The joke’s on them

Sir — Making a whole nation laugh is a serious business. And Britain’s official court jester, Nigel Roder, is likely to find that out soon (“UK chooses its national fool”, Aug 8). Roder’s antics are unlikely to lighten the national mood, thanks to Tony Blair. The country has been in bad humour ever since it was sent to war with Iraq on the flimsiest of grounds. Alastair Campbell, the “dodgy dossier”, and the BBC imbroglio, followed by David Kelly’s shocking suicide, did nothing to improve it. And now the acquittal of Blair of all his sins by the Hutton and Butler reports has made moods more sullen. Blair may now be desperately trying to dissociate himself from the Iraq fiasco, but the damage is done. The queen and his prime minister may want Roder to make Britons laugh. But Blair’s misdeeds may soon see Roder, like the Shakespearean fool, laughing at his prime minister’s follies.

Yours faithfully,
Sanjay Ghosh, Calcutta

Fond remembrance

Sir — The relationship between Jawaharlal Nehru and Hirendranath Mukherjee that Ashok Mitra refers to in “A homage sans illusion” (Aug 6), is best described by Mukherjee himself, “I have had the great fortune of being admitted to the affections of Jawaharlal Nehru”. When he wrote The Gentle Colossus, a study of Nehru, five months after his death in 1964, Mukherjee confessed, “But perhaps the personal factor creeps also into my most impersonal chapters. If I was a good enough Marxist, which I fear I am not, I would have written differently.” Long before this, Nehru showered his affection on Mukherjee in a letter written to him on September 14, 1960: “Anyway, I am grateful to you for having written to me frankly about the turmoil in your mind — it does some good to get this out and to discuss it, though unfortunately, there are not too many persons with whom one can talk about these matters. I have long wanted to have leisurely talks with you, but in the rush of events that leisure is not found. Still we must find some time for this.”

Yours faithfully,
Debaki Nandan Mandal, Calcutta

Sir — Ashok Mitra’s eloquent tribute to Hiren Mukherjee conveniently overlooks a couple of things. One, Mukherjee was a shameless supporter of Emergency. This was, of course, in keeping with his adulation of Stalinism. Mitra, who vituperates against Emergency and its supporters, has chosen to remain silent in Mukherjee’s case. The other is a piece of deliberate misinformation. Mitra’s assertion that Mukherjee “had more adherents in the CPI(M) than in the CPI” is not true. The fact is, and this is known by anybody who has followed the Communist Party of India-Communist Party of India (Marxist) feud, is that Mukherjee was detested by the latter. The CPI(M)’s discovery of Mukherjee is of recent vintage.

Yours faithfully,
Jyotirmoy Gangopadhaya, Calcutta

Sir — “A leader with a difference dies” (July 31) failed to mention that Mukherjee was one of the best parliamentarians of our time. Mukherjee’s book on Rabindranath Tagore, Himself a True Poem, is a masterpiece. Unfortunately, most of his books are no longer available and his parliamentary speeches are gathering dust in the parliament library.

Yours faithfully,
Rajarshi, Noida

Sir — It is common for the CPI(M) cadre to forcibly shut down local shops and establishments as a mark of tribute to a departed leader — be it a scholar like Hiren Mukherjee or some small fry (“Tribute shuts out film fans”, Aug 2). What is most annoying is that they do not care to inform people beforehand. I had a bitter taste of this when some days ago, somebody in the management committee of the local market passed away. Unaware of this, I arrived at the deserted market, only to be shooed away by the cadre. It seems that the party cadre have misconstrued the chief minister’s call of “Do it now” for “Shut it now”.

Yours faithfully,
Sakti Biswas, Calcutta

Play time, folks

Sir — Olympics 2004 will be starting in a few days’ time. But even now, very few of us know the names of the Indian players who will be participating in the games. For example, how many of us have heard of Mouma Das or Soma Biswas? Recently, the media flashed pictures of one of these players waiting in a railway platform with only her parents and coach to accompany her. It is unfortunate that table tennis or athletics is neglected in comparison to football and cricket. There is hardly any media coverage of these individual players. But the media spotlight is extremely important to encourage the players, especially on the eve of an international event like the Olympics.

Yours faithfully,
Rimli Datta, Calcutta

Sir — “Many Indians dope: Milkha” (Aug 6) was depressing. The Olympics is a premier event and India should send the largest team possible because Olympics is not just about winning, it is about participating. Ten thousand athletes from about 180 nations come to the games and about 9,000 of the participants do not win any medals. Are they all losers? About 80 per cent of the participating nations have no prospects of winning. Does that mean they do not participate at all? When we know that many top athletes use drugs and cheat to win, it is even more important now to participate with good humour and demonstrate that winning does not matter.

Yours faithfully,
B. Aikat, Ottawa, Canada

Sir — The whole nation waits for the Indian contingent to return with medals from the Olympics. But what has the nation given to the participants to expect a medal? The facilities made available to them are far below the world standard. Lack of sponsorship makes it difficult for them to obtain the right sports kit, diet and training. The sports administration in the country is far from professional. Favouritism is rampant. A glaring example is the inclusion of the mercurial Dhanraj Pillai in the Olympic-bound hockey team, despite the hue and cry raised against the decision. Last but not the least, the participants were packed off without a decent pocket allowance. Under these circumstances, isn’t it too much to expect the Indians to win?

Yours faithfully,
Ullas Pradhan, Cuttack