Bittersweet
Sir — For a sweet-lover, the difference between soanpapdi and kaju katli might be little but it apparently has a deeper implication among those who exchange gifts during Diwali. What was earlier a hush-hush affair — the bias for the expensive, nutty sweetmeat over its cheap, besan-made counterpart — has come to the forefront as e-commerce platforms have started running advertisements labelling soanpapdi to be inferior: why give kaju katli, they ask, to those who deserve soanpapdi? Despite the glow of the diyas, class difference and looking down on financially weaker people remain a dark blot on this festival of light.
Tripti Biswas,
Calcutta
Trouble in the air
Sir — The surge in hoax bomb threats to Indian airlines is testing the robustness of the aviation sector (“Security huddle to tame hoax calls to flights”, Oct 22). Flights are getting delayed, diverted or cancelled, causing significant financial losses to the airlines as well as inconvenience and anxiety to the affected passengers, gradually eroding their faith in air travel itself. This is a matter of grave concern. In recent months, several hospitals, malls and educational institutions have also received threats. Hoax threats stem from malicious intent like seeking attention or playing pranks.
The rise in the number of such threats warrants a concerted counter-strategy. The implementation of stricter regulations, like placing perpetrators on the no-fly list for five years, stern punishment and more stringent bail provisions are being planned. Tighter security checks are being considered as well.
Shovanlal Chakraborty,
Calcutta
Sir — Multiple airlines like Indigo, Akasa Air, SpiceJet and Alliance Air have received hoax threats, leading to the cancellation and the rescheduling of many flights in the last few days. These hoax threats not only raise questions about the safety of the passengers but also cause financial losses to these airlines. These hoax messages might be sent by anti-India elements as they successfully manage to impact the smooth running of the flights while causing massive amounts of financial loss to the airlines.
Flight cancellations due to hoax threats disclose the fragile condition of the Indian aviation sector too. The aviation ministry must do more to address the problem. Any delay in a formal inquiry would only increase the economic brunt on the aviation sector.
Kirti Wadhawan,
Kanpur
Sir — Nearly 100 bomb hoax calls were made within a week to various Indian airlines. Along with taking precautionary measures, there must be an attempt to adequately analyse these hoax calls using sophisticated technology.
Gopalaswamy J.,
Chennai
Sir — There appears to be no straightforward solution to the menace of hoax threats to airlines and other businesses. Identifying and apprehending hoax calls are difficult as technology now enables callers from any part of the world to make phone calls without disclosing their location. Yet, maintaining excessively tight security protocols also negatively affects operational efficiency and passenger comfort.
The aviation ministry might have to deploy Artificial Intelligence to profile hoax callers and gather information about them. Some of these callers might turn out to be teenaged pranksters who must be penalised to instil fear in others and stop them from taking such steps.
Kamal Laddha,
Bengaluru
For art’s sake
Sir — The recent order by the Bombay High Court to the Maharashtra customs department to release artworks by F.N. Souza and Akbar Padamsee aims to protect the freedom of speech and expression granted in Article 19 of the Indian Constitution (“Ways of seeing”, Oct 27). The moral policing of the customs department harks back to the British government’s attempt to ban Kalighat paintings during the colonial era. In this case, the Bombay High Court opined that every nude painting cannot be declared as obscene. It also referred to an older judgment wherein the Supreme Court had said that the angels and saints of Michelangelo would not be considered obscene in India.
Sculptures at many Indian temples hint at a more tolerant society in the past when rulers would commission such artworks. A balance needs to be achieved between freedom of expression and censorship.
Prasun Kumar Dutta,
West Midnapore
Sir — The seizure of paintings by F.N. Souza and Akbar Padamsee by the customs department in Maharashtra under the charges of obscenity reveals the need for customs officials to be given a crash course in art history. These paintings, which were labelled obscene, would fetch thousands in the international art market.
India has often mistreated its artists. M.F. Husain was hounded out of India and died in exile. The allegation of obscenity in surreal paintings is ridiculous.
Anthony Henriques,
Mumbai
Sir — The Bombay High Court has prevented the destruction of several artworks that were seized by customs last year. This is heartening. The customs officials failed to understand the significance of the pieces. An artist’s work should not be judged based on preconceived notions of propriety as it requires a deeper understanding of art to interpret such works.
Khokan Das,
Calcutta
Parting shot
Sir — At the first conference of his newly-formed party, Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam, the actor-turned-politician, Vijay, sought to carve out a space that claims continuity with the Dravidian movement. Only time will tell if his ploy succeeds.
Tharcius S. Fernando,
Chennai
