:: Letters to Editor

Austerity not an ornament

Sep.19 : Sir, One would rather have a minister travel business class, or choose to refurbish his office for a few lakh rupees out of the public exchequer, than work out of a sparingly-furnished office but leverage the same to pursue a modern day version of the "licence-permit Raj". The latter enables big business to build for themselves imposing family mansions on prime land with roof-top helipads. Austerity is not an external ornament for display that is tantamount to low hypocrisy. It is an entirely internal ethos that every minister ought to carry with pride. This alone can serve the larger cause of the common man.

R. Narayanan

Sumeru, Ghaziabad

 

Sir, Mrs Sonia Gandhi's austerity drive is praiseworthy. However, I have doubts whether her instruction's would be carried out, considering that many politicians are in the business to enjoy the perks that come with the posts they hold? If caught, shouldn't erring ministers be punished? I think the austerity drama being enacted by some politicians over the past few days is nothing but a gimmick. Very soon they will go back to their old ways.

Amjad K. Maruf

Mira Road, Thane

Not a good enough win

Sir, Kudos to the Indian cricket team for winning the tri-nation Compaq Cup in Sri Lanka. However, the seemingly comfortable 46-run victory margin does not reveal how close the Indian team came to virtually throwing away the finals by shoddy display of their fast bowlers and fielders. Apart from Sachin Tendulkar's magnificent batting throughout the series and Harbhajan Singh's match-winning spell in the finals, not too many positives can be drawn from this series win. With the Australian team all set to roll over the sleepy England team 7-0 in their ongoing ODI series and reclaim the No. 1 ODI ranking from South Africa, and the Pakistan team on a high after winning the T-20 World Cup, it would take a Herculean effort by the Indians to go past these two group B opponents, or even to qualify for the semi-finals of the ICC Champions Trophy slated to begin in South Africa by the end of the month.

Amitabh Saxena

Dubai, UAE

 

Sir, I would like to congratulate the Indian cricket team on winning the Tri-series in Sri Lanka. However, we must not forget that in the middle of the Sri Lankan innings it seemed like they would take the match away from the Indians. The most inspiring was skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni's speech. The captain said that while he enjoyed being on the winning side, his team made lot of mistakes, especially in the fielding area. I hope that our cricket team will learn from its mistakes and prepare appropriately for the ICC Champions Trophy.

Sumita Rajam

Via email

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Remembering swayze

Sir, It is sad that American actor, dancer, and singer-song writer Patrick Swayze is no more. He was best known for his roles in the films Dirty Dancing, Ghost, The Beast, Waking Up in Reno and City if Joy. He was nominated for several Academy Awards and the Golden Globe. Patrick Swayze has left behind a legacy. He was diagnosed with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer but his never-say-die spirit led him to filming The Beast. He also actively participated in the Stand Up to Cancer initiative. We will miss you Swayze.

Tasmia Ahmad

Via email

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Remembering swayze

Sir, It is sad that American actor, dancer, and singer-song writer Patrick Swayze is no more. He was best known for his roles in the films Dirty Dancing, Ghost, The Beast, Waking Up in Reno and City if Joy. He was nominated for several Academy Awards and the Golden Globe. Patrick Swayze has left behind a legacy. He was diagnosed with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer but his never-say-die spirit led him to filming The Beast. He also actively participated in the Stand Up to Cancer initiative. We will miss you Swayze.

Tasmia Ahmad

Via email