Of tastes and preferences

Sir — Ashok Mitra’s article, “He loved French cuisine” (Aug 21), is one of those stories of wasted talent that are not so uncommon in and around us. People love to mock, dissuade and ignore those who live life according to their own standards. While men are always eager to discover a motive behind the eccentric behaviours of certain people, they are loath to ascribe value to a dream, however extraordinary, that they might cherish. Intellectuals like Mitra sometimes speak out in their favour but they remain forever marginalized in a society that judges the worth of a person by what he has achieved and never by what he had intended to accomplish. Rich businessmen and socialites engage in charities of all kinds, but they have never been known to patronize a poor scholar. Sadly, the most conspicuous lack of concern towards research comes from the government. While countries of the West invest millions on research on every conceivable topic, people tend to laugh at the struggling researchers in India.

Yours faithfully,
Bidyut Datta, Calcutta

Sir — It was interesting and inspiring to read about a person who dared, against all odds, to live his dream. Those who believe that the present generation consists only of mercenaries should read Ashok Mitra’s piece in order to get a fresh perspective on life.

Yours faithfully,
Raman Tiwari, Ranchi

Sir — It is consoling, in this age, to read about a person who gives no importance to material gain and researches privately on the unusual subject of French cuisine. Very few today would be willing to measure knowledge in terms other than that of remuneration. The values of our society are changing fast and the kind of dedication that Ashok Mitra writes about has become a thing of the past.

Yours faithfully,
Shanker Dev Mukherjee, Calcutta

Sir — Ashok Mitra’s anecdotal narrative about the unique passion of an unknown researcher is sympathetic and brilliant. However, the article arouses queries about certain aspects of this scholar’s life. For instance, did he gather his information about 18th-century French cuisine by reading English texts on the subject? Given his penury, it is unlikely that he could afford to learn French and read the texts in the original. It is strange that a scholar from Calcutta would be so passionate about the bygone lifestyle of the French aristocracy.

To pick a small issue, Mitra says that this anonymous scholar knew the gastronomic preferences of each French “emperor” and “empress”. But French monarchs were not known as emperors till Napoleon Bonaparte proclaimed himself one at his coronation.

Yours faithfully,
Manojendu Majumdar, Calcutta

Playing with children

Sir — It is incredible that the Union health ministry could immunize nearly nine million children against Japanese encephalitis with a vaccine made in China without proper protective measures (“Vaccine for children without trials”, Aug 21). How could the Indian Council of Medical Research endorse the vaccine without carrying out local safety studies? To make matters worse, the callous health officials dismissed the deaths of as many as 22 children as mere coincidence.

Yours faithfully,
Nirupam Banerjee, Calcutta

Sir — The vaccine against Japanese encephalitis must be removed from all hospitals with immediate effect. Health officials who passed it without proper tests — playing with human lives for money — should be punished.

Yours faithfully,
T.R. Anand, Calcutta

Sir — The Union health ministry should reveal the various ingredients, along with the quantity used, in all vaccines before injecting them into the bodies of children. It is not enough to guarantee that the ingredients are safe individually since their cumulative effect might be harmful. Since some of the elements in vaccines are often highly toxic and carcinogenic, extreme care is necessary before vaccines are given the seal of approval. The risk of genetic contamination through human, animal, chicken and egg serums used remains an area of concern — more so because vaccines are often behind various childhood disorders. The effects of multiple vaccines also need to be studied. Pregnant women, sick and malnourished children, people suffering from certain skin diseases are often vaccinated, with dire consequences, despite warnings from vaccine researchers. Unless these issues are probed, deaths like those which occurred in West Bengal and other states from the vaccine against Japanese encephalitis, will continue to occur with tragic regularity.

Yours faithfully,
Jagannath Chatterjee, Bhubaneswar

Sir — Even the death of 22 children and adverse effect on 504 others have left health officials unmoved. They have come out with a series of data in support of the Chinese vaccine against Japanese encephalitis. They have also marshalled the opinion of the scientific advisory body of the WHO, which is supposed to have passed the vaccine as safe and effective. But they have not considered the fact that the immunity level being different in different sections of people, a vaccine, before being standardized, requires many field trials locally under the strict supervision of experts. No such trial was conduced in this case. Moreover, this much-acclaimed vaccine is not being used in the Western countries because of the disputed methodology employed in its manufacture. That hundreds of children died of Japanese encephalitis last year in Uttar Pradesh and the country was badly in need of a vaccine, which was not otherwise available, cannot be an excuse. In the West, a similar incident would cause great outrage. But here, one doubts whether a single health official will be punished. Who knows, the vaccine may be used again once the present furore has died down.

Yours faithfully,
P.K. Bhattacharjee, Calcutta