Take a bow
Sir — Kolhapuri chappals being featured by Prada on the Milan runway might feel glamorous but omitting their roots is rather like serving curry without the spice. Labels have dipped into global wardrobes for decades. Crediting the original source would have cost little and meant much. The buta became Paisley, and the shawl lost its story. Must the chappal suffer the same fate? Inspiration adds sheen but acknowledgement adds soul. Credit is not a burden, it is a bow. If fashion is theatre, then let the makers, not just the models, take a bow at the curtain call. Indian artisans deserve this much.
Arif Mohammad,
Dhanbad
Cheerful message
Sir — New York may soon have a mayor who quotes Martin Luther King and makes policies that would have made John Stuart Mill proud. Zohran Mamdani has swept through the Democratic primaries like a gust of fresh air, brandishing rent freezes and free buses with the energy of a campaigner on a sugar rush. Critics may sniff at socialism but when the rent hike is bigger than the salary hike, radical ideas do not seem quite so radical.
Jang Bahadur Singh,
Jamshedpur
Sir — Politics in the United States of America has seen many strange trajectories but a SoundCloud rapper-turned-mayoral frontrunner may top the charts. Zohran Mamdani’s promise of State-owned grocery stores sounds like a remix of old-school socialism but it hits a note with New Yorkers struggling at the checkout line. Prices are dancing to a tune no one asked for and Mamdani offers to change the DJ. It remains to be seen if this track plays well beyond the primary stage.
Debapriya Paul,
Calcutta
Sir — Zohran Mamdani has done something few politicians manage; he has made socialism sound cheerful. Free childcare, rent freezes, and $30 minimum wage usually summon grim-faced lectures, but Mamdani wraps them in warmth and multilingual charm. Speaking Bengali and quoting Martin Luther King, he evokes a New York many dream of, even if others dismiss it as a mirage. For once, the Left feels like a party, not a scolding. If Mamdani wins, political scientists should recalibrate their models and the Left globally take a leaf out of his book.
Asim Bandopadhyay,
Howrah
Poor joke
Sir — There is something quietly tragic about needing to explain a joke mid-laugh. Yet, with memes replacing jokes, live conversations can turn into decoding exercises. One begins with a reel, ends with a rant and everyone leaves a little wearier. Humour does not need hyperlinks. Perhaps meaning lives best in moments that unfold slowly. Shared laughter once needed nothing but timing and eye contact. Let us not flatten every funny thing into a format.
Sunil Chopra,
Ludhiana
Lost delights
Sir — Amid all this ruckus over whether prasad from Digha is mahaprasad, one misses the clatter of tiny wooden wheels pulled around by children in quiet neighbourhoods. The rath er mela still holds pockets of joy — nagordolas that creak with charm and syrupy jilipis in sal leaf cones — but the sparkle of hand-decorated raths and palm-leaf soldiers is fading fast. Perhaps the remedy lies not in nostalgia, but in revival. Some glitter paper, a humble rath, and a neighbourhood street may be all it takes to bring the magic back.
Vinay Asawa,
Howrah
Sir — The real joy of rath yatra lives in hot jilipis, giant, oily papads and telebhaja. No five-star fare from any temple can match the sinful bliss of a street-side snack that is had while trying to shelter from the rain.
Sourish Misra,
Calcutta
