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ASSEMBLY POLL '98
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'Have we forgotten the horrors of Babri demolition?'
Date sent: Sun, 10 Jan 1999 16:04:04 -0500
A few incidents of violence against Christians would probably not have caused the present panic among the community. What's truly worrying is the public threats of the VHP. If the BJP government does not distance itself from this fundamentalist group, there's no telling what will happen. Have we already forgotten the horrors of the Babri Masjid demolition and the carnage that followed? The Rediff poll shows that a majority of respondents feel the attacks on Christians are justified. As an Indian, I hang my head in shame.
Date sent: Sun, 10 Jan 1999 08:57:33 +1300
Religious freedom is granted by the Constitution, but conversion is not the right of any group. Religious freedom means a person is free to follow the religion of his choice and Christians have been misusing this provision in the Constitution for decades. Everyday on television here in New Zealand and perhaps in all Western countries they show advertisement depicting Indians and people from the Third World as destitute and that one-dollar donations would suddenly change their lives! These ads are run by Christian organisations. If you want I can record these and send them to you and you will realise the international game of conversions. A concerned Hindu
Date sent: Sun, 10 Jan 1999 11:39:22 -0500
When I was in my teens, I used to read your articles. I liked them a lot then. But of late, I have noticed that you are trying to be a better journalist by telling stories, being pro-Pakistan, by criticisising everybody and everything other than people like Mulayam Yadav and Laloo Yadav and the like. Rediff, as a reader I recommend that you STOP publishing such articles. Manoj Saxena
Date sent: Sat, 9 Jan 1999 15:00:43 -0500
I agree that the types of movies Mithun is working currently are all Z-grade ones without any good scripts and good heroines. But that's his strategy to be on the circuit and make moolah. Most of his contemporaries have faded out of the scene long time back, whereas he is still very much there. He is still working as a solo hero in the so-called ' masala ' movies. He is still so popular in the interiors, in the east and north-east. He still works in off-beat movies, at least one film a year which a certain Bachchan never does (while on top, he has given us films like Jaadugar and Mahaan ). Currently he is working in an off-beat Bengali film called Chaka (wheel). Hopefully, Mani Ratnam or Mahesh Bhatt will again work with him. If you look at his films, you will find that the story is similar to any Hindi movie. The only difference is that there's no established heroine. According to your own story, the distributors are scared to touch an Akshay Kumar movie now. Just look at the expenses of any of the established actor's movie. So when these movies flop, the losses are huge. Here a Mithun movie scores. Most of the Mithun-starers that you haven't mentioned in your list haven't probably lost money. They recovered their money. And when he finishes a movie in 4-5 months flat, the producer doesn't have to pay heavy interest. So his movies are very cost effective. As a Mithun fan, I don't like to watch most of his movies, but as far as the economics are concerned, any person related to the film industry will tell you that a Mithun movie is the safest bet at present.
Date sent: Sat, 17 Oct 1998 15:09:42 +0400
Talking about cliches, you think the dumb charades scene, the telephone mix-up scene, the 'just one minute game' scene, the basketball, the summer camp have been shown in any other movie?? I don't think so. How can u call it cliched?
Date sent: Monday, January 11, 1999 9:52 PM
Why doesn't the media now call Rahul Dravid the one man army or is it only reserved for Tendulkar? Please pass this message to all your media friends and especially to Sunil Gavaskar and Ravi Shastri. One more thing, when India wins the entire media (even Tendulkar) tell that Azhar is lucky, but when India looses why do you (the media) start finding reasons instead of telling Azhar was not lucky? Gavaskar always tells Azhar is lucky when India wins. Please pass this message to all those brainless media people.
Chandra
Date sent: Monday, January 11, 1999 11:48 AM
I am an unabashed fan of Prem's outpourings -- forthright, spot on target, and written in Indian blood. I just now finished reading your postscript on India's poor performance in the recently concluded Test series in NZ. You have confirmed my long-established fear that the Indians just don't enjoy playing Test cricket. I was saddened to have my worst fears confirmed. As such we as a nation do not produce many sporting heroes, and cricket seems to be that one sport, which puts India's name occasionally in the headlines. Hence our 'unhealthy' obsession with cricket is more like an umbilical chord to our national psyche. I read a couple of days ago the Rediff article titled 'Boys night out' about the peccadilloes of our cricketers. It compounds the all-round misery. Corrupt politicians, film stars linked with criminals, and now cricketers purely interested in the moolah behind ODIs and for a bit on the side... thank god we haven't unearthed anything shameful on the betting and match-fixing circus... yet. Here I am, living in Australia, seeing and hearing about all-conquering Aussie sportspersons in every imaginable sport in the world, and an Australian cricket team that needs to win everything that comes its way merely to keep the crowds in, keep the sponsors happy and vie for space in the national media. Test cricket and the traditions associated with it are revered even though the Packer circus originated in this country. To be considered an ODI specialist in Australia is like being simply not good enough for the rough and tumble of Test cricket. It is a title that players like Micheal Bevan consider an insult. For our Indian team to run around chasing ODI riches is to plainly confirm that they do not have the backbone for Test cricket. I read somewhere that the goons in charge in Dubai freely gift cars to some players participating in the jamborees held in Sharjah. While Sachin Tendulkar may be a god who can do no wrong in the Indian context, I still would like to see this man score more than 179 in a Test. It is about time he got his priorities right. He should learn a trick or two from his compatriot Rahul Dravid -- a true hero, who plays with passion, with his heart on his sleeve or shall we say, his helmet. I was looking forward to see our cricket team land Down Under at the end of this year. Now I am not so sure. All my Indian friends say, hell, they will get a shellacking, why don't we just find a good rock under which we can all crawl? After all these years, my green, white and saffron heart might just start turning a shade towards green and gold. And why not? Australia and Australians love their sport and give more than 100% to their game, whatever that may be. There is an unalloyed honesty in their effort. That's all I want from India -- some blood and guts honesty. Traits which we proudly claim as our own in our traditions, our mythology, our history -- were they all fiction, after all? Mani Ramachandran
Date sent: Tuesday, January 12, 1999 3:45 AM
Having relied solely on the Internet for cricket coverage for the past few years, I have certainly missed out on watching a lot of great cricket action from around the globe. The proliferation of one-day cricket hasn't dampened the Test match spirit of the Aussies and the South Africans, but the Indians have suffered greatly in this respect. I know a lot has been written about "too much cricket" and "players need a break" and "they need to get set for the World Cup" etc. It is really hard to make a clear case for what is right and what is wrong as far as preparation for a WC and too much cricket goes, but a few things are clear: 1. A spaced-out calendar: Even though India played a lot in 1982-83, the games were spread out and there were plenty of 1st class matches on their tours. 2. Quality of opposition: They faced high-quality fast bowling in WI and Pak in 1982-83 and had a feel for English conditions in the summer of 1982. Of course, beating the Windies in Berbice showed that they could be beaten! 3. There were no games held in the subcontinent in the summer months back then. If India didn't tour England, they had an off-season. All these issues have been tackled elaborately in the media but I wanted to shed light from a different perspective. It seems that it doesn't matter how much you play, it's who and where you play and how well planned the itinerary is that gives you the best tune-up to a World Cup. After a brief lull in international matches between 1988-1991 and 1993-1995 for India, they've been playing a frenzied schedule, dominated (unfortunately) by one-day matches. Of all the contemporary batsmen, only Tendulkar has a fair shot at Gavaskar's 34 Test centuries, but India need to play more Tests. That should probably be the topic of another letter, but now that the ICC hasn't taken a firm stance on a streamlined international calendar, we're in for more triangulars, one-off and 2-Test series, a lot at home, and few real tours abroad. We also need to blood two fresh openers as the middle order is well set. If one of the openers is more of an all-rounder in the Shastri or Prabhakar mould, our 5th bowler problems may be alleviated. Swarna Basu
Date sent: Mon, 14 Dec 1998 11:25:46 -0800
Awesome article! I'm probably biased because I know "Mooli," but the writing is superb and the photographs incredible. Can't wait to finish reading the story... Sandy
Date sent: Tue, 24 Nov 1998 18:11:07 +0530
Very good. I wish there was more details about Sangla, the most beautiful valley of Himachal. This will encourage people to be there. I also wish there was more information about Nako the jewel of Kinnaur. Dr Mukesh Desai
Date sent: Fri, 13 Nov 1998 15:31:31 -0500
Wow, I visited this temple last month and I was amazed at the sculptures there. I took some nice pictures there and was taken around by the guide/watchman Yesaki Devar. Nice to see these pictures in the Web. How Readers reacted to T V R Shenoy's recent columns
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