The joy of words
Sir — The English language in India is a long-running cultural potluck where words like ‘bungalow’ and ‘mango’ arrived uninvited and stayed for good. Yet, as auto-correct now finishes sentences before a thought even settles, one wonders what becomes of the humble dictionary. The printed one, that required some page-flipping and patience, built more than vocabulary; it built memory. Digital dictionaries are convenient, but they rarely leave a trace in the mind. It was Dictionary Day recently and a reminder to let technology assist, not replace, the small joy of discovering words by effort rather than algorithm.
Yashodhara Sen,
Calcutta
Lax security
Sir — Thieves, reportedly armed with chainsaws, stormed the Louvre Museum in Paris and made off with a collection of jewels once belonging to Napoleon and Empress Joséphine. This shows how even the most secure cultural institutions remain vulnerable. A gang with chainsaws entering the Apollo Gallery sounds absurd, yet it happened in broad daylight. The theft of Napoleon’s jewels is not only a loss of objects but of shared heritage. Museums hold humanity’s collective memory, and their protection must be treated with the seriousness given to national security. France invests heavily in culture, but this incident shows that vigilance can never be outsourced to technology alone.
Annesha Ghosh,
Calcutta
Sir — The Louvre heist could almost be mistaken for a scene from a film. Unfortunately, this one is real, and the embarrassment for French authorities is considerable. Chainsaws and scooters do not belong in the world’s most visited museum. The fact that the thieves slipped through an area under construction suggests procedural lapses. Cultural treasures need not just alarms and cameras but rigorous oversight. If Paris cannot safeguard its crown jewels, smaller museums across Europe are right to feel uneasy. The theft will embolden crooks.
Koustabh Sengupta,
Calcutta
Sir — The audacity of the thieves at the Louvre will likely spark another round of debate about museum security and insurance, but the deeper issue is the market that fuels such crimes. As long as collectors pay handsomely for stolen heritage, enforcement remains one step behind. It is greed that makes theft profitable.
Brij B. Goyal,
Ludhiana
Protection needed
Sir — A bill was tabled in Parliament last year to “rationalise” the number of monuments under the Archaeological Survey of India. This sounds suspiciously like a yard clearance for development that will benefit crony capitalists who fund the political party in power. The language of policy has a way of disguising intent. Once the State abdicates its custodial role, the loss will be irreversible. The ASI may need energy and accountability, but it still represents a public commitment to history over profit. To discard it now is to declare that built heritage no longer matters. Cities that erase their pasts end up indistinguishable from one another.
N. Mahadevan,
Chennai
Sir — The suggestion that the ASI has outlived its relevance should alarm anyone who values continuity with the past. Monuments are not ornamental relics. They are fragments of memory in stone. The ASI’s work has certainly weakened but it is by no means not redundant. Replacing protection with private ‘adoption’ of monuments invites selective preservation and quiet demolition. A city without its ruins is a city without depth.
Bal Govind,
Noida
Wasted bloom
Sir — The decision to grow tulips in Delhi raises an old question about extravagance in public projects. These flowers survive for only a few days in the city’s heat and their maintenance costs exceed the upkeep of native species. Delhi’s public parks often lack basic care, so spending on a Dutch import seems misplaced. A stronger civic gesture would be to nurture indigenous blooms that thrive in local soil and air. Beauty born of suitability endures longer than any spectacle forced into an alien climate.
Prasun Kumar Dutta,
West Midnapore
Start small
Sir — The idea of gifting potted plants during festivals is simple yet effective. A plant on every balcony or windowsill can add up to a noticeable difference in air quality. The government often spends large sums on decorative events that leave no trace. Redirecting a fraction of that budget to distribute indoor plants would create a visible, lasting impact. Policies do not always need not always be grand. A greener home is the first step toward a greener city.
Haran Chandra Mandal,
Calcutta
Sir — The proposal to make household plants a civic responsibility deserves attention. It encourages citizens to participate in environmental care without waiting for large-scale policy shifts. However, compulsion may not be the best approach. Awareness and accessibility work better than mandates. Urban residents already face limits of space, cost and water.
Sourish Misra,
Calcutta