Unusual spaces

Sir — The dictionary defines a museum as a place where objects of historical, scientific, artistic, or cultural interest are stored and exhibited. But human imagination refuses to be bound by such definitions. A recent report about a man suing the Museum of Ice Cream brought to mind other wonderfully weird museums that exist around the world. The Museum of Broken Relationships in Croatia, the Cup Noodles Museum Yokohama in Japan, the Idaho Potato Museum in the US and the Sulabh International Museum of Toilets in India are just some instances of such quirky spaces. Museums are, in essence, spaces that satiate human curiosity about things. Any space can thus be a museum — including the home, which is a museum of artefacts related to its residents.

Dikshita Bhowmick, Malda

Grave ailment

Sir — The rape and murder of the postgraduate trainee doctor at R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital in Calcutta reminded the nation of the 2012 Delhi rape case. It is thus heartening that the case has been handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation. This can be considered as the rarest of rare cases and the trial should not be dragged out.

This incident also highlights the plight of on-call doctors, both in Calcutta and the rest of India; they are not secure within the hospital premises. Doctors across the country deserve better facilities to avoid the recurrence of such ghastly crimes.

Bal Govind, Noida

Sir — A placard at one of the several protests being carried out by doctors in the city said that Calcutta is no longer the city of joy, but the city of bhoy. People must realise that no state in India is free from crimes against women. The young doctor’s death should not be exploited for vendetta politics against West Bengal. After all, the rapists of Bilkis Bano Gujarat were allowed to go scot free and felicitated by a right-wing group in Gujarat and the state government in Manipur tried to cover up the assault of the two Kuki women who were paraded naked.

Moreover, several people also seem to be implying that this case merits special attention as the victim was a doctor. All victims, regardless of their profession, deserve justice. Instead of resorting to kangaroo courts, people should let law take its course.

Kajal Chatterjee, Calcutta

Sir — The editorial, “Open house” (Aug 13), raised pertinent questions. The postgraduate trainee doctor was resting in a seminar hall in the hospital during her duty hours when she was brutally tortured and murdered. A resting room for on-call doctors, sufficient security staff and active surveillance cameras in hospitals are the bare minimum owed to medical personnel. Although a civic volunteer has been arrested in connection with the crime, doctors will continue to protest until their demands for these basic facilities are met.

The investigation conducted by Kolkata Police in this regard seemed dubious from the start. It is thus encouraging that the CBI has taken over the probe. One hopes that the truth will be uncovered and the doctors’ demands met.

Haran Chandra Mandal, Calcutta

Sir — It beggars belief that the rape and murder accused, Sanjay Roy, extorted money from patients without the support or the knowledge of local leaders and the hospital administration. The absence of surveillance cameras in all places within the hospital premise is responsible for such incidents. The lackadaisical attitude of the authorities, including the former principal of R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital, Sandip Ghosh, is equally to blame. Ghosh, too, must face charges for victim blaming.

Subhash Adhikary, Calcutta

Sir — The administrative heads in charge of affairs at R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital should receive exemplary punishment as they have failed in their duty of protecting the doctors employed there. The authorities who allegedly shielded the accused and falsely informed the victim’s family that she had committed suicide must be brought to book.

Chandan Sinha, Calcutta

Sir — Medical professionals across India are protesting against the rape and murder of a postgraduate trainee doctor in Calcutta. They have exposed several institutional oversights that put the lives of medical personnel at risk. In addition to the usual occupational hazard of being vulnerable to diseases, doctors face violence from patients’ families as well as outsiders. These doctors’ strikes should force the government to bring long-overdue reforms in medical colleges and hospitals.

Gregory Fernandes, Mumbai

Shameful stance

Sir — The role of the former athlete, P.T. Usha, as the head of the Indian Olympic Association leaves a lot to be desired. The way she has handled the Vinesh Phogat incident must be condemned. She seems to be speaking as the member of a political party rather than the head of an independent sporting body. Her statements to the Court of Arbitration for Sport undoubtedly swayed the verdict against Phogat. When the wrestlers were protesting against the then chief of the Wrestling Federation of India, Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, Usha asked them not to protest instead of paying heed to their complaints. She should be removed from the IOA.

M.N. Gupta, Hooghly

Hypnotic headlines

Sir — Writing a headline for a news item is an art. It requires an understanding of readers as much as a grip on the story and a fluency in language. A news headline must be catchy, yet accurate. Some wonderful headlines that have stuck with me are “Big rig carrying fruits crashes on 210 Freeway, creates jam” (Los Angeles Times) and “Man kills himself and runs away” (Daily Sun).

Ranganathan Sivakumar, Chennai