one’s emotional intelligence which cannot be learned from self-help books. In today’s world success is not a question of one’s character but depends on charm, skill and technique. This accounts for the popularity of self-help books.

P.L. Sethi, Patiala

This refers to the write up "Life without a phone call — an officer’s brush with reality" by Jagmohan Singh (February 22). The writer’s experiences should be an eye opener to the authorities although most of them might already be aware of all this. However, very little is expected of them. The revelations by the author makes one feel the difference between heaven and hell, that is why any person shudders when he or she has to go to any office in our country for any legitimate work, be it licence of the transport office, railways, post office or for that matter even banks.

Juhi Khanna, Chandigarh