Sad notes
* MEHDI HASSANS death has brought grief not only to fans in the subcontinent but to music lovers all over the world. The void created by his absence will be hard to fill. Lata Mangeshkar once said of Hassan that god spoke through his voice. Hassan will continue to live through the ghazals he left behind.
Bidyut K. Chatterjee
Faridabad
* AFTER a prolonged illness,the legendary Mehdi Hassan passed away. Not long ago,music lovers also mourned the death of Jagjit Singh. The two will always be remembered as the icons of ghazal.
Parminder Singh
Biding time
* THE nexus between Mamata Banerjee and Mulayam Singh Yadav seems to have derailed the Congresss plans to instal a president of its choice in Rashtrapati Bhavan (SP-TMC front makes it harder for Cong to play one against the other,IE,June 14). But this may only be a momentary setback. If Banerjee gets the desired financial package,she may toe the Congress line. The name of Somnath Chatterjee also deserves special attention.
C.N.N. Nair
Poor show
* INDIAS industrial output for April,at 0.1 per cent,reflects the sad state of the economy (Indias April industrial output growth almost stalls at 0.1%,IE,June 12). Nevertheless,UPA 2 is questioning the proposed downgrade by Standard & Poors. The people of India were under the impression that with economists like Manmohan Singh and Montek Singh Ahluwalia at the helm,they were in safe hands. But they have been proved wrong. Vital economic reforms are still to be implemented. No doubt,the government faces coalition compulsions. But why are erratic allies like the Trinamool Congress being tolerated at all? The Left did its best to impede UPA 1; TMC is doing the same to UPA 2.
Yash P. Verma
Lost childhood
* EVERY year,we observe the World Day Against Child Labour on June 12. Following the ILO convention,the government of India enacted the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act in 1986,banning employment of children below 14 years. Yet the available statistics on child labour reveal a sordid picture. The government must strictly implement poverty alleviation programmes and provide educational facilities for underprivileged children.
A. Azim
Life begins at 60
* APROPOS Senior citizens marriage mela arrives,25 couples step forward (IE,June 13),an Ahmedabad-based NGOs effort to organise a swayamvar for senior citizens had mixed results. On the positive side,25 matches were made. However,a lot of the men could not find partners as very few women attended the ceremony.
Vijay D. Patil
Pune
