Point a finger
Sir — King Charles III’s former butler stirred up a storm in a teacup recently by saying that the most elegant way to drink tea would be with one’s pinky finger tucked in. There are many theories about how sticking out one’s little finger while sipping tea originated. Some claim that those with venereal diseases used the gesture to find mates with similar infections at public gatherings; others say that it is a legacy of the original Chinese teacups, which came without handles and were thus held between the first three fingers only to avoid burning all of one’s digits. Indians, however, have solved this dilemma by pouring out the piping hot tea on a dish and slurping from it.
Pratima Dhar, Calcutta
Partial success
Sir — The two-day G20 Summit in New Delhi began on a positive note with the inclusion of the African Union into the group. India’s initiative to include an old ally is appreciable. The G20 countries account for 85% of the world’s gross domestic product, 75% of world trade and about two-thirds of the world population. They can influence global politics in a positive way if they speak in one voice. But a few countries always play spoilsport. The group should build on its strengths and work on the weaknesses of individual countries.
D.V.G. Sankara Rao, Andhra Pradesh
Sir — Regardless of the outcome of the G20 Summit, the emergence of India as a prominent global player is in no doubt. New Delhi thus has the power to reshape the global discourse on sustainable development. This was an excellent opportunity for India to walk the talk on its rhetoric of being the ‘vishwaguru’.
M. Jeyaram, Sholavandan, Tamil Nadu
Sir — It is unfortunate that while the G20 countries agreed to increase clean energy and reaffirmed their commitment to fighting climate change, no deal was signed on phasing out fossil fuels. The summit would have been a perfect opportunity to take urgent steps to reverse the adverse effects of climate change. All of the world’s biggest polluters were in attendance and could have been forced to make official commitments.
Anwar Saeed, Calcutta
Sir — While the G20 Summit in New Delhi had its share of successes and failures, India has shown that it has the vision and the capability to contribute to the building of a new global order. But it will now have to ensure that the declarations made in Delhi are not empty promises.
Tauqueer Rahmani, Mumbai
Sir — The so-called success of the G20 Summit is hollow. What, for instance, can be the motivation behind not inviting the Congress president and leader of the Opposition, Mallikarjun Kharge, to the G20 dinner? This partisan attitude reflects poorly on the Indian government.
Murtaza Ahmad, Calcutta
Sir — Erecting a screen in front of the slums of Delhi and serving the dignitaries of the G20 Summit on dinnerware plated with gold and silver reveal the farce of this conference. Real problems are not discussed at these meetings. It is just an occasion for political posturing.
Mohammad Taukir, West Champaran
Sir — India — the so-called ‘vishwaguru’ — has no place for poor people and stray animals. The global leaders arriving in India from abroad are well aware of the reality behind the green screens that have been put up to hide the country’s poverty but they choose to remain silent. Take, for example, the prime minister of the United Kingdom, Rishi Sunak. While BBC did hard-hitting stories on New Delhi’s green screens and the government cruelly rounding up stray dogs, Sunak was basking in being a “proud Hindu” and visiting glossy temples.
Tathagata Sanyal, Birmingham, UK
Sir — While the Indian media rejoices in the success of the G20 Summit and sings non-stop paeans to the prime minister, Narendra Modi, the foreign press has highlighted several chinks in Modi’s ‘vishwaguru’ armour. The overall verdict of the foreign press is this: removing poverty will make India a true world leader, not removing the poor.
Surabhi Gupta, Delhi
Sir — Around 15,000 items of silverware have been crafted for the G20 Summit. One wonders whether the expense on these silver and gold-plated items could not have been better utilised to house the slum-dwellers who have been hidden from plain sight in Delhi.
Rutuja Nandi, Calcutta
Sir — Meetings such as the G20 Summit usually amount to very little. The discussions and decisions at these meets are rarely put into practice.
Romana Ahmed, Calcutta
Parting shot
Sir — The superstar, Amitabh Bachchan, has indicated which side of the India-Bharat divide he is on by tweeting, “Bharat Mata Ki Jai”. His closeness with the prime minister is neither new nor a secret. But he should not turn into a sycophant. This will dent his image.
Kalyan Ghosh, Calcutta
