Familiar bite

Sir — As Calcutta heads into the stuffy summer months, Bengalis can be seen packing their bags and setting off for favoured destinations like Digha, Puri or Darjeeling — fondly called DiPuDa. One is sure to find a familiar face in these spots. The prominent presence of the Bengali tourists has led to the mushrooming of another phenomenon — the dada-boudir dokan serving up piping hot bhaat with dal, torkari, macher jhol or kosha mangsho. With easy access to simple and cheap home-cooked food, there is nothing that can stop the Bengali tourist from venturing out.

Paritosh Jana,
Calcutta

Trouble ahead

Sir — After Sri Lanka, Nepal, too, seems to be going through a major economic crisis. Kathmandu has decided to ban the import of luxury goods, such as cars, cosmetics and gold, to arrest the depletion of its foreign exchange reserves. Nepal’s foreign currency reserves fell by more than 16 per cent in February. This does not bode well for the country. The rising inflation has led to an exorbitant increase in the price of basic commodities. The government must act fast before things take a turn for the worse.

Renee Sinha,
Hooghly

Look back

Sir — The article by G.N. Devy, “Little Indias” (April 13), highlights the cultural diversity of India. Not only do Dharwad, Hubli and Kittur have a history of being ruled by different dynasties, but these places — especially Dharwad — also boast of a rich cultural heritage in literature and music.

This is no longer true in New India. It is crucial that we understand the diverse cultural, literary and musical traditions of India so that we can develop a liberal outlook. Political leaders also have a responsibility to erase parochialism from the minds of the common people. That is the India we want.

Sukhendu Bhattacharjee,
Hooghly

Violent words

Sir — A priest of the Maharishi Sri Laxman Das Udasin Ashram in Uttar Pradesh’s Sitapur district, Mahant Bajrang Muni Das, has allegedly threatened mass sexual violence against Muslim women (“On video: Rape threat by sadhu”, April 9). Earlier, he had declared that if one Hindu is murdered then 10 Muslims would be killed and 10 Muslim women would be persecuted for every Hindu girl ‘trapped’ into ‘love jihad’.

It is unfortunate to see a man of cloth spewing such hatred. In the Ramayana, although Ravana had abducted Sita, he never forced himself on her. It is said that the Maratha ruler, Chhatrapati Shivaji, had honourably sent back the captured daughter-in-law of the Muslim governor of Kalyan. It would be in the best interest of the nation if Das and his supporters learnt from the righteous acts of past leaders.

Haridasan Rajan,
Kozhikode

Foolish venture

Sir — The University Grants Commission’s plan of allowing students to pursue two full-time courses simultaneously is a utopian idea (UGC allows 2 degrees at a time”, April 13). Students and teachers already struggle to finish the curriculum of one course. With the UGC’s latest attempt to allow the flexibility to pursue two courses, the students might end up learning nothing. What the UGC needs to do is strengthen the education system and ensure that autonomous institutions follow proper procedures. A new system is unlikely to work.

K.A. Solaman,
Alappuzha, Kerala

New direction

Sir — The Life Insurance Corporation of India is planning to reduce its valuation from Rs 16 lakh crore to Rs 11 lakh crore (“Centre plans to pare LIC valuation”, April 14). Those who are yet to open demat accounts at LIC will surely regret their decision. It is expected that the reduction will give LIC a boost in the share market.

Shyamal Thakur,
East Burdwan