A quality called kindness

TARU BAHL in her article "Kindness as akin to saintliness" (May 16) has assigned a wider meaning to the word kindness’ which has become a thing of the past. Our society is oblivious to obligations is but society obsessed with rights. Kindness, in fact, has become out of fashion in the present glitter of materialism. Kindness has rightly been defined as the capacity to have a feel, to tend someone’s psychological and physiological wounds without that person noticing it.

ANJANA SABHARWAL
Ambala

II

Kindness is also associated with management of office, business and industry. Life in office, business and industry is not merely a matter of attending for a few hours. It is matter of thinking dreaming, imagining and working with the colleagues and subordinates. In management, one should acquire the art of kindliness and persuasion. Kindness is an attribute of the strong, where one should put consideration of human dignity above pay promotion or environment. Proper words and actions inspire confidence, and a kind word tends to soothe disturbed and wounded feelings.

We all consider ourselves to be a part of mankind but how kind are we? It only takes an ounce of kindness to remove a tonne of distress.

O.P. SHARMA
Faridabad

III

Taru Bahl’s article was interesting. Kindness has guided the destiny of India since the days of Rama, Krishna, Buddha and Nanak who, were all kindness incarnate.

Kindness is a quality one should adore as if it is one’s God. How sad that we, particularly our young adults, have forgotten all about what India was, what India’s traditions were. They could do with the quality of kindness.

Young adults nowadays have believe in getting all and giving nothing."

DURGA BHARADWAJ
Solan

Star models

In article "Models with stars in their eyes" by Vimla Patil was intersting. From "modelling assignments" to "heroine roles"— the transformation for Zeenat, Kimikatkar, Sangeeta Bijlani, Kalpana Iyer was not an easy proposition. They were not blessed with genuine acting talents and could only manage to lend an outright glamorous touch to their roles on the screen.

Although Zeenat went from strength of strength, none of her movies made a lasting impact. Even a great film-maker like Raj Kapoor could not turn Zeenat into a great actress much that he tried in Satyam Shivam Sundaram. He could only manage to lay bare physical charms of the model-turned actres.

A modelling background is not the only requisite for becoming a good heroine. You require natural acting talent plus professional grooming combined with devotion. It is a pity that our present film-makers are blindly casting models as heroines just to give a glamourous touch to their movies. They are going in for meaningless film scripts which only favour casting of models.

ONKAR CHOPRA
Delhi

Revision of pension

This refers to "Fauji beat" (May 16) The writer deserves praise for highlighting facts in the case of personnel below officer rank. The existing work of scrutinising the forms should be streamlined for speedy payment.

Medical treatment during the sky rocketing prices is becoming prohibitive. It may not be possible for a person living in penury to get himself treated by a reputed doctor at a good nursing home. Rehabilitation of ex-servicemen once was a live issue not it has taken a back seat that is why problems related to a second career increase manifold. Perhaps pensioners are treated as a spent force, but those who are in service and are responsible of enforcing government decisions for speedy payment forget that they are tomorrow’s pensioners and they, too must expect the same treament. The disposal of these cases should be on a war- footing.

PARTAP SINGH
(Kainthan) Dasuya

Pran

Ashwini Bhaskar has stated in his letter (May 16) that Pran won Filmfare Award for Upkaar, Aansoo Ban Gaye Phool, Adhikaar and Beimaan.

Actually, Adhikaar did not get him the coveted trophy. Besides Upkaar, Ansoo Ban and Beimaan, he won a Filmfare award for lifetime achievement.

However, he had refused to accept the award for"Beimaan (in 1973), alleging that the organisers had rigged the best music award that year, giving it to Shanker-Jaikishan for Beimaan rather than to Ghulam Mohammed for Pakeezah.

SURENDRA MIGLANI
Kaithal

Redefining the republic

In the context of Sai R. Vaidyanathan’s write-up "Time to redefine the republic" (May 2), the parliamentary system is essentially a party system of democracy. When a person is not even fielded by a political party in the elections as the Prime Minister, (one of the basic requirements of the Parliamentary system) a serious distortion of democracy takes place. A leader of the single largest group, although in minority, can claim to be appointed as the Prime Minister without having the mandate of the national electorate. Such a person, more so when he is not even an elected member of the house of the people, can by no stretch of imagination be considered to have a superior electoral and democratic mandate than the President of India. The latter is elected by a larger electoral college and a clear majority of its voters.

The distortion of theoffice of the PrimeMinister and the Parliamentary system is complete, when even the largest political party is unable to field and project a leader as the prospective Prime Minister of the country.

K.M. VASHISHT
Mansa