A bone to pick

Sir — Butter chicken comes in many shapes and forms — some like it tangy, some like it sweet, others prefer it to be creamy while others want it to be spicy. But there is one thing that any good butter chicken does not have and that is bone. Yet, butter chicken has now become a bone of contention between Moti Mahal and Daryaganj, two hugely popular restaurants in New Delhi, with each claiming credit for inventing this dish. Butter chicken comes from that glorious tradition of Indian cooking where leftovers are repurposed and made tastier by inspired additions and alterations in the kitchen. No one individual can take credit for this magic.

Pradip Singh, Gurugram

Stop the carnage

Sir — The International Court of Justice has asked Israel to take steps to prevent acts of genocidal violence in the Gaza Strip (“Gaza and genocide”, Jan 28). Reports from global bodies like the United Nations underline the dire situation in Gaza where the death toll is rising and a famine is imminent. Israel should be boycotted by the international community just as Russia has been since it invaded Ukraine. India, for instance, should not comply with the demand of Israel to send one lakh construction workers to that country.

Sujit De, Calcutta

Sir — An Israeli attack killed at least 20 people waiting for humanitarian assistance in Gaza City. Yet, Israel continues to play victim and the West continues to support such blatant lies. Even though Israel has rejected the proposal of the president of the United States of America, Joe Biden, advocating self-governance and the formation of a Palestinian State, Washington continues to support Tel Aviv with funds and weapons. The ICJ has found reasons to believe that Israel’s adventurism in Gaza is an act of genocide. It is time Israel stopped the slaughter of civilians in the name of attacking Hamas.

S. Kamat, Mysuru

Sir — Ramachandra Guha’s article, “Blood on hands” (Jan 27), tries to analyse the inception of the ongoing Israel-Hamas (Palestine) conflict. The article provides a different perspective on the Israel-Arab conflict. Guha has rightly surmised that Britain, Germany and the US are responsible for today’s turmoil.

Sukhendu Bhattacharjee, Hooghly

Different image

Sir — The Ramayana has a strong central core that wants prakruti (nature) and purusha (the civilised being) to live in harmony, much like the two krauncha birds that appear at the beginning of the epic (“India’s deity”, Jan 23). In this sense, the purpose of the Ramayana is to create a decent civilisation. The image of Rama that has been concocted by the Bharatiya Janata Party is an angry one. The BJP’s Rama has to be angry because he has to fight the ‘other’ on behalf of the saffron party. The BJP has thus separated prakruti and purusha. It is blasphemous, to say the least.

V.S. Ilayidom, Kottuvally, Kerala

Sir — In his article, “India’s deity”, Uddalak Mukherjee should have highlighted the advent of Rama in West Bengal. He appeared on the religious scene with the advent of the Bhakti movement under the leadership of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu who worshipped both Krishna and Rama. However, Chaitanya himself was far more popular among Bengalis than Rama. While Krishna continues is one of the most popular deities in the state, temples dedicated to Rama are, indeed, more difficult to find. Krittibas Ojha’s Bengali Ramayana and stories from the epic ensure that Rama is popular in Bengal as a literary character and not as a deity.

A.K. Sen, Calcutta

Age of glory

Sir — Age, as the saying goes, is just a number for Rohan Bopanna (“At ‘level 43’, Bopanna rewrites record books”, Jan 28). He became the oldest male in the Open era to win a Grand Slam, climbing to the No. 1 spot on the ATP rankings. Bopanna is redefining athleticism, determination and perseverance. In a physically demanding sport like tennis, his achievements are special indeed. Only legends such as Martina Navratilova, Leander Paes and Roger Federer have been able to compete successfully past the age of 40. Bopanna is a true inspiration.

Bal Govind, Noida

Sir — The victory of the veteran tennis player, Rohan Bopanna, at the men’s doubles in the Australia Open is laudable. Bopanna and his partner, Mathew Ebden, outclassed the duo from Italy. His name will be written in golden letters in the history of Indian tennis.

Kirti Wadhawan, Kanpur

Parting shot

Sir — Incidents of vehicles catching fire and leading to fatalities are on the rise. The use of illegal electrical parts coupled with the inability of fire fighters to reach the accident sites on time is responsible for this. The Kannur police have come up with a unique initiative by deciding to carry fire extinguishers to avoid fatalities. Similar initiatives should be taken elsewhere.

M. Pradyu, Kannur, Kerala