Passage to India

Sir — One wonders why one has to be assaulted by pictures of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt every day that the star couple is in India. Why must we have photographs of the duo with their son inside an auto-rickshaw on the frontpages of our newspapers (The Telegraph, Oct 9)? Will somebody tell the stars that they look like dunces trying to experience ‘exotic India’? The sullen and bored expression on the face of their adopted ‘exotic’ son, Maddox, is a comment on the ridiculous attempts of Westerners to get a taste of the ‘real’ India.

Yours faithfully,
Soma Datta, Siliguri

Letting loose

Sir — The controversy over the appearance of the Indian cricketer, Harbhajan Singh, in an advertisement for a liquor company with his hair untied is unwarranted (“Harbhajan apologises”, Oct 8). The Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee, the body entrusted with the upkeep of matters pertaining to the Sikh community, is being irritatingly self-righteous in asking Singh to apologize for his conduct. Does the spirit of Sikhism reside in the prescribed dress code of the community or does it lie in the teachings of the Sikh gurus? Very few Hindu Brahmins today wear the sacred thread or keep a pigtail. By not following these rituals in dress code, do these Hindus become sinners? Only those ignorant of the true essence of a religion would suppose that dress codes form an integral part of religious belief.

Yours faithfully,
Asoke C. Banerjee, Calcutta

Sir — The objections raised by the SGPC can hardly be described as an “instance of religious interference in sports”, as the report “Harbhajan apologises”, says. The advertisement in which Harbhajan Singh featured along with Yuvraj Singh and Mahendra Singh Dhoni was in no way related to sports. The surrogate advertisement for Seagram liquor only used the sportsmen for their star power. But by appearing in the advertisement with his hair open, Singh has indeed maligned his religion. It suddenly seems to have become fashionable to show irreverence towards one’s religion. However, by stirring up the controversy over Harbhajan’s appearance in the advertisement, the SGPC has unwittingly provided both Singh and the liquor brand with some much-wanted publicity. If the SGPC is truly interested in chastizing Harbhajan, then it should charge as fine a considerable amount of Singh’s contract value with Seagram. This will stop celebrities from endorsing harmful products in offensive ways.

Yours faithfully,
Tapan Pal, Batanagar

Sir — Indian players at the national level earn handsome amounts for the games they play. Yet they cannot overcome the lure of making some extra money by doing advertising assignments for various brands. The Board of Control for Cricket in India should lay down firm guidelines to ensure that players concentrate more on their game than on featuring in advertisements.

Yours faithfully,
A.S. Mehta, Calcutta

Parting shot

Sir — I have been travelling frequently between Tollygunge station and Park Street station of the Metro Railways for the last 15 years. As a senior citizen, I find neither station user-friendly for the aged and the infirm. At the Tollygunge station, one has to negotiate 35 steps to the platform for the Dumdum bound train while at the Park Street station, one must ascend 85 steps to the top. Will the Metro authorities kindly look into the matter and install escalators at both the stations?

Yours faithfully,
Subrata Bose, Calcutta