Ancestors ahoy

Renuka Narayanan's article 8216;Pithru Paksha8217; IE, October 4 was almost directed at me. I am not a superstitious/ sent...

Renuka Narayanan8217;s article 8216;Pithru Paksha8217; IE, October 4 was almost directed at me. I am not a superstitious/ sentimental person at all. And my husband is better off because he is not even aware of the various 8216;8216;rules8217;8217;! He is getting a new vehicle for the factory and it should be coming any time now. I have been vaguely scared of the timing. I have felt foolish about it and so not spoken but it was definitely in there deep down. Reading the piece was like having talked about it to someone. As Narayanan says, I don8217;t see which forefather/mother would have been unhappy about that. If they were hovering around, I bet they would be ready to be the guardian angels! Thanks for blowing away some smog!

8212;Kamala Balachandran New Delhi

On a limb

8226; Compared to the rest of the country, the entire Northeast is neglected in every aspect of development 8216;Key to Northeast: governance8217;, IE, October 6. To take just one example, while cities across India are planning metro networks, in the Northeast even ordinary trains do not make it to major cities and towns.

8212; Krishna Baruah Jorhat

Timeless probes

8226; So the CBI is going to probe one more case of corruption 8212; the Tehelka expose on defence deals 8212; and one can expect the probe to last at least a couple of decades 8216;De-commission8217;, IE, October 6. For those who think two decades is too much, think of the Bofors scam, which is now nearly two decades old and is still being investigated. Depending on the change of governments and the change in ruling parties, the probe will be either in cold storage or will be accelerated. To make defence deals corruption-free, one must make the whole process as transparent as possible.

8212; V.S. Venkatavaradan Salem

And merit?

8226; P.V. Indiresan8217;s article 8216;Cultivators versus gatherers8217; IE, September 24 is a fitting reply to those demanding reservations in the private sector on the lines of government services and public sector undertakings. It is a strange phenomenon of the Indian polity that no one wants to learn from past mistakes. Barring a few beneficiaries, reservations for SC/STs in government services and educational institutions has hardly improved their lot. It should be realised that no nation that co- mpromises on merit can become a developed country.

8212; Vidya Sagar Delhi

Coaching casts

8226; Apropos of the analysis 8216;If you can8217;t climb a tree8230;8217; by Kancha Ilaiah IE, October 6, the debatable question of casteism apart, it is a fact that we lack a sports culture in terms of coaching in our country. We rarely come across a coach here who genuinely and sincerely hunts for talent and nurtures it. Profesionalism is missing. Selfish interests dominate. It would definitely be in the interest of sportspersons if coaches were hired on a contract basis by the government and their continuance was related to performance.

8212; Himadri Moharana New Delhi

Taxing times

8226; I do agree with your editorial that imposition of cesses is bad public finance 8216;Cess mess8217;, IE, October 5.

8212; Rao Hyderabad