Never say die

Sir — Should the exit poll predictions turn true, we will be fortunate to see our friend, Comrade Harkishen Singh Surjeet, at his best again. Remember how he, along with N. Chandrababu Naidu kept a vigil on the United Front governments of H.D. Deve Gowda and I.K. Gujral? When these governments croaked under the pressure of the Congress, the poor Marxist could do little to guard his turf. Marxism had taught him only the “theory of annihilation”, not one of protection. But that is now history. Thanks to Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the comrade, politically inactive for years, is now a person brimming with confidence and enthusiasm. Witness the certificate he recently bestowed on his one-time protégé, Mulayam Singh Yadav (“Rush to encash secular cheque” April 28). There will be more of those in the coming days. But Surjeet should remember two things — one, he will no longer have Naidu’s assistance, and two, he doesn’t promise much efficiency. Ask the left for confirmation.

Yours faithfully,
R. Balasubramanian, Calcutta

Done in

Sir — Ashis Chakrabarti’s “Correct equation” (April 28), clearly shows that the performance of any government is becoming less important than its mastery over electoral equations.Which is the reason why the Left Front government in Bengal and the Rashtriya Janata Dal in Bihar continue to remain in power despite their misrule. Meanwhile, performers like Digvijay Singh, Ashok Gehlot and N. Chandrababu Naidu get the boot. However, the fact that rigging has a substantial part to play in the left win in Bengal cannot be written off. This, together with the left’s political agenda to transfer the blame of its non-performance to the Centre is responsible for its victory. The main reason behind the failure of development in other states is that rulers have not been successful in politicizing local organizations completely. Digvijay Singh could not add political colour to his panchayat, as the left has done.

Yours faithfully,
Sayan Ghosh, Calcutta

Sir — Amidst the cacophony of voices, Ashis Chakrabarti’s is probably the only sane one. The great Andhra and Karnataka dream, with their formula one racing tracks, IT hippies, Microsoft, pubs and so on have come to naught. Be that as it may, if S.M. Krishna and N. Chandrababu Naidu lose, it will be not so much for their failure to translate the dreams, but for a more mundane cause — water. The dreams did not take into account the importance of water.

Unfortunately, neither water nor any economic issues seem important in Bengal. Which is why neither the Trinamool Congress nor the Congress has included them in their manifesto. But without an economic programme, especially given that it has been unsuccessful in infiltrating the grassroots, how will the opposition get rid of the left in Bengal?

Yours faithfully
Probir Kumar Mitra, Calcutta

Sir — A quarter century of Marxist rule has made West Bengal one of the most backward states in the country. In a recently published guide to India’s urban markets that covered 784 towns, not a single town figured within the first 10 in any of the lists. Yet there was a time when people all over India came to Calcutta for medical treatment, education or employment. The flow has now been reversed. Train loads of people flock to Bangalore, Chennai or Delhi for treatment, education and jobs. Twenty-six years of Marxist rule has led Bengal to nowhere.

Yours faithfully,
Asoke C. Banerjee, Massachussetts, US

What’s in a mantra?

Sir — Khushwant Singh has expressed his desire to know the meaning and significance of the famous Gayatri mantra (“Our daily mantra”, April 10). This is an effort in that direction.

This mantra should actually be called Savitri mantra since it invokes god Savita or the sun. Gayatri is the name of the metre in which it has been set. This metre is one of the most important Vedic metres with three feet of eight syllables each, that is, twenty-four syllables in all.

Om or Pranava is uttered first and again at the end. It is a combination of three letters — a-u-m — signifying three important powers of the almighty, the creative, the protective and the terminating forces. Then we come down to our surroundings — the earth (bhuh), the atmosphere (bhuvah) and the heaven (svah). This focus shows that we admit their importance in our wellbeing. After that, we come to the main part of the verse, where we pray for the enhancement of our intellect. We meditate (dhi-ma-hi) that excellent power (tat va-re-nyam bhar-gah) of god Savita (de-va-sya-Sa-vi-tuh) who will push forward (yuh pra-cho-da-yaat) our intellect (nah dhi-yah).

The word varenyam in the first line should be read as va-re-ni-yam, that is an i should be put between n and ya. Without the letter i, the stipulated number of syllables, which is eight, will not be complete, and without this total number of 24 syllables, the mantra will not be effective.

This mantra is for our overall improvement. We cannot change the sequence of the words, or use an equivalent. The sounds and order are both equally important. The letters are arranged in a way that creates correct vibrations inside our body and puts into balance the secretions of our glands. With the brightening of our intellect, we will make this world a better place to live in. This has been the wish and hope of our ancient seers.

Yours faithfully,
Chhaya Bhattacharya, Calcutta

Sir — Why is Khushwant Singh so obsessed with the Gayatri mantra? Is he turning saffron?

Yours faithfully,
J. Acharya, Calcutta