Selfish love

Sir — Part of the new normal ushered in by the pandemic is a spike in pet adoption rates. Amidst the despair caused by Covid-19, four-legged friends have proven to be better companions than humans. But not everyone is happy. Pope Francis recently suggested that couples are acting selfishly by choosing to adopt pets over having children. Pet parents, unsurprisingly, are not pleased. Is not the Pope discriminating between god’s creatures, some of them have asked? Further, given the unpredictability of the future owing to climate change, would not bringing a child into this world be selfish too?

Sriparna Halder,
Malda

Tepid show

Sir — South Africa must be congratulated for beating India by seven wickets in the second Test held in Johannesburg (“Elgar dean of gutsy run chase”, Jan 7). In spite of India’s loss, one cannot help but be delighted by the performance of the Proteas’ captain, Dean Elgar, who not only warded off the Indian bowlers but also made an unbeaten 96 to level the three-match series at 1-1.

This was India’s first-ever defeat at Johannesburg. A combination of factors contributed to the loss: Rishabh Pant’s dismissal for a duck and a porous middle order are two reasons that come to mind. The Indian bowlers could not deliver either. Although the Indian captain, K.L. Rahul, did not have much time to prepare for the Test, his leadership left a lot to be desired. One can only hope that the Men in Blue will fare better in the decisive third Test in Cape Town.

Bidyut Kumar Chatterjee,
Faridabad

Sir — South Africa’s victory in the second Test is commendable. India may have thought it would be a cakewalk going up against Dean Elgar’s men. But in a game like cricket, such convictions rarely lead to victories.

Ranjana Sarkar,
Calcutta

Sir — India’s loss to South Africa is the result of poor batting. Except K.L. Rahul in the first innings and Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane in the second, the batsmen failed to put up a total against the Proteas’ bowling. India is yet to win a Test series in South Africa. The batsmen must pull up their socks and put up a formidable score on the scoreboard that bowlers can then defend to settle the final Test and the series in India’s favour.

Indranil Sanyal,
Calcutta

Crowd control

Sir — It is disheartening that the Calcutta High Court has allowed the Bengal government to hold this year’s Ganga Sagar Mela (“HC allows Mela, forms panel for monitoring”, Jan 8). The committee of three members constituted by the high court is not enough to monitor the arrival and the gathering of pilgrims from all over the country. The Mela will drive up infection rates further all over the country just as the Kumbh Mela did last year.

Amit Brahmo,
Calcutta

Sir — Religious sentiments cannot be ranked above the right to life. Holding the Ganga Sagar Mela at a time when Covid-19 infections are rising precariously will have fatal results.

Nikita Malik,
Ujjain

Sir — The Ganga Sagar Mela must be cancelled in the light of the rising number of Omicron cases in West Bengal. The Mamata Banerjee government — it never fails to pander to populist demands — must re-evaluate the situation and take immediate steps to stop the surge in infections. The partial lockdown imposed by the state government will have negligible effect if massive crowding is allowed at Ganga Sagar.

Sanjay Agarwal,
Calcutta


Parting shot

Sir — It is shocking that the celebrity hairstylist, Jawed Habib, spit on the head of a woman whose hair he was working on. This is doubly dangerous in the middle of a pandemic where bodily fluids could lead to the spread of Covid-19.

Rakhi Madan,
Ujjain