Green tunes

Sir — Trees have life — Jagadish Chandra Bose proved this in 1901. Studies then showed that trees can also emit ultrasonic sounds when stressed. But an ongoing concert in India, Echoes of Earth music festival, is showing that not only do plants have a voice but they can also sing. Galvanometers are used to detect changes in bioelectricity and this is then converted into a form that can be played on synthesizers. The music produced from this can be both haunting and soothing. More such music festivals should be organised so that people can perhaps hear the message that nature is trying to send us.

Akangsha Pal, Calcutta

Costly cure

Sir — Does the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation even moni­tor the prices of life-saving medicines in India? Drug prices have been rising at an alarming pace in In­dia. This increases the out-of-pocket expenditure of households, taking a particularly heavy toll on the low and middle-income groups and senior citizens. There are times when patients stop taking these medicines, shortening their life span.

It is time the government took steps to control the prices of drugs and opened fair-price medicine shops that are easily accessible to all. Instead of wasting taxpayers’ money by giving unwarranted freebies to people, the government must consider this life-saving proposal.

Tharcius S. Fernando, Chennai

Sir — With lifestyle diseases on the rise, the expenditure of common people on medication is increasing. Some of these medicines need to be taken for a lifetime and many of them have several doses a day. It is impossible to afford such medication given the food price inflation. Moreover, the kind of diet that lifestyle diseases demand is not cheap. This puts additional pressure on household budgets.

Sohini Roy Mondal, Calcutta

On the rise

Sir — The political reliance on religion in India needs to be reined in (“Reign of faith”, Dec 16). As long as people vote on the basis of religious identity, every party will project itself as a staunch follower of Hinduism. It would not be surprising if the inauguration of the Ram temple gives a fillip to the demands of a Hindu rashtra.

Anthony Henriques, Mumbai

Justice, at last

Sir — The sentencing of Ramdular Gond, a Bharatiya Janata Party member of the legislative assembly from Uttar Pradesh, for raping a girl nine years ago was heartening even though it came too late. What needs to be asked is this: why was a rape-accused given a ticket by the BJP?

Bidyut Kumar Chatterjee, Faridabad

Outdated

Sir — A 133-year-old overhead metal water tank partially collapsed on a passenger shed at the Burdwan railway station, killing three people and injuring 34. Much of the Indian Railways’s infrastructure is rickety and dilapidated. Immediate stocktaking of such infrastructure is necessary. Funds should be allocated to update railway property at once. The railways should also grant ex-gratia relief to the families of the victims. Steps must be taken to carry out preventive maintenance of such ancient railway property immediately to avoid recurrence of such tragic incidents in the future.

Ananda Dulal Ghosh, Howrah

Legendary players

Sir — It is a matter of pride that Vijay Amritraj and Leander Paes have been inducted into the Intern­ational Tennis Hall of Fame. They are the first two Indians to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. This will certainly inspire aspiring players and put India on the world map of tennis. But tennis is an expensive sport that is not easy to pursue and it pays very little to those who do not scale the heights of success. This aspect should be looked into by veterans like Amritraj and Paes.

M.N. Gupta, Hooghly

Sir — Vijay Amritraj and Leander Paes deserve to be lauded for making it into the Intern­ational Tennis Hall of Fame. They are legends of the game, but far from the only great tennis players India has produced. One wonders why it took so long for India to be included in the Hall of Fame.

Duhita Das, Calcutta

Immortal voice

Sir — The passing away of the veteran singer, Anup Ghoshal, is a great loss for the Indian music industry (“Anup Ghoshal passes away”, Dec 16). He immortalised the voice of Goopy Gyne on-screen. But he was also a versatile performer of Rabindrasangeet and Nazrulgeeti. The tune of “Tujhse naraaz nahi zindagi” will forever ring in our ears.

D. Bhattacharyya, Calcutta

Sir — The death of the eminent Bengali playback singer and composer, Anup Ghoshal, has left an immense void in the Bengali film industry. His voice will live on in our hearts.

Jayanta Datta, Hooghly