Card for cash

APROPOS of Peeyush Agnihotri’s article "Card for cash" (March 7) we Indians are master imitators of western way of life. About a decade back, just one credit card existed in the country, namely Diners Club Card, which was accepted as an international credit card. However, during the past 10 years, a number of credit cards have been launched in India and the possession of such a card, like the mobile phone, has become a status symbol.

The trend of possessing credit cards, is affecting the psyche of the younger generation, which proudly exhibits them, without realising the flip side of purchases made there-on. Many youngsters become erratic payees or wilful defaulters.

In the connection, I reproduce below an extract from a news-item captioned "Closed: credit cards can’t buy railway tickets", appearing in a national daily of Delhi, on March 7 this year.

The news item stated: Railway reservation offices in the city have black-listed three banks and stopped accepting their credit cards for all transactions. For three weeks now, the special counters selling tickets against credit cards have shut shop and are awaiting further instructions. The reason: over the past one year, the three banks failed to pay the railways Rs 50 lakh in dues.

O.P. SHARMA
Faridabad

Live courageously

Taru Bahl’s write-up "You cannot begin to live unless you dare to die" (February7) is a bold statement on modern man’s inertia. A close reading of the article injects hope into distressed hearts and infuses life into dead soul by saying that one should not be cowed down in the face of fear. Instead, the storms of distress should be weathered valiantly. The point has been brought home beautifully through various instances from history which have been created by courageous people.

Modern man’s preference for taking a neutral stance rather than for fighting for what he believes to be correct is the root-cause of the present-day dilemma society is facing today.

AJANA SABHARWAL
Ambala

Shashikala

It was nice to go through Shashikala’s interview with Vimla Patil (March 7). I don’t think any other vamp of Hindi films has ever impressed the cinegoers as much as Shashikala did in the sixties. I remember how, as a schoolboy, I hated her because of the roles she played on the screen. However, now I realise that such hatred is the real success of an artiste playing negative roles.

I also cannot help recalling how special posters of Phool aur Patthar depicting only Shashikala were pasted on the walls when the movie entered the second week of its run in 1967. This goes to show how much she must have impressed the audience even while working with artistes like Meena Kumari and Dharmendra!

By the way, Shashikala seems to have forgotten her real achievements on the Filmfare Award front when she states that she was nominated five times for it. Actually, she had won eight nominations (for Sujata, Aarti, Gumrah, Aayee Milan ki Bela, Himalay ki Godh Mein, Anupama, Phool aur Patthar and Neel Kamal) all in the best supporting actress category. She had bagged the coveted trophy for two of them (Aarti and Gumrah). Incidentally she is the only camp to have won so many nominations and awards.

SURENDRA MIGLANI
Kaithal

Naam-sankirtan

Apropos of Devi Singh Naruka’s article "Singing in praise of the Lord" (March 7), it is a treat watch the devotees singing with gay abandon the praises of God at Qawwali-mehfils during Urs. In a similar fashion, congregational singing — sankirtan or shabad-kirtan — spreads joy of love all around through the spiritual currents and vibrations it generates.

Piety does not consist in mere utterance or a mechanical chant of the Naam. True Naam-sankirtan emanates from a pure heart, impelling us to lead a regulated life — a life conducive to sublime thoughts fed on satvir food and satvir pursuits, taking care that this holy exercise at the dawn of the day or late at night does not disturb the neighbours’ sleep. It should encourage us to serve the sick, the poor and the emotionally-starved.

S.K. SHARMA
Hoshiarpur

She builds bridges

Thangamani’s article "She builds bridges with her heart" (February 28) was interesting and informative. In terms of inspiration, Thangamani has unconsciously spilled the beans; after reading the piece men and women may change the motives of their social dealings, and, in that case, the article will lose its pertinence. To know more about relative traits of man and woman, it will be beneficial and enjoyable to go through Will Durant’s The Story of Philosophyand John Gray’s Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus.

ASWINY K. CHAKRAVARTTI
Shimla

II

The contribution of women in binding society cannot be underestimated. But men, though a bit careless, may not be as harsh as generally thought of. In urban nuclear families, husbands cooperate with wives in day-to-day activities, leaving their egos behind. Moreover, atrocities on women, as we often come across, are not mostly due to male domination but certain uncalled for social irregularities (e.g. The mother-in-law syndrome), for which women are equally responsible. The confrontation between sexes is uncalled for. If women are aggressive in their dealings, the situation will worsen.

M.P.S. CHADHA
Chandigarh

Art of forgiveness

"The virtue that heels" By Taru Bahl (March 7) stressed the need of forgiveness in life. The saying Kshama Parmo Dharma says it all. By the art of forgiveness, we can halve number of our sorrows. Diseases like blood pressure and psychological ailments can be eliminated by the principle of ‘forgetting and forgiving’. We should forget and forgive by thinking that all that is happening in the world is according to the will of God. We should remember:

Sweetness is within every heart
Bitterness is an illusion that melts
In the sunlight of Divine Love"
— (The Mother, Aurobindo Ashram)

SUKHWANT KAUR
Phagwara