Mail of the Week

PICTURE SPEAK

"The New TV Stars", October 31

"The talent-hunt shows are shifting the focus of the entertainment industry from a select few celebrities to the masses."

Partha Sarathi Banerjee, Kolkata

People's Choice

The numerous talent-hunt shows on television look like short-cuts to fame and riches, but with almost every channel indulging in them, the selection process has become gruelling ("The New TV Stars", October 31). Doubts remain about the way talented youngsters are eliminated by an untrained audience in favour of the spunky and smart contestants.

Jinu Mathew, on e-mail

Interactivity is the best thing to happen to Indian television. It has not only transformed ordinary people into stars, but has also confirmed the belief that if one has talent, will to succeed and support, then nothing is impossible. The winners of the interactive TV shows prove it.

Rohit Bhandiye, Panaji

An increasing number of TV channels are offering big bucks to audiences in their quiz shows. As a result, there shall be more lakhpatis and crorepatis in India. This will also boost tax collection, benefiting both the government and the citizens.

Mahesh Kumar, Delhi

Fame Gurukul has made stage performance superior to singing talent. Qazi may be a good performer but his singing leaves a lot to be desired.

H. Mukhia, Bagdogra

A person repeatedly rejected by a talented and distinguished jury eventually wins the contest. This only brings out the hollowness of such talent hunts.

Nivedita Kaul, Jaipur

Reality game shows and talent hunts have changed the definition of television entertainment that had been dominated by the sas-bahu soaps. Moreover, they are providing the common people a platform to showcase their talent in front of a huge audience. The best part is that they count every person's opinion and change the lives of many like Ravindra Ravi, Abhijeet Sawant and Qazi.

Jatin Aggarwal, Delhi

The high level of unemployment in the country is one of the reasons why people are developing a great interest in this money-making fame factory which provides instant returns.

Nitin Anand, Delhi

Sometimes, I feel jealous on reading about the facilities and avenues that today's youngsters are getting. At the same time, I am very happy that children belonging to the middle and lower-middle class are not intimidated by their surroundings and are confident enough to compete with anybody.

Asha Gawri, on e-mail

Democratising entertainment is all right, but these kind of programmes encourage a culture of instant success. Music is just a medium, icons are what they propagate.

Renu Mishra, on e-mail

A Matter of Right Priority

The earthquake is proof that nations do not fix their priorities in a humane manner ("Utterly Helpless", October 31). Otherwise, so many survivors would not have to live in inhuman conditions for so many days. A nation that spends millions of rupees on acquiring deadly weapons is badly in need of external help to meet the basic demands of its people.

Arvind K. Pandey, Allahabad

The political sensitivity of PoK makes the rehabilitation work tricky. However, given the scale of the tragedy, all the countries, including India, should do all they can to mitigate the people's suffering. If the two nations do not rise above their petty disputes, the people of Kashmir will never forgive them.

Shweta Gambhir, Gurgaon

Eye-Opener

The resounding victory of the BJP in the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation elections proves that Narendra Modi is not just a popular politician who reached the top riding the crest of the Hindutva wave, but an enterprising and innovative chief minister who cares for his people ("Stamp of Approval", October 31). Both the RSS and the VHP did their best to humiliate Modi, but his victory also proves that the BJP can survive and succeed without the Sangh Parivar's support.

T.S. Pattabhi Raman, Coimbatore

Scratch the Surface

The article ("The New Tibet", October 17) almost seemed to justify China's rule over Tibet. I am a Tibetan woman born and raised in India. I was able to go to Tibet for the first time last summer with the help of an American passport. Initially, I was mesmerised by the cosmopoli- tan nature of Lhasa. However, after spending two months in the capital city, I sensed the subtle repression. Because of the emphasis on the Chinese language at schools, the vast majority of young Tibetans cannot speak their own language properly. Monks and nuns have to study "patriotic behaviour". They have to study the Chinese version of Tibetan history and denounce the Dalai Lama. Government officials and businessmen live in beautiful houses but one can sense a void in their hearts. They would ask me if I had ever seen the Dalai Lama. As for the railroad, the Tibetans told me, "This will be our end." Everyone is expecting a mass influx of the Chinese. Apparently, the author did not hear the Tibetans.

Tenzin Seldon, on e-mail

The Cap Fits

FATIGUE COMBAT

The Delhi High CouIt is baffling why paramilitary forces need to clone the army's regalia and dress. They can surely be more innovative and imaginative ("The Uniform Chaos", October 31). Wing Commander (retd} S. Sankaran, Chennai The army has taken a very conceited stand on the issue. The uniform's disruptive pattern is the requirement of the working conditions and not merely an insignia. Gurdeep Kaur, Chandigarh The efforts by the paramilitary brass to dilute the army's standing in the country needs be stopped. Major (retd) R. Mohan, Delhi

A benevolent Rahul Dravid is preferable to a belligerent Sourav Ganguly to lead the Team India, particularly keeping in view the long-term objective of winning the World Cup 2007 ("Strong Arm", October 31). It will be prudent to continue with Dravid's captaincy instead of putting him on trial. He has endured enough of these trial-and-error experiments and has always asserted himself with a resolute will and willow that speaks volumes about his strength of character.

A.U.S. LAL, Bhubaneswar

It is too early to judge Dravid. The constant media focus and comparison with Ganguly will only put undue pressure on him. He should be given some space.
Shubra Rathi, Bhopal

Narrow Approach

The facts that the Aligarh Muslim University is financed by the Central Government and that India practises secularism mean that the state cannot favour one religion ("Minority Trap", October 24). Given the way the Congress practises its vote-bank politics, the party is beyond redemption.

K.D.P. MALLADI, on e-mail

Short-Cut Yatri

The way L.K. Advani first dumped Uma Bharati and is now wooing her exposes the moral bankruptcy of the BJP president ("Presidential Campaign", October 31). Even the Jinnah fiasco has not taught him that there are no quick-fix solutions to regaining prominence in the party and national politics. It is surprising that even when he has promised to step down from the party president's post, he is willing to go to any length to garner support for himself within the BJP. Can the party afford this?

Saroj Singh, Delhi

Faulty Depiction

The graphic on the earthquake ("The Great Shake-Up", October 24) shows diagrams of three faults. The one on normal fault is incorrect. The rocky block above the fault is shown to have moved up relative to the block below the fault. This block above the fault should move down in case of a normal fault.

Bhabesh C. Sarkar, Dhanbad

Index