Young mind
Sir — According to a recent study by the University of Cambridge, the human brain peaks at the age of 32 and remains in adolescent mode till then. The research says that the human brain moves through five major phases, with important rewiring milestones occurring at the ages, 9, 32, 66 and 83, and that neural networks keep reshaping themselves well into adulthood. This perhaps explains why ageing feels confusing. Your knees may be in their forties, your back in its sixties, but your brain is still a teenager. So the next time someone says, ‘Act your age,’ you can easily retort, ‘I am still buffering.’
Tathagata Sen,
Pune
Saffron symbol
Sir — The prime minister, Narendra Modi, hoisted a saffron flag atop the Ram temple at Ayodhya during the Abhijeet Muhurat (“In Ayodhya, PM hoists flag of ‘reawakening’”, Nov 26).It was gratifying to see the hoisting of the Dharma Dhwaj marking the completion of the temple.
During his speech, Modi waxed eloquent about civilisational pride. But it was completely irrelevant for the prime minister to talk about Thomas Babington Macaulay, a British administrator, whose education policy, Modi argued, still has Indians enslaved.
S. Balakrishnan,
Jamshedpur
Sir — While hoisting a Dharma Dhwaja at the Ram temple, Narendra Modi emphasised that “wounds of centuries are [now] healing”. One wonders whose wound Modi is talking about? Surely not those who are victims of communal polarisation in New India.
No prizes for guessing why Thomas Babington Macaulay, who was responsible for promoting English education in India, has become the subject of ire of the saffronites. Modi’s attack on Macaulay is in line with the ruling regime’s covert design of imposing Hindi as the national language.
Kajal Chatterjee,
Calcutta
Sir — Prime Minister Narendra Modi is notable for his engagement with Hindutva symbolism. His hoisting of a Dharma Dhwaja atop the Ram temple has raised several questions: should the leader of a secular country engage in such religiosity? Isn’t Modi’s act tantamount to disregarding the sentiments of other religious communities?
Manoharan Muthuswamy,
Chennai
Sir — Narendra Modi’s presence at the flag-hoisting ceremony at the Ram Temple shows that he has now morphed into Hindutva’s poster boy. Modi has no qualms about portraying himself as the defender-in-chief of the Hindu community.
Avinash Godboley,
Dewas, Madhya Pradesh
Losses mount
Sir — The loss in the Guwahati Test marked India’s third Test series whitewash at home and the second in 13 months (“Down & out India take a wallop”, Nov 27). Indian Test cricket has hit rock bottom. Test cricket tests cricketers’ temperament and skills. Batting for long hours is an art. Sadly, the current team does not have cricketers of the calibre of Sunil Gavaskar, Rahul Dravid, and V.V.S. Laxman.
India’s next red-ball assignment is an away series against Sri Lanka in August 2026. The long hiatus means that the team management and players will immediately transition to a white-ball cricket schedule, allowing them little time for introspection.
Bal Govind,
Noida
Sir — The declining standards of India’s Test cricket are deeply concerning (“Live by the spin, perish by the spin”, Nov 27). This is in sharp contrast to the era of Virat Kohli, under whom India played 31 home Tests in seven years and lost only two. Today, visiting teams defeat India with unexpected ease. The reasons behind this decline are clear: unfair selection and personal favouritism. India needs fair selection and a return to the five-bowler strategy.
Md. Imdadullah,
Hyderabad
Sir — The way India surrendered the Test series to the Proteas, after the whitewash of 3-0 at the hands of New Zealand, is now raising questions about the competency of Gautam Gambhir as the coach. He might be an expert in limited-overs cricket but the way he has managed the Test team is deplorable. The exclusion of Mohammed Shami and Sarfaraz Khan has proved costly.
Atul Krishna Srivastava,
Navi Mumbai
Sir — India’s vaunted Test record lies in a shambles. The two consecutive defeats at home have turned the spotlight on poor team selection. Test Cricket cannot be won by bits-and-pieces players who can win only Indian Premier League and Twenty20 matches.
N. Mahadevan,
Chennai
Sir — After the heavily criticised pitch at Eden Gardens in the opening match of the Test series against South Africa, the Guwahati Test, too, saw the result swing in favour of the visitors. The Assam Cricket Association had risen admirably to the occasion. The pitch, playing conditions, facilities, and overall spectator experience earned
the cricketing body widespread praise.
Himangka Kaushik,
Guwahati