Moment to remember

Kodak moment

Sir — The photograph of the Trinamool Congress leader, Mamata Banerjee, greeting Jyoti Basu on his birthday (July 9), was a pleasant treat for readers. The picture is historic and deserves to be archived since the two leaders have been captured in a rare moment when they are smiling and looking happy. Given the antagonism between the Trinamool Congress and the ruling party of West Bengal — an antagonism that takes on new colours everyday — it is not often that we get to see such an expression on the faces of these party leaders. However, one should not feel too optimistic about the possibility of a better relationship between the Left and the opposition in the future. The political situation in West Bengal is quite unique because the opposition here spends time derailing all projects, good or bad, initiated by the government. The fact that in a parliamentary democracy even the opposition parties are expected to do their bit for the welfare of their state is a concept quite alien to the opposition here.

Yours faithfully,
Srikanta Bhattacharjee,Calcutta

Sir —The birthday bash of the grand old patriarch of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), Jyoti Basu, is organized each year on an impressive scale, mainly under the auspices of Basu’s trusted follower, the state transport minister, Subhas Chakraborty. This year, Basu was presented with a costly golden figurine of himself by an NGO associated with Chakraborty’s wife. Although, as a communist, Jyotibabu is not supposed to believe in idol worship or in ostentation of any kind, he allows his trusted lieutenants to go forward with his birthday party every year. Instead of being so blatantly hypocritical, Basu should try making his party and the opposition solve the problem of land acquisition. Basu’s partymen ought to know that a truce that serves the interests of both the people and the parties would be the best birthday gift ever for the honoured leader.

Yours faithfully,
A.S. Mehta, Calcutta

Sir — Jyoti Basu has almost always been photographed with a grim, set face. Pabitra Das and Gour Sharma, the photographers credited for the picture which appeared on the July 9 edition, deserve whole-hearted praise for allowing the readers a chance to see the veteran leader with a smiling face, for once.

Yours faithfully,
C.R. Bhattacharjee, Calcutta

Sir — It was good to see Mamata Banerjee visiting Jyoti Basu to wish him on his 94th birthday. One might venture to suggest that Banerjee has by now realized the futility of opposing industrialization in Bengal, and also that her protests for Singur and Nandigram are losing their ballast. Her attempt to get close to Basu can thus also be a clever ploy to find a respectable way to get herself out of a humiliating situation. Banerjee knows that if she wants to arrive at a settlement on the land-acquisition issue, Basu can be of help by virtue of his influence over his party and the chief minister.

Yours faithfully,
Kalyan Ghosh, Calcutta

Stripped bare

Sir — The different public reactions to Pooja Chauhan’s semi-nude march on the streets to protest against domestic abuse once again expose society’s mindset with regard to women (“Social malaise deeper than domestic violence”, July 13). While some have praised Chauhan for her ‘bravery’, a section is eager to indict her for violating social modesty. They refuse to acknowledge the torture that must have driven Chauhan to desperation. Chauhan’s remonstration recalls that of the Manipuri women who had stripped themselves naked to protest against the rape and murder of a young girl by armymen. Women can take such an extreme step only when they have crossed the threshold of endurance. Chauhan has allegedly been harassed by her in-laws, both over the birth of a girl child and for dowry. Did the moral guardians, now enraged, do anything for her when she was being tormented?

Yours faithfully,
Ranadhish Choudhuri,Calcutta

Sir — While Pooja Chauhan’s in-laws claim that she has assaulted them, Yogesh Mehta, a member of the National Commission for Women, believes that she is in need of “counselling and proper rehabilitation”. Malini Bhattacharya, who heads a four-member team from the NCW probing the case to find out what made the 22-year-old take such an “extreme step”, has also revealed her bias in Chauhan’s favour by commenting that she needs protection. Do taxpayers pay for the maintenance of the NCW so that it can promote deviant behaviour? Voyeurs, however, will be grateful to the NCW for affirming that “there are many Poojas”. They must be hoping that these Poojas will soon take to the streets in their undergarments, putting their Brazilian sisters to shame.

Yours faithfully,
Tapan Pal, Batanagar

Sir — While Malini Bhattacharya shows much concern for Pooja Chauhan, it is surprising that the National Commission for Women has done little to ensure that the murderer of Tapasi Malik got punished. On the contrary, the CPI(M), on whose ticket Bhattacharya has fought elections, is eager to hush up the rape and murder because the accused is a party leader. Words fail when one tries to discuss the CPI(M)’s blatant double standards.

Yours faithfully,
Sucharita Ghosh, Calcutta

Parting shot

Sir — I love reading Amit Chaudhuri’s articles. They are hilarious. He uses words like “ludic-plangent” (“The key of dreams”, June 24), “falafel” and “noveau Roman” without explaining what they are supposed to mean. He blithely uses long quotes in French without translating them. His sentences are so long that before you reach the end of each one you forget how it began. Chaudhuri is a classic example of a brown sahib trying to impress his white masters by showing off his English. Since the beauty of the English language resides in its simplicity, he might just try doing away with the frills he seems to be so fond of.

Yours faithfully,
Arup Banerjee, Calcutta

An apology

This refers to the Diary item, “Maid still in waiting” (July 15), about Kiran Bedi. Ms Bedi called us to say that there is no truth in what has been said. We offer our apologies to Ms Bedi.

— The Editor