Make up your mind, lady

Sir — Nayna Bandopadhyay is on the horns of a dilemma. Should she campaign for her husband, and risk angering Mamata Banerjee, or should she stick to her leader, and leave her husband to fight his own battles in far-off Raigunj (“‘Furious’ Mamata snubs Sudip’s wife”, Feb 19)? For someone who owes her political career to didi, it isn’t easy to decide. Either way, she should have the courage of her convictions. For histrionics — all that talk of how “humiliated” she felt —will not get her anywhere. It did not help her acting career, it will not help her in politics.

Yours faithfully,
Mithun Mukherjee, Calcutta

The pioneers

Sir — It was good to see two young ladies of Indian origin make it to the headlines last week— Seema Bhat, in the United States of America, for exposing the dangerous levels of lead in Washington’s drinking water supply (“Indian raises US water stink”, Feb 9), and Sharuna Sagar, in the United Kingdom, for wearing a sari to present the news on BBC Midlands (“Breaking news, wrapped in a sari”, Feb 12). Bhat and Sagar made news for very different reasons, but they are proof of how well Indian women are doing abroad despite being at a considerable disadvantage in a foreign country.

Yours faithfully,
Pasang Dorjee Lepcha, Darjeeling

Sir — Inexplicably, there was no follow-up report in The Telegraph on Seema Bhat, the Indian-American official who exposed the lead poisoning in Washington’s water supply. Readers would have liked to know how the righteous civic authorities reacted to an Indian woman exposing their misdeeds.

Yours faithfully,
K. Biswas, Calcutta

Sir — Seema Bhat’s experience proves yet again that honesty never pays. But Bhat was lucky, in a way, because she only lost her job, albeit a plum one. Others like Satyendra Dubey have had to pay with their life for drawing attention to irregularities in the functioning of government departments.

Yours faithfully,
Debasish Hazra, Calcutta

Sir — Sharuna Sagar’s “sartorial first” on the BBC is cause for cheer. Cultural diversity has always been tolerated in India. This can be seen from the way news presenters and anchors on Indian channels wear Western attire. But what was surprising was that in Britain too, Asian viewers as well as many Englishwomen applauded Sagar’s gesture. It now remains for more television journalists in the West to emulate Sagar.

Yours faithfully,
Sumant Poddar, Calcutta

Sir — For the Indian woman, the sari has many advantages over Western attire (“Nine yards of cloth”, Feb 15). The average Indian woman is far less health conscious than her Western counterpart and in middle-age, tends to become either obese or too thin. The “nine yards of cloth” then helps to hide her figure. Besides it also keeps her covered when she does her household chores, sitting on the ground. This aside, a sari also makes her look elegant and dainty. Perhaps, that’s the reason Sharuna Sagar wore it.

Yours faithfully,
Amarendra Bijoy Biswas, Kharagpur

Horse sense

Sir — Thanks to The Telegraph, the unsung heroes are no more unsung (“Those in favour say neigh”, Feb 8). I have been privileged to see the likes of the Shroffs, Kaders and Narredus at their brilliant best, and feel there is more to horse-racing than many people imagine. I have seen as much brilliance in the bat of Sachin Tendulkar as in the shimmering whip of that legendary knight of the pigskin, Pesi Shroff.

Yours faithfully,
Anshuman Singh, Calcutta

Sir — I was very upset to read the article, “Those in favour say neigh” (Feb 8). Newspapers, it seems, no longer rely on just fashion, glamour and lifestyle to sell copies; they have even got down to promoting gambling. Horse-racing is nothing but gambling. And according it so much prominence will only help to encourage it.

Yours faithfully,
Ashok Bhattacharya, Bhubaneswar