Go local

Sir — People in Bengal seem to be going back to their roots. A recent report showed that traditional local food like kochur loti, shapla, shamuk, shorputi caught from local ponds and so on have gained popularity in the state. Although the report attributed this to indigenous influencers from villages joining social media and sharing these traditional recipes with the public, the reason might not be so simple. With the rising price of cereals and vegetables in the market, more people are being forced to cook and consume things that were once seen as ingredients that only the poor and the marginalised cooked with.

Sonali Sinha, Calcutta

Biased narrative

Sir — The first film that the prime minister, Narendra Modi, publicly watched after assuming office more than 10 years ago is The Sabarmati Report. Modi was shown to be watching the film along with senior Union ministers and a galaxy of political leaders belonging to the National Democratic Alliance. By watching this film and publicising it, Modi underscored that even 22 years after the incidents depicted in the film, he is worried over the fact that a majority of Indians do not completely believe his version of the entire episode.

Anthony Henriques, Mumbai

Sir — The Sabarmati Report was endorsed glowingly as the ‘truth’ by Narendra Modi and his ilk because it establishes the attack on the Sabarmati Express as a pre-planned conspiracy, which killed 59 people returning from Ayodhya after attending a religious function organised by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad. The truth, as revealed by the media of that time, is that these people were mobilised to exert pressure on the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government to permit a symbolic initiation of the construction of the Ram temple. But people are rarely able to tell truth from fiction anymore.

G. David Milton, Maruthancode, Tamil Nadu

Misplaced angst

Sir — The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief, Mohan Bhagwat, has expressed concern over declining fertility and requested women to have more children — three each, to be precise. Bhagwat is not alone. The chief ministers of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, too, have made similar comments. The angst might seem premature in the world’s most populous nation of 1.4 billion people. Yet, in India, as in the rest of the world, alarm bells are ringing about a decline in population. While the reasons for such concerns are mostly misguided, it must be asked why fewer women are having children.

All over the world, but more so in India, the division of responsibilities between parents is lopsided, leading to what economists call a ‘motherhood penalty’. A 2017 World Bank paper found that labour force participation for Indian women with even one child was at 16.1%, significantly lower than the 23.6% for women with no children. The cost of living, the precarity of jobs, raised living standards and aspirations have made raising even one child a serious consideration. Perhaps the concerned leaders should focus on this and then birth rates will right themselves.

Debapriya Paul, Calcutta

Right word

Sir — The buzz surrounding the Oxford Word of the Year — ‘brain rot’ — is not without reason (“Word of caution”, Dec 8). The annual tradition of dictionaries picking a Word of the Year has become more than a mere linguistic exercise — it serves as a cultural barometer, reflecting the collective ethos, mood and preoccupations of society at a specific moment in time.

Thus Cambridge has named ‘manifest’ as its selection and Collins chose ‘brat’. Whether chosen for their popularity in public discourse or for embodying pivotal moments, these words spark debates and discussions, reminding us of the power and fluidity of language in framing our worldviews.

Murtaza Ahmad, Calcutta

Sir — The growing prevalence of ‘brain rot’ coincides with serious concerns over mental health, particularly among young people. Brain rot speaks to one of the perceived dangers of virtual life and how people are increasingly using their free time. It feels like a rightful next chapter in the cultural conversation about humanity and technology. The decision of Oxford to name it Word of the Year is thus appropriate.

G.R. Gopinath, Bengaluru

Sick outlook

Sir — Britain has seen a boom in online ‘sickfluencers’. A wave of accounts on TikTok and YouTube advising people on how to maximise illness and disability payouts has been getting millions of views. These sickfluencers have become the new ‘demons’ in public discourse, allegedly trying to cheat the system. That there is more outrage directed towards ill people finding ways to navigate this rotten system — they have been called cheats, scamsters and lazy — than the politicians who are responsible for a broken system is the sign of a sick society. The latter are the people who should be ashamed for their part in this mess, not the ones on TikTok crying out for help.

Tathagata Sanyal, Birmingham, UK