Grounded flight

Sir — Vultures are a beleaguered lot everywhere. In the real world, their numbers continue to fall precipitously, driving the species to the verge of extinction. In the reel world, their credit is being snatched by another bird of prey, the eagle. Among the many inconsistencies that mar the film, Adipurush, one is the portrayal of the mythical character, Jatayu, as an eagle. Vultures have always been misunderstood — literature is full of references to vultures being wily creatures — owing to the fact that they feed on dead bodies. Jatayu and his mythical bravery was the one saving grace for this community of carrion-feeders. The other famous Jatayu from literature would perhaps say for the odds facing vultures: “dushman bahut durdharsh”.

Aditya Banerjee, Calcutta

Olive branch

Sir — The latest meeting between the secretary of state of the United States of America, Antony Blinken, and the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, failed to produce any major breakthrough (“Blinken, Xi call for end to tensions”, June 20). The Taiwan issue, which has been festering between the two countries for a while now, remains unresolved. Yet the fact that the two sides met in person is a heartening thing in itself.

Gregory Fernandes, Mumbai

Sir — Antony Blinken was the first American diplomat to visit China in the last five years. This olive branch has probably been extended at the behest of American businessmen who have been feeling the effects of tensions between the US and China. The fact that the philanthropist and businessman, Bill Gates, reached China days before Blinken lends credence to this idea. This is the sad reality of the modern world: he who pays the piper calls the tune. Economic superpowers can thus get away with pretty much anything. Morality has no meaning in international relations, everything is just business.

Jang Bahadur Singh, Jamshedpur

Sir — Antony Blinken and Xi Jinping recently underlined the importance of improving bilateral relations between the US and China. This will not only be in the interests of those two nations but also of the rest of the world.

K. Nehru Patnaik, Visakhapatnam

Sir — There is no doubt that differences between the US and China remain formidable. For example, Antony Blinken’s Beijing visit, expectedly, did not yield any breakthroughs on contentious issues such as American export curbs or Taiwan. But the very fact that President Xi Jinping met with the visiting US diplomat is a clear sign of progress given the cancellation of Blinken’s visit in February and the rancour that followed the shooting down of the Chinese ‘spy balloon’ over the US. The challenge now is whether the two sides can sustain this effort at mending the fences and keep diplomatic channels open. Only time will tell.

A. Anwar Ali, Calcutta

Precious resource

Sir — The mayor of Calcutta, Firhad Hakim, has underlined a bitter truth: 40% of the total potable water produced in the city is squandered (“Mayor links water scarcity to wastage”, June 19). Water is a scarce commodity and must not be wasted. Installation of water meters in every household and taxing the consumer is the best way to prevent wastage of water. But populist governments are loath to do this.

Jahar Saha, Calcutta

Helpless age

Sir — A report released by HelpAge India highlighted the various challenges faced by the elderly (“Inglorious age”, June 21). It is unfortunate that family members routinely abuse elders or treat them poorly. Yet, a majority of these cases go unreported owing to social stigma. There is also scant awareness among elders regarding their rights. With both life expectancy and cost of living on the rise, elders should be given avenues to be financially independent. The senior citizen helpline number, 14567, must be popularised so that the elderly can make use of it in times of distress.

Kiran Agarwal, Calcutta

Sir — A HelpAge India survey has revealed that many of the women between the ages of 60 to 90 had faced some kind of abuse from their families. The lack of financial independence is the reason why these women have to depend on others. The statistics make for depressing reading. They should serve as a lesson for those approaching their sixties to save money, making them less vulnerable to abuse.

Anthony Henriques, Mumbai

Toxic heat

Sir — A Hindutva organisation in Jabalpur has announced that if a Hindu youth marries a Muslim girl, he will be given a reward of Rs 11,000. This makes it clear that as state elections draw closer in Madhya Pradesh, saffron outfits are turning on the Hindutva heat in the state. They are creating an atmosphere of hatred against Muslims, even though they make up only 6% of the state’s population. Even the Congress is toeing a soft Hindutva line in the state. This is worrying.

Md. Nasim Gazi, Howrah

Unhealthy habit

Sir — It is surprising that an experienced columnist like Ruchir Joshi wrote about himself smoking a cigarette in the article, “Signals crossed” (June 20). What kind of a message was he sending to his readers and how was the mention of him getting a smoke relevant to the piece? If at all the portion had to be kept, perhaps an editorial comment should have been inserted after the piece against the hazards of smoking.

J. Sinha, Dhanbad