M A I L B A G

Closure of bars no solution

VIMLA PATIL’S article “Razing the Bar” (Saturday Extra, April 30) made interesting reading. A woman is a puppet in the hands of man and has to dance to his tunes. She is the most exploited one in man’s domain. Paradoxically, man owes his existence to woman but she is subjugated to the point of persecution. Mentally and physically fragile, she’s confined to hotels, bars and brothels for the entertainment of man. Merely making an ostentatious show of morality to befool the public, leaders enact laws which are sure to boomerang.

Kings and amirs had exclusive harams and dancing in durbars was part of regal splendour. Some 75,000 bar girls are on the roads due to the ban in Mumbai, what will they do now?

Karnail Singh, Shahpur Kandi

II

There is no denying that dance bars have been dens of crime and anti-social activities but we have to be sympathetic towards girls who may face starvation if they are denied the right to work. In the event of closure, no one would allow them to join either the national mainstream or take up the so-called ‘respectable’ jobs.

Are there any offices where crimes in one form or another not taking place? We have to be compassionate while deciding the fate of dance girls. The closure of dance bars will not solve any purpose. Most girls would turn to prostitution.

Concrete steps should be taken to rehabilitate the dance girls if the government sticks to the decision of closing the bars. They should then be converted to disco bars or restaurants and the girls appointed as waitresses, gate keepers, singers or even performers on stage in night-clubs and be entrusted with the job of running the bars completely. Close-circuit cameras should be installed to check obscenity and throwing money on dance girls should be totally banned.

Vipin Sehgal, Kurukshetra

III

Maharashtra’s ruling politicians apparently have a single-track thought process. They seem to suffer from poverty of information. A majority of dancing girls provide innocuous entertainment and are in the profession to feed their dependents. Their customers are restricted from physical contact with them.

Malika Pukhraj sang when singing was a sin. Geishas of Japan entertain in a decent way by giving mental solace to their customers. During the era of nawabs, the dancing girls of Lucknow were mentors to the scions of aristocracy in court culture and refined manners.

V.I.K. SHARMA, Jalandhar

Partition trauma This refers to the “Trauma of Partition” by Narinder Singh Jallo (April 17). The pre-Partition trauma in Rawalpindi district in Pakistan, particularly in rural areas and small towns with Hindu-Sikh population flared up towards February end (1947). The minorities (Hindu-Sikhs) were the first and the worst sufferers at the hands of the attackers who were under the spell of politicians. I belong to one of these ill-fated villages (Narali) in Rawalpindi District At the time of Partition, such migrants/refugees who were mature enough, i.e. 40 years or above, are not around now to take others down memory lane in this context. The second generation, that is their children, were too young to recall and share purposefully at this stage. The ‘leftovers’ belonging to the middle category like me, can be of service to some enthusiastic ‘recorder,’ provided he is prompt enough. I was 29 years at the time of Partition, 58 years ago. The Tribune remains my first choice from my schooldays onwards (1934-35-36), till date. Amrik Singh Sethi, Amritsar

Snakes and sensitivity

Khushwant Singh has rightly said (Saturday Extra, April 30) that killing of snakes should be stopped. They improve the quality of our life by eating rats.

Otherwise, there will be misery and death. Snakes can be kept/fed as pets but it is not the same with rats. There should be mercy for snakes but not for rats. Snakes serve human beings and also provide anti-venom serum.

S.K. HANS, Jalandhar

II

It is true that we should not kill snakes. As soon as one sees a snake, one thinks of killing it as there is no other option available. There should be a snake helpline in each city so that one can contact snake charmers or protectors who can reach the spot at once to help catch them and prevent them from being killed.

PREETINDER SINGH DANG, Jalandhar

Weaving a way out

In “Weaving a way out” (Spectrum, April 10), Bibhuti Mishra has focussed on the development of a skill to change the poverty-ridden face of Kalahandi. Jobs can also be created. The silver plant which can ensure an increase in the earning of tribals is a project of Rs 80 lakh. It is a scarce amount for a vast country like India where crores are spent for several purposes, especially if it can help to change the profile of the region.

N.K. TRIPATHY, Muktsar

No black and white

C.R. Jindal has unnecessarily been so harsh on the trend of colouring films, (Letter, April 24). No doubt, V. Shantaram had made Do Aankhen Barah Haath in black and white. What about his subsequent movie Navrang? the movie began with the filmmaker himself making an appearance to narrate how he was injured while shooting a bull fight scene.

Consequently, he had to spend several months in hospital with his eyes bandaged. During that time he realised how important colours were in life and how he missed them. It was then that he decide to make a movie depicting various colours in life whenever he recovered. The outcome was Navrang. Interestingly, while the footage depicting V. Shantaram’s narration was in black and white, the rest of the movie was in colour. This was done deliberately to show how beautiful everything looks in colour as compared to black and white.

SURENDRA MIGLANI, Kaithal