Tavleen Singh's column was an example of the manner in which a weekly feature can affect a writer's ability to be objective ("Ennui Horribilis", January 7). Singh believes that the only way to make her column attractive is to inject a generous doze of cynicism, include a contrived sense of political humour and cut somebody to size. I was amazed at her characterisation of Prime Minister A.B. Vajpayee's leadership as "abysmal". The purchase of coffins at $2,500 each has been quoted to much effect. However, the lid has been blown off in a write-up about the CAG's goof-up. The problem with writers like Singh is that they get carried away with their sense of importance. Singh should not indulge in cheap jibes when dealing with issues of national importance.

H.R. Bapu Satyanarayana, Mysore

Exceptional Case

I fail to agree with the views featured in your editorial which outlined what President Pervez Musharraf must do to avoid another war ("India is Not Negotiable", January 7). By asking him to pass on information about terrorist networks in India, you are sounding his death knell and implying that he keeps information pertaining to other countries to himself. Right now we are becoming jingoistic like the US, ignorant of the fact that America is just the country that will thwart us from attempting anything adventurous.

V.K. Rajendran, Chennai

Missing in the Act

Your year-end issue, with its anecdotes and evocative images, was a collector's item ("The Year That Changed the World", December 31). However, it seemed incomplete without the letters to the editor. Please retain that section in future annual issues with a mention of the year's best letters.

Jayanthy Subramaniam, Mumbai

There is no doubt that Sonia Gandhi is an able leader of the Opposition but she would do well to remember that providence had a part to play in placing her where she is ("Heads and Tales", December 31). If Sanjay Gandhi had not been killed in a tragic air accident, Maneka Gandhi would doubtless be the "first lady" of Indian politics. On reading about Maneka Gandhi as one of the year's people, I could not help thinking that if the two Gandhi women put their heads together as a team, India's future could be quite bright.

David C. de Massey, Cambridge

Peek a Boo

I was horrified to note that M. Mukundan has accused me of having a barren imagination in his review of my book, The Shadow of Kamakhya ("The Barren Countryside", December 24). Mukundan has not only done no justice as a reviewer but worse, has called Assam "the land of the dark forces of superstition and revolutionary insurgency". A narrow-minded reviewer who has allowed his personal bias to influence his criticism, Mukundan would do well to know that the stories in the book under review have been translated into several Indian languages.

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