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Posts of burden

This refers to “The ‘token’ woman President” by Kishwar Desai (Fifty Fifty, April 15). I also feel many designations in our country are not required. Ours is a combination of American and British political hierarchies, which is a most impotent mixture. Some of the posts were introduced to honour freedom fighters, but later became a practice. Positions such as President, Vice-President, Governor, Minister of State, Mayor, Chief Parliamentary Secretary and many more are an unwanted burden on the exchequer. As for our current President, she wasn’t even able to pin medals on awardees at a recent civilian award ceremony, with many slipping from her hands.

Deepjot Singh Thukral, Ambala Cantt

For a laugh

Ira Pande’s “Please, don’t lose those laugh lines” (Touchstone, April 22) should be an eye-opener for the condemned people who were unlucky to be either born without a sense of humour, or have lost it for some reason. Anything that brings a smile on the face of stressed people is a blessing of God, and cartoons are frontrunners in this blessed category. A comedy is always preferred to a serious movie. There was a time when people would look for the day’s cartoon in newspapers and magazines as soon as they would lay their hands on them. Even today a good caricature or cartoon is a welcome item, as it can convey a hard message without causing hurt.

A.K. Sharma, Chandigarh

Brand Ekta

Apropos “A brand called Ekta” (Spectrum, April 22), Ekta Kapoor is modern, dynamic, liberated and naughty, all at once, in her attitude in filmmaking. After successful TV serials for the middle class, she is focusing on bold films for a niche audience.

Mahesh Kumar, email

Disastrous

Apropos “Big plan, small start” (Perspective, April 22), I visited the Jalandhar disaster site to have a look at the colossal tragedy that struck the workers there. I was shocked to see the extent of damage as well as the lack of coordination in rescue. For disaster management, Punjab has a system in place only for flood management, and it is ineffective there too. The state urgently needs response teams for accidents such as the factory collapse. But the government seems more interested in spending money on luxury cars for ministers and chief parliamentary secretaries.

Gurteg Singh Saini, Jalandhar

II

money should not be a hurdle in setting up an effective and extensive disaster response system, as the expenditure would be much less than the damage to life and property it would prevent in terms of extent as well as compensation paid after every tragedy. Now that an incident has happened, it is essential to fix responsibilities.

S. K. Khosla, Chandigarh

Quote misquote

I thank Khushwant Singh for giving us a translation of verses of Guru Gobind Singh (This Above All, April 22), but the last line of the quoted stanza should have been, “Yaararhae da sanoo satthar changa...,” instead of “Yaar rog da sanoo satthar changa....”

Dr Gurpartap Singh Randhawa, Amritsar

Hand of God

The episode narrated by Khushwant Singh in “The unseen hand” (This Above All, April 22) suggested a “baffling coincidence”. I too have experienced similar incidents, but dismissed them as trivial telepathy. However, thought is a potent force, which mundane logic cannot explain. “KS” may present himself as an atheist, but his “na kahoo se dosti, na kahoo se vair” attitude and his yearning in the heart of hearts for “Mitr Pyaare” reflects the grace of the masterly Unseen Hand within him.

Lalit Bhardwaj, Panchkula

How are you?

I recently wrote to Khushwant Singh, and requested an acknowledgement. To my surprise, he was quick to send me a short reply written by hand, though shaky. Everyone connected to him through his writings is concerned about his well being in his 98th year. Is anyone from the Press visiting him, or is it just a professional relationship?

Kulwant Singh Dhingra, Mohali