Price of companionship

Sir — Ratan Tata recently celebrated his 84th birthday with his young protégé, Shantanu Naidu. Could it be that their companionship inspired the 28-year-old Naidu to establish the start-up, GoodFellows, which aims to provide intergenerational friendships to help combat loneliness among the elderly. It will employ young graduates to aid the elderly with their daily tasks as well as to offer them companionship. Few people have time for the aged these days and the shift towards nuclear families has meant that senior citizens often find themselves alone. As such, Naidu may be on to something. The real question is this: will the elderly, who can barely make ends meet with their pension money, be able to afford this service?

Teesta Sarkar,
Calcutta

Fatal neglect

Sir — The stampede at the Vaishno Devi shrine was saddening. An estimated 50,000 people had gathered there on January 1, even though Covid-19 infections have been rising exponentially. Negligence on the part of the police and the temple administration is to blame for this incident.

Such calamities are usually followed by outrage, but soon everything is forgotten. The authorities as well as the public should be extra cautious at places which witness such large crowds.

Sunil Chopra,
Ludhiana

Sir — Twelve pilgrims lost their lives and several others were injured in the stampede at Vaishno Devi. The Centre must compensate the families of the deceased and the injured adequately. This accident was the result of mismanagement and requires a high-level probe so that those responsible for it can be held accountable. It is unfortunate that the new year began with such a tragedy.

Bhagwan Thadani,
Mumbai

Sir — At a time when Covid-19 is spreading rapidly and social distancing must be strictly maintained, it is shocking that Vaishno Devi was crowded enough to cause a stampede. This is a result of the religious licences given by the Narendra Modi-led government. One also fails to understand the large sum of ex gratia compensation for the families of the deceased and the injured — one from the prime minister and the other from the lieutenant-governor of Jammu and Kashmir. Could this have something to do with wooing Hindu voters for the upcoming assembly elections in several states? After all, the devotees who gathered in large numbers were flouting Covid-19 protocols. In fact, those in charge of maintaining order should be held responsible for the incident and be fined.

Bidyut Kumar Chatterjee,
Faridabad


Choose wisely

Sir — The editorial, “The sound of music” (Jan 1), posed an interesting question: what constitutes Indian music? Indian music is a vast realm. Be it classical music from the Carnatic or the Lucknow gharana, or Rabindrasangeet, or Bollywood, or international collaborations between Pandit Ravi Shankar and George Harrison, it is all Indian music. What the ministry means is thus unclear. The pandemic has already resulted in severe losses for airlines. It does not need arbitrarily imposed rules.

Debasish Chatterjee,
Calcutta

Tax woes

Sir — The increase of the goods and services tax on textiles from 5 per cent to 12 per cent — this has been deferred till February in the face of strong opposition — will cause immense sufferings to the middle class and the poor (“PM’s ‘New Year gift’: price rise”, Jan 2). The price of essential commodities has been sky-high owing to the steep cost of petrol and diesel. The impending GST hike will cause more despair as it is estimated to result in thousands of job cuts. The Narendra Modi-led government does not think of the poor.

Shyamal Thakur,
Burdwan

Proud moment

Sir — It is a matter of pride that the Indian Institute of Technology Madras has been ranked the ‘Most Innovative Educational Institute in India’ by the Atal Ranking of Institutions on Innovation Achievements for the third time in a row. IIT Madras also ranked 313 in the World University Rankings list in 2013-14. It is unsurprising that the institute continues to excel. Students at IIT Madras are exposed to the practical aspects of engineering, allowing them to act as catalysts for technological developments. The faculty, students, support staff and the administration have all contributed to the pre-eminent status of IIT Madras.

Ranganathan Sivakumar,
Chennai

Right pick

Sir — The chief selector of the Indian cricket team, Chetan Sharma, is absolutely right in saying that the opener, Ruturaj Gaikwad, could do wonders for the side (“Reward for Gaikwad’s right intent”, Jan 2). Given that he was the leading scorer in the last season of the Indian Premier League and has scored more than one ton in domestic cricket, it is not surprising that he has earned a place in the one-day international squad for South Africa. It remains to be seen whether he makes it to the playing XI. Fortunately, the team has an unbiased head coach, who would choose the best eleven players to face the Proteas.

Vinay Mahadevan,
Chennai

Sir — It is heartening that Ruturaj Gaikwad has been selected for the ODI squad for South Africa. But the importance given to young players who fare well in the IPL is not entirely fair. One cannot help but feel that youngsters who play domestic cricket will be overlooked in favour of those who manage to get selected in IPL teams. The flashy IPL cannot create players of the calibre that
the more rigorous domestic cricket can.

Rima Roy,
Calcutta