Misplaced priority

Sir — Controversy over language is the flavour of the season. Now, even birds have not been spared from the fangs of language politics. In the latest incident, Bharatiya Janata Party leaders protested outside the Byculla zoo, demanding that the three newborn penguins there be renamed from Noddy, Tom and Pingu to Adu, Sanju and Teju, respectively. They have argued that the chicks must have Marathi names since they were born in Mumbai. Many newborn penguins in that zoo have perished owing to infections. Instead of politicising their names, protesters should demand better upkeep of the birds.

N. Katekar,
Thane

Worth the wait

Sir — Royal Challengers Bengaluru lifted their maiden Indian Premier League trophy on Tuesday (“At 18, RCB come of age”, June 4). With this victory, the team silenced its critics and fulfilled its long-standing slogan, “Ee sala cup namde”. RCB’s journey in the eighteen years of IPL’s history has been marked by both great moments and painful losses. Despite having star players like Virat Kohli, A.B. de Villiers, and Chris Gayle in past seasons, the title had always slipped away.

However, this year, RCB managed to break the curse under the leadership of Rajat Patidar. Credit must be given to Virat Kohli for his steady 43-run knock and to Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Krunal Pandya for defending the total in a tense final. Their win represents patience, loyalty, and the power of belief.

Vishal Mayur,
Tumkur, Karnataka

Sir — While the wait is finally over for RCB, the IPL trophy has eluded Punjab Kings this season. For RCB, the victory fulfils long-held ambitions of players like Virat Kohli. At 36 years of age, Kohli is still the best on the field. But there are many takeaways for the runner-up, Punjab Kings, which has young talents like Priyansh Arya who impressed with their performances this season.

S. Sankaranarayanan,
Chennai

Sir — After 18 long years of unwavering loyalty to RCB, Virat Kohli has managed to lift the team’s first IPL trophy this year (“King crowned”, June 5). The moment will surely go down in IPL history. Despite the near misses, the heartbreaks and the rebuilding phases in the last 18 years, Kohli’s commitment to his team never faltered. Kohli has always been a legend. Now, he has added another feather to his cap.

Susanta Roy Chowdhury,
Calcutta

Sir — RCB’s victory in the IPL’s 18th edition is not a mere winning of the trophy — it was cathartic for millions of RCB fans who have always supported the team through each painful loss. For years, RCB carried the tag of underachievers and no one bore that burden more heavily than Virat Kohli. Season after season, Kohli was criticised, doubted, and questioned for his team’s failure to win the trophy.

This historic win was led by the young and dynamic skipper, Rajat Patidar, whose calm and confident leadership inspired the squad. Players like Jitesh Sharma, Phil Salt, Josh Hazlewood and Krunal Pandya also rose to the occasion.

Md. Imdadullah,
Hyderabad

Sir — RCB deserve to be congratulated for their maiden IPL title, which had been eluding the team for close to two decades. Virat Kohli’s emotional statement after lifting the trophy is proof of his attachment to the team. With the IPL trophy, Kohli’s trophy cabinet — the one-day international World Cup in 2011, the Champions Trophy in 2013, the Twenty20 World Cup in 2024, and Champions Trophy 2025 — is now truly complete. One wishes he reneges on his decision to quit Test cricket and plays against England in the upcoming tour.

N. Mahadevan,
Chennai

Different views

Sir — Two articles, “Long struggle” (June 2) and “Men over machines” (June 3), differ in their conclusions over the fate of the ongoing Ukraine-Russia conflict. While the former finds reasons and speculates about Ukraine’s dominance and victory if it can pursue a long-term struggle, the latter argues that Russia has been on the winning side till now as a result of its sound military base and classical defence line. The two articles take contrasting views on America’s support for Ukraine. While “Long struggle” expects that the United States of America will help Ukraine in fields like intelligence and air-defence interceptors, “Men over machines” reasons that US support for Ukraine is decreasing.

Despite Ukraine destroying a large number of Russian warplanes last week with its indigenous drones, it still faces the major challenge of a shortage of manpower. So Russia has every possibility to gain from a protracted war.

Sukhendu Bhattacharjee,
Hooghly

Heritage show

Sir — The Indian army recently opened the colonial-era Ferozepur fort in Punjab to the public (“Fort opens”, June 3). It is the first time in over 200 years that this significant architectural and historical monument has been made accessible to the public. This will boost tourism and increase public awareness of India’s heritage.

Sourish Misra,
Calcutta