Cherished team

Sir — The viral video of a deaf and mute couple running a panipuri stall in Nashik was enjoyable. The warmth of the husband-wife was evident in every gesture. The short video instantly transported me to my childhood, bringing to mind the times when I had phuchka on family outings. Most of the comments below the video, which was uploaded on Instagram, praised the cleanliness of the stall. But I want to applaud the mental fortitude of the couple and their commitment towards each other in running a successful business — anyone who has visited a phuchka stall will know that it is difficult to keep up with the specific demands of various customers even without a hearing impairment— despite the obstacles that life has thrown their way.

Rajeev Burman, Cooch Behar

Slip sliding

Sir — It is a matter of concern that India’s ranking in the Global Hunger Index has nosedived to 107 among the 121 countries surveyed. The Union government has, as usual, cried foul and dismissed the findings as a bid to malign India’s image. This figure is not surprising given that unemployment in India is the highest it has been in four decades, inflation is soaring, and religious intolerance keeps rearing its ugly head. The Union government led by the Bharatiya Janata Party always tries to cover up its shortcomings by issuing statements of denial.

M.C. Vijay Shankar, Chennai

Sir — The GHI has sparked a political row in the country. While the Central government has rejected the list, calling the methodology used erroneous, the Congress has slammed the Union government for “living in denial”. In South Asia, only Afghanistan has fared worse than India. This is worrying.

Bhagwan Thadani, Mumbai

Sir — Boasting about the world’s tallest statue, celebrating galactic missions to Mars and rejoicing the establishment of massive temples and glittering vistas cannot hide the fact that millions of Indians remain marginalised and are deprived of basic human rights and dignity. It is clear from this grave imbalance where the priorities of the government lie. No wonder then that India has achieved the lowly ranking of 107 among 121 nations on the GHI.

Kajal Chatterjee, Calcutta

Progressive idea

Sir — The Kerala High Court should be lauded for making it clear that a woman’s clothing cannot be a license to outrage her modesty nor can it be grounds for absolving the accused of sexual misconduct. The court has rightly observed that the freedom to wear any dress is a fundamental one.

Akshita Dhurve, Ujjain

Good Samaritan

Sir — It was heartening to read about Future Hope, a Calcutta-based organisation, that has been working with street and slum children (“Help for school that gave hope, better future”, Oct 16). Tim Grandage, who founded the organisation in 1987, has reasons to be proud given the success stories that have emerged as a result of his work. Now, Future Hope is planning to build a school in Rajarhat. People should positively respond to its appeal for donations to this noble cause.

Jahar Lal Saha, Calcutta

Unfulfilled craving

Sir — The Misti Hub at Eco Park has outlets of some of the most famous sweet shops in Calcutta, such as Banchharam, Ganguram and Naba Krishna Guin. The hub had opened in 2018 to cater primarily to the demands of fliers travelling to and from the airport along with visitors to Eco Park. To this end, the entrance to the facility had been made accessible directly through a side road and it ran independent of Eco Park’s operations. Initially, Misti Hub would remain open throughout the day. However, at present, the hours of operation have been curtailed and the Hub opens for customers only at 10 am in the morning when Eco Park opens its doors. The new business hours lead to the Hub losing out on a great volume of potential customers. Customers wishing to order from the Misti Hub using apps are also denied product delivery from the shops during early hours. Authorities should allow Misti Hub to open at 8 am daily.

Kunal Kanti Konar, Calcutta

Go for gold

Sir — Swapna Barman, Sowmiya Murugan and Sonu Kumari — they represent the Indian Railways — must be congratulated for their podium finish at the heptathlon event at the National Open Athletics Championships. Barman topped five of the seven events and won comfortably by more than 400 points. In shot put, the Asian record holder, Tajinderpal Singh Toor, won gold. V.K. Elakkiyadasan and Srabani Nanda emerged as the fastest man and woman, respectively, on the track. I wish all of these athletes the best of luck for their future.

Raju Sharma, Calcutta

Strong statement

Sir — The statement on Taiwan made by the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, at the recent Party Congress of the Chinese Communist Party demonstrates that China is growing increasingly confident about its position. Xi has asserted that “interference” from external forces would be unwelcome, and that China will use all necessary measures to ensure re-unification with Taiwan. There are rumours that China may be preparing for an invasion — it has conducted military drills and has fired missiles near Taiwan. However, Xi’s recent declaration that he would continue to make all reasonable efforts for a “peaceful” reunification gives the world, especially Western nations like the United States of America, some room to make concerted efforts towards peace in the region.

Vijaykumar H.K., Raichur, Karnataka