See the light

Sir — The festival of lights has just ended. As on previous occasions, this time too we were told to avoid bursting firecrackers to cut down on pollution. But the smoke created when crackers are burst help ward off the menace of mosquitoes. We should not give up bursting crackers during Diwali. What is to be avoided is the custom of giving gifts at this time of the year. It is a ritual that has been corrupted by the rich. These greedy men, rather than crackers, have killed the spirit of Diwali.

Yours faithfully,
Mahesh Kapasi, New Delhi

Giving as an art

Sir — Mukesh Ambani is supposed to have set an example of sorts by gifting a luxury Airbus jet worth Rs 290 crore to his wife, Nita Ambani, on her 44th birthday. He is also reportedly planning to gift a 27-storey building worth Rs 4,000 crore on his wife’s next birthday (“Love your wife? Match this”, Nov 3). Ambani appears to be a spendthrift. The total value of the present gift and that of the proposed one is enough to boggle the minds of ordinary mortals. For most of us, the gifts would appear to be a vulgar show of Ambani’s wealth rather than a token of his love for his wife if we were to consider the fact that Ambani belongs to a country where bankrupt farmers commit suicide and workers of closed tea gardens die of starvation. As such, printing this news on the front page of The Telegraph was also in bad taste.

Could the Ambanis not think of celebrating each others’ birthdays by adopting villages or by using their wealth to develop slums? It is unfortunate that our billionaires cannot even dream of doing what foreigners like Ricky Ponting or Steve Waugh have done for the Indian poor.

Yours faithfully,
S.B. Gupta, Calcutta

Sir — The late Dhirubhai Ambani had once worked as a petrol pump attendant in Yemen. His sons, Mukesh and Anil Ambani, should know that their father was not born with a silver spoon in his mouth and had worked very hard to make it big. It is shocking to see the elder Ambani shower his wife with extravagant birthday gifts when millions in India are living below the poverty line?

Yours faithfully,
A.S. Mehta, Calcutta

Sir — Indians have a habit of loving their wives to death. Shah Jahan had built the magnificent Taj Mahal after she died. In that respect, Nita Ambani should consider herself lucky to receive such fabulous gifts when she is still alive! While reading the report about Mukesh Ambani’s costly presents, I was reminded of O. Henry’s short story, “The Gift of the Magi”, in which a poor yet adoring couple decide to sacrifice their most prized possessions to buy gifts for each other. In my humble opinion, Mukesh Ambani is no match for Jim and Della Dillingham Young as far as the art of giving gifts of love is concerned.

Yours faithfully,
Alok Mohan, Dubai, UAE

Parting shot

Sir — The personal life of Aamir Khan seems to be getting murkier by the day. First there was the English writer, Jessica Hines, who claimed to be the mother of Aamir’s son. Then the actor suddenly divorced his wife of several years and re-married. And now his brother, Faisal Khan, has accused the actor of trying to prove that he is mentally unfit (“Aamir denied custody, brother thanks god”, Nov 1). Aamir Khan would do well to put his personal life in order before wasting time on larger-than-life political issues, such as the Narmada Bachao Andolan. He needs to be told that not all actors can become leaders. Hence there is no use running after a career in activism.

Yours faithfully,
G. Chawla, Calcutta