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

Breaking barriers of formality

In “Modes of address” (Saturday Extra, Oct 24), Khuswant Singh has mentioned the expletive “ullu ka pattha” (son of an owl) as a form of address which may or may not mean offence, depending on the occasion and manner in which it is used.

Same is true of the word “sala” (wife’s brother), which can be a form of verbal abuse during a fight, but when used jovially and in a cordial atmosphere it breaks barriers of formality leading till warm embraces and heart-to-heart conversations.

I am reminded of an incident during my school days in 1950. Our Hindi class was being held in the open under a tree about 30 yards from the GT Road, when a cart laden with sugarcanes passed by. The cart driver, a peasant, shouted at the top of his voice, “ Oye Pandita, tere pairi paina”. All students burst out in laughter, but our teacher, Panditji, told us that his greetings were warm and straight from the heart even though his style appeared odd to us. While it was ok for him to wish our teacher in that manner, it would have been an insult if we had used the same style. So more than the words sometimes it is the person and the situation that carries the meaning.

D.K. AGGARWALA, Hoshiarpur

Media ethics

The print media (“Back to media — Basics: media ethics truth and objectivity”, Spectrum, Oct 4) has been doing commendable service ever since the freedom struggle. Thereafter, too, it has been pulling up the government whenever it was found wanting in any national or international issue. It has championed the cause of the poor, the illiterate and the unemployed very effectively. It is serving as a watchdog. But incidentally the electronic media, which has come up in a big way is not doing its job that well. There is more stress on sensationalising an event in order to get more ad revenue. Even minor incidents of violence are blown out of proportion and are aired for hours on end. TV anchors are not as qualified as editors in the print media and have poor knowledge of important national and international issues. The government must do something to ensure that TV anchors do not play havoc with sensitive issues to earn viewership.

NARINDER SINGH JALLO, Mohali

Quiet please

“We are noise-happy people” (Saturday Extra, Oct 17) has commendably satirised our habit of creating unnecessary noise. WHO has fixed 45 decibels as the safe noise level for a city, but culprits break this noise barrier.

A motorcycle creates 90 decibels; head phone 100 decibels; pressure horn 110-120 decibels; crackers 100-150 decibels; theatre 118 decibels; and toy-mobile123 decibels.

The Punjab Instruments (Control of Noises) Act, 1956, lays down six months’ jail or Rs 1,000 fine for violating the rules. The Supreme Court has also banned the use of loudspeakers during religious functions at night. But In India, who cares for the law? Social awareness is the need of the hour.

VIJAY SHEEL JAIN, Ludhiana

Coping with climate change I read Vibha Sharma’s piece, “Challenge of climate change” (Perspective, Nov 8). Fears over global warming due to Carbon dioxide emissions are without any scientific data and reasoning. The presence of CO2 in the air is just 0.03 per cent! No scientific institution has measured the actual increase in CO2 concentration in the air as a result of burning of fossil fuels (thermal power plants, vehicle, gas and domestic fuels). The micro increase in CO2 concentration can hardly trap sufficient solar energy to cause appreciable global warming. Secondly, increased CO2 concentration translates into increased yields in the crops to keep the average value as constant. For example, India now produces 225 mt of foodgrains annually as against 150 mt in 1972. This increase amount of 75 mt comes from the increased concentration of CO2 only. Consequently, CO2 emissions have no role in causing global warming or climate change. Likewise, there is hardly any published scientific data to suggest that average temperature at a particular place (say Chandigarh) over the years has increased by say, 1 degree C and thus, the phenomenon of global warming is simply a myth. As a matter of fact, we do not see the hot summers of fifties or sixties these days in northern India anymore because of over irrigation of agricultural land. Climate change is not a new phenomenon. The climate parameters always deviate varyingly from the mean value and sometimes very wildly. The rainfall at most places does not show any pattern. Northern India had a bout of severe famines for seven years during 1939-46. There were no thermal power plants in India during those days to cause CO2 emissions. In fact, climate change is the result of multiple factors some of which are still unknown or unexplored. The El Nino effect is one such factor. Use of large quantity of water for irrigation of paddy fields also disturbs the formation of depression zone and weakens the monsoon current. The melting of glaciers in the Himalayas is beneficial for power generation and irrigation of agricultural lands during the critical summer months. RAM NIWAS MALIK, Engineer-in-Chief (retd.), Gurgaon