Golden locks, golden luck

Sir — The photograph of M.S. Dhoni without his flowing locks on the frontpage of The Telegraph (Oct 25) came as a surprise. Dhoni had carved out a special ‘macho’ image for himself with his long tresses. Even Pervez Musharraf was impressed by ‘goldilocks’ and asked him never to shear them. One got the impression that like the legendary Samson, Dhoni’s strength and charisma too flowed from his tresses. One hopes that Dhoni with his new hairdo, like Samson without his locks, would not lose his golden touch on the field.

Yours faithfully,
A.S. Mehta, Calcutta

No questions, please

Sir — Narendra Modi should have guessed that an interview with Karan Thapar would throw up some very uncomfortable questions (“Quizzed on riots, Modi walks out”, Oct 21). Having consented to appear on the interview, Modi should have stayed on till the end. Instead, he walked out — a move that only reveals his intolerance of different views and refusal to face the truth. In fact, his quitting an interview after a few minutes might be taken to be an indirect admission of guilt. Modi may boast of his achievements in the public sector, but the public will remember him primarily for his sinister role in the 2002 riots. It is incredible that the people gave Modi a mandate to govern even after his alleged involvement in the riots.

Yours faithfully,
B.K. Chatterjee, Faridabad

Sir — One had only to watch the way Karan Thapar began his interview of Narendra Modi to appreciate why the latter walked out of the show. Thapar should not have persisted with a controversial issue after Modi had refused to answer any question related to his past. The Gujarat riots took place five years ago, and verdict on the cases are still pending. In general, Thapar tends to be a little too aggressive towards the people he interviews on his programme. Perhaps, as a mediaperson, he feels that he has to right to ask his guests anything. He should learn to do his job without antagonizing the guests.

Yours faithfully,
R. Sekar, Nalco Nagar, Orissa

Sir — Thanks to Karan Thapar, Narendra Modi has finally been cornered. Clearly, Modi was upset by questions on the 2002 riots at a time when assembly elections are round the corner. He behaved as if he had been caught red-handed in some despicable act.

Yours faithfully,
Shiv Shanker Almal,Calcutta

The best goodbye

Sir — In the past few years, a number of media organizations, corporate houses and television channels have introduced several categories of awards for puja committees, for excellence in different areas — decoration, lighting, idol, security arrangements, troubleshooting, eco-friendliness and so on. Admittedly, such awards have brought significant changes in the way Durga Puja is now celebrated across the city. For instance, loudspeakers blaring till the dead of night are now a thing of the past.

However, an important omission from the list of awards is the way idols are immersed in the river. Despite repeated warnings by environmentalists, idols continue to be dumped into the Ganga hastily, with no concern for the pollution of the river and its related health hazards. While the Calcutta high court has recently has taken some initiatives to improve the situation, another way to achieve results would be to introduce an award for the most environmentally conscious immersion of idols. Perhaps this would encourage the organizers to become more sensitive and responsible.

Yours faithfully,
Srikanta Bhattacharjee, Calcutta