Ancestors ahoy

Renuka Narayanan's article ‘Pithru Paksha’ (IE, October 4) was almost directed at me. I am not a superstitious/ sent...

Renuka Narayanan’s article ‘Pithru Paksha’ (IE, October 4) was almost directed at me. I am not a superstitious/ sentimental person at all. And my husband is better off because he is not even aware of the various ‘‘rules’’! He is getting a new vehicle for the factory and it should be coming any time now. I have been vaguely scared of the timing. I have felt foolish about it and so not spoken but it was definitely in there deep down. Reading the piece was like having talked about it to someone. As Narayanan says, I don’t see which forefather/mother would

have been unhappy about that. If they were hovering around, I bet they would be ready to be the guardian angels! Thanks for blowing away some smog!

—Kamala Balachandran New Delhi

On a limb

• Compared to the rest of the country, the entire Northeast is neglected in every aspect of development (‘Key to Northeast: governance’, IE, October 6). To take just one example, while cities across India are planning metro networks, in the Northeast even ordinary trains do not make it to major cities and towns.

— Krishna Baruah Jorhat

Timeless probes

• So the CBI is going to probe one more case of corruption — the Tehelka expose on defence deals — and one can expect the probe to last at least a couple of decades (‘De-commission’, IE, October 6). For those who think two decades is too much, think of the Bofors scam, which is now nearly two decades old and is still being investigated. Depending on the change of governments and the change in ruling parties, the probe will be either in cold storage or will be accelerated. To make defence deals corruption-free, one must make the whole process as transparent as possible.

— V.S. Venkatavaradan Salem

And merit?

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• P.V. Indiresan’s article ‘Cultivators versus gatherers’ (IE, September 24) is a fitting reply to those demanding reservations in the private sector on the lines of government services and public sector undertakings. It is a strange phenomenon of the Indian polity that no one wants to learn from past mistakes. Barring a few beneficiaries, reservations for SC/STs in government services and educational institutions has hardly improved their lot. It should be realised that no nation that co- mpromises on merit can become a developed country.

— Vidya Sagar Delhi

Coaching casts

• Apropos of the analysis ‘If you can’t climb a tree…’ by Kancha Ilaiah (IE, October 6), the debatable question of casteism apart, it is a fact that we lack a sports culture in terms of coaching in our country. We rarely come across a coach here who genuinely and sincerely hunts for talent and nurtures it. Profesionalism is missing. Selfish interests dominate. It would definitely be in the interest of sportspersons if coaches were hired on a contract basis by the government and their continuance was related to performance.

— Himadri Moharana New Delhi

Taxing times

• I do agree with your editorial that imposition of cesses is bad public finance (‘Cess mess’, IE, October 5).

— Rao Hyderabad