Of mice and moggies
Sir — In the last 12 years, Britain has cycled through five prime ministers, six home secretaries and seven chancellors — but its chief mouser, Larry the cat, remains unchanged. The 16-year-old mouser attracts attention from pundits and politicians all over the world and has more followers on social media than most British politicians. Records show Britons have had a soft spot for political cats for nearly 100 years. But it is not just for optics that those who prowl the corridors of power are indispensable. Much of Britain’s government operates out of aged buildings that are prone to rodent infestations. An efficient and adorable way of tackling this is to employ cats.
Rima Roy, Calcutta
Big challenges
Sir — The list of challenges, both domestic and foreign, before the newly-elected Iranian president, Masoud Pezeshkian, is a long and difficult one (“Reformist candidate wins Iran election” July 7). Described as both a reformist and a centrist, Pezeshkian, a veteran lawmaker, clinched victory in the Iranian elections by beating his conservative rival, Saeed Jalili. As the occupant of the country’s second most powerful office after that of the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, he will be expected to deliver on the many promises he made to Iranians during the campaign. These include greater social freedoms, removing crippling US-led sanctions as well as improving Iran’s relations internationally. Pezeshkian will have to carefully balance the expectations of his voters and the demands of the clerical Establishment.
Khokan Das, Calcutta
Sir — After the death of the conservative president, Ebrahim Raisi, in a helicopter crash, Iran now has a new head of state. India-Iran relations have been marked by meaningful interactions for decades. One hopes these ties are further strengthened.
Dimple Wadhawan, Kanpur
Power corrupts
Sir — It is unfortunate that those who come to power through democratic means then turn to muscle power to stay in office (“Laid bare”, July 4). This is especially ironical as many a time political parties come to power owing to anti-incumbency caused by such muscular misrule of a different party. The rule of law must be adhered to at all costs.
Soumendra Choudhury, Calcutta
Cricket fever
Sir — In Maharashtra, the Congress and the Shiv Sena (UBT) have questioned the decision of the Eknath Shinde-led dispensation to give a reward of Rs 11 crore to the Twenty20 World Cup-winning Indian team. The Opposition’s misgivings are legitimate. Spending precious funds from the exchequer on players who are already getting Rs 125 crore from the Board of Control for Cricket in India makes little sense. The money announced as reward could have been better utilised for the benefit of the common man.
In fact, many people in Mumbai are peeved about the hardships they had to face owing to the parade of the victorious team, which choked traffic for hours and generated thousands of kilogrammes of waste.
N. Mahadevan, Chennai
Sir — The overwhelming response to the victory parade of the Indian cricket team was touching. It is difficult to express the magnitude of love that people have for the cricketers.
M.N. Gupta, Hooghly
Sir — Indian fans are notorious for their fickleness. While the fanfare around the victory parade of the Men in Blue was dazzling, these are the same cricketers who faced abuse for losing the one-day international World Cup recently. Even a month back, Hardik Pandya was a villain owing to his antics in the Indian Premier League and now he is the darling of the nation.
R. Narayanan, Navi Mumbai
Clever handling
Sir — The Rubik’s cube is capable of 43 quintillion permutations when it is scrambled (“Time to play”, July 7). Similarly, it is said that there are more possible variations of chess than there are atoms in the universe. What is important is that both these games require humans to use their hands. Neurologists are of the view that using one’s hands for knitting, gardening, painting, writing and so on can improve cognition and memory. Asians understand the benefits of touch and thus eat with their hands. The use of complicated hand movements is another benefit of the Rubik’s cube.
H.N. Ramakrishna, Bengaluru
Cautionary tale
Sir — Koo, once celebrated as India’s alternative to X, has shut down owing to a fund crunch. Launched in 2020, Koo quickly became a symbol of India’s push for digital self-reliance. The platform’s vision of creating a hyper-local, multilingual social media space resonated with many. However, Koo’s close ties with the Bharatiya Janata Party and other political controversies limited its appeal. The platform faced criticism for becoming a haven for right-wing discourse. Koo’s shutdown serves as a cautionary tale for start-ups.
Shovanlal Chakraborty, Calcutta
