Old is not gold

Sir — Youngsters full of vigour and spirit are prevented from rendering their services to society simply because the elders still hold on to the reins and refuse to let go. It is because of this that young people, who are willing to take on difficult tasks, are given responsibilities only during the later part of their professional lives. Thus, in most cases, they have very little time to achieve something substantial before retirement. This culture has taken roots not only in public institutions but in sport as well. Take the cases of David Beckham and Sourav Ganguly. Beckham is an exception as he let go of the top job at the right time (“Beckham failed to deliver when it really mattered”, Aug 13). But the lure of fame and money is what makes players like Ganguly carry on despite being in poor form. No amount of criticism will help in displacing ageing superstars unless the selectors bring in age restrictions in cricket by framing new laws.

Yours faithfully,
C.R. Bhattacharjee, Calcutta

Sir — The editorial, “Refusal to say goodbye” (Aug 13), is right in pointing out that there are many differences between David Beckham and Sourav Ganguly. After England’s exit from the World Cup a few months back, Beckham offered to resign from captaincy because he had failed to lead his country to victory. But look at the former cricket captain of India. Instead of bowing out gracefully, Ganguly is still pinning his hopes on the fact that he will be selected to the Indian team for the cricket World Cup in the West Indies. Worse, this former international player is now trying to make it to the national side by hook or by crook. It is a shame that Ganguly could not maintain the goodwill that he earned during his long and illustrious career and decided to resort to cheap politics to earn his cap. It is time he allowed the national selectors to decide on his career, instead of adopting backdoor means to get into the side.

Yours faithfully,
T.R. Anand, Calcutta

Sir — That the “art of saying goodbye” is unknown to many of our veterans is amply illustrated by the way the ‘milkman’ of India, Verghese Kurien, was forced to resign from Amul. This only goes to show that one should call it quits when one is still a model to be emulated and while the going is good. Otherwise, it would not be long before the staunchest of one’s supporters turn into vociferous critics.

Yours faithfully,
S. Mukherjee, Calcutta

Stormy start

Sir — It is a matter of great pride that Indra Nooyi, a woman of Indian origin, has been appointed the chief executive officer of PepsiCo (“Nooyi at Pepsi pinnacle, a global bottleneck breaks”, Aug 15). However, the soft drink company seems to have played it safe this time. Now, with an Indian at the helm of the company, the Indian government will think twice before enforcing a ban on such ‘branded’ and ‘responsible’ multinationals.

Yours faithfully,
Asad Rauf, Calcutta

Sir — Indra Nooyi crossed another milestone by becoming the CEO of Pepsico. Being a woman, we expect that she will take matters of public health seriously and look into the accusations made by laboratories against her company. She should make sure that the products manufactured by Pepsi meet international and Indian standards. That is the least we expect of Nooyi as a fellow Indian.

Yours faithfully,
Nirupam Banerjee, Calcutta

Sir — First it was mineral water, then came chocolates, and now it is the turn of aerated drinks. Every time the Centre for Science and Environment or any other authorized body conducts a study, they come out with dire findings that may have alarming consequences for public health. After that, the matter is taken to parliament where the opposition demands a ban on the ‘dangerous’ food product and threatens to stage a walkout. The companies claim that they are observing strict safety norms and the matter ends there. It is a vicious cycle and unsuspecting citizens find it very difficult to break it. The ordinary citizen is in a dilemma as to who to trust — the CSE, which has claimed that there is a high pesticide content in the colas, or the multinationals which say that the drinks are safe. However, more than the CSE or the cola companies, the fault lies with our negligent system. The consumer forum in India is not at all efficient and its reach is not extensive. The Indian parliament is also not interested in enforcing stricter measures for safeguarding public health and hygiene. Finally, our ministers are more interested in staging dharnas instead of chalking out effective strategies to solve the problem. Hopefully, this time a stricter rule will be enforced and we will be able to lead a pesticide-free life.

Yours faithfully,
Vinay Mohta, Ranchi

Sir — The cola manufacturing plants in India seem to harp on the excuse that the water here is contaminated. They claim that it is not their fault if the soft drinks pass on that contamination to the consumers. The soft drink giants have also declared that tests conducted in their laboratories have confirmed this fact. However, the government should not take them at face value. Instead, it should direct them to publish the details of the tests so that we know whether they are speaking the truth or not.

Yours faithfully,
S. Kamat, Bardez, Goa

Sir — Suneeta Narain, director of CSE, must be rewarded for detecting and publicizing the dangerous levels of pesticides in soft drinks. Medical studies have proved that aerated drinks are harmful for children. Unfortunately, in West Bengal no action has been taken to curb the sale of colas. The state chief minister is of the opinion that foreign investment from the US will be halted if his government were to ban colas. But should public health be made to suffer for the sake of foreign investment?

Yours faithfully,
A.S. Mehta, Calcutta