Sir — A new study has found that those who know about the teenage climate activist, Greta Thunberg, are more likely to take affirmative climate action than others. What is it about this young Swedish schoolgirl that inspires such confidence? It could be argued that her lonely stand outside her country’s Parliament made people believe that everyone can make a difference, no matter where they are placed in life.

Aditya Banerjee,
Gurgaon

Kind souls

Sir — It was interesting to learn that the first ever museum for dacoits of our country is going to be inaugurated in Bhind, Madhya Pradesh (“Cops and robbers”, Feb 7). The editorial in The Telegraph instantly reminded me of the renowned dacoits of Bengal, who were often loved by the common people for their humanitarian activities. They were very different from the thuggee and did not torture innocent people. Among the most famous of these dacoits was Raghu Dakat. He always helped out the needy, the poverty stricken and the weak. Whenever he got news of zamindars, the British or Indigo planters torturing people, he would reach that place with his troops and teach the oppressors a lesson. In fact, he was much like Bengal’s own Robin Hood.

This is perhaps the reason the general populace protected Raghu from the authorities. Many decades have passed since then, but Bengalis have not forgotten dacoits like Raghu Dakat.

One hopes one day a museum would also be opened in Bengal which will be dedicated to those helpful Bengali dacoits of the past, without whom the history of Bengal is incomplete.

Sourish Misra,
Calcutta

Memorable roles

Sir — With the demise of Christopher Plummer, the world has lost a consummate actor (“Sound of Music’s Captain is dead”, Feb 6). In his more than 50 years in the film industry, Plummer enjoyed playing a variety of roles in movies and Broadway productions like The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, Up and Inherit the Wind. In 2019, he starred as a mystery novelist in Rian Johnson’s Knives Out and in the TV suspense drama series, Departure. The Canadian actor had also played a host of major Shakespeare characters, including Hamlet, Iago, Othello, Prospero, Henry V and King Lear at Lincoln Center. He was fearless, energetic, courageous, knowledgeable, professional and a monument to what an actor can be.

S.S. Paul,
Nadia

Sir — For those of us who grew up watching reruns of The Sound of Music — it is a videocassette that middle class Bengalis thought worth buying — Christopher Plummer’s demise is saddening. Interestingly, the actor himself hated the film, finding it gooey and corny and worked hard to inject some humour into it. His success in doing so adds depth to an otherwise flat plot.

Barnali Sircar,
Calcutta