L E T T E R S    T O    T H E    E D I T O R

One has to struggle for happiness

I read Khushwant Singh’s “Road to happiness” (Saturday Extra, Sept 12). The “essential points” mentioned by him in the write-up can’t give happiness. Good health is not in the hands of the man. One has to pass through unhappiness to have “a healthy bank account”.

It is the dissatisfied people who eat out, travel, go to the hills and seas. Man has to struggle for a home, garden, reading, painting and playing. These cost money and earning money means sweat and sorrow.

Introspection is good but man trembles in front of “his mirror”. People trying to satisfy their egos are unhappy. Gossip gives happiness to many. Seven of the eight points of the writer are a road to unhappiness. He is “not a humble man” and has “ no respect for Maneka Gandhi as a politician”. This arrogance is the anger and unhappiness of Khushwant Singh.

Nietzsche’s man “suffers excruciatingly,” Schopenhauer’s man is “unhappy”, Rousseau’s man is “in chains”, Buddha’s man is “sorrowful”, for Sartre’s man there is “no exit” and Camus asks us to imagine Sisyphus happy.

Stillness, achieved after agonising spiritual crisis, gives contentment and happiness.

ARVIND GIGOO, Jammu

Dr SURJIT SINGH, Shimla

Save water

“Time to be water wise” (Spectrum, Sept 6) was a thought-provoking write-up through which the writer beautifully brought out the dire need of rainwater harvesting to tide over the scarcity of water in different parts of the country.

Water is called the elixir of life but it is fast becoming a rare commodity. That’s why the then World Bank Vice-President Ismail Seragelding said in 1995, “If the wars of this century were fought over oil, the wars of the next century will be fought over water”. Hence water conservation demands top priority.

Rainwater harvesting is a plausible way of augmenting the supply of water. Rainwater can be stored in ponds, tanks, aquifers and reservoir to be used for bathing and washing. And stored rainwater is a good standby in times of emergencies.

This gratuitous source of water should be used properly. It has been seen that 20 per cent of the piped water is used for drinking, cooking and bathing and almost 80 per cent is wasted in flushing the toilets, in gardening, in washing cars and so on.

This criminal wastage of water ought to be checked. Water recycling should be considered seriously. Polluted water of drains, sewers, rivers, lakes, ponds and creeks should be purified to make it fit for human consumption. If countries like Israel can remove salt from seawater to make it potable, there is no reason why India can’t do rainwater harvesting and water recycling.n

TARSEM S. BUMRAH, Batala

Making consumers aware of their rights Pushpa Girimaji (“Still defenceless“. Spectrum, Sept 27) is right in saying that the main aim of consumer protection is simple, inexpensive and speedy justice. I would, however, say that the more things change, they don’t remain the same but they do change accordingly. I have the experience of getting grievances redressed from reputed companies like Bata, Palmolive, Britannia, Topaz etc about 20 years back, by just dropping a letter. In fact, customers’ complaints used to be a good way for the companies to get feedback and to bring efficiency in their working. Now in the US, every Wall Mart has a Consumer Service Counter, where a product is either replaced immediately or its price is returned immediately in case of a complaint. The Consumer Protection Act has, no doubt, brought some relief to the consumers but still a lot remains to be achieved. The real empowerment of the consumers will come only when they will be able to get justice without needing any legal assistance. Bills should be issued for each purchase as it is the basic document required to move a consumer court in case of a problem. Secondly, regular seminars, advertisements through the print and electronic media, will also be helpful in making the consumers aware of their rights. However, the time limit for deciding the complaints by the consumer courts has to be fixed, otherwise father will lodge the complaint and son will get the compensation, that too, on authority in the last “Will”, if written and registered with the competent authority. HARISH K. MONGA, Ferozepore