Change for the worse?

Change for the worse?

Hindustan Times seems to have trivialised the concept of editorials in the new-look Comment page and in the process may lose the credibility it once commanded. I, for one, always looked up the day’s editorials and valued contributions from the eminent writers. Change for the sake of change is not the solution and, therefore, I would have preferred the old format to stay.

N Divakaran,
via email

II

Congratulations for coming up with the wonderful, new Comment page. Your list of writers on this page is commendable. I am grateful to the paper and the contributors for keeping me abreast with latest developments. Keep up the good work. I read the paper online and I wish there was a print edition of Hindustan Times in Bangalore.

Ankit Avasthi,
Bangalore

Coming out of the wardrobe

Barkha Dutt’s article America, engendered (June 7) rings true as long as we think about the usual duplicity that surrounds gender issues, especially with regard to feminism and politics. Although I am inclined to agree with most of her argument, I would like to ask what she means by “essentially male wardrobe”? Isn’t the whole point of modern feminism to remove these ‘essential’ categories, of ‘maleness’ or ‘femalesness’? Why does words like ‘tough’ and ‘ambitious’ necessarily have to belong to the ‘male wardrobe’? If these words do have a ring of power to them, then so be it, because, after all, politics is about power. But in an age of advanced feminism one must avoid using ‘essentials’, because the whole battle against any ‘-ism’ is to remove the essentialist categories. I, however, do agree with her point about the ‘classic feminist conundrum’.

Debolina Dey,
via email

The success of failure

JK Rowling’s article In praise of failure (June12) was a treat. She rightly points out the hidden impacts of what is otherwise a traumatic failure. The intensity of this new approach towards failure was magnified by her precision of words and exactitude of ideas. I am sure the article will serve as a great antidote to those who undervalue their imagination and get overpowered by failure.

Abhitosh Pratap Singh,
Delhi

No ideology please

Apropos of Vinod Sharma’s article When the hand forgot its fingers (June 12), the BJP’s emphatic win can be attributed to the judgement of the common people, who are not too bothered about the hidden ideologies of political parties. They are more concerned, and rightly so, about issues like price-rise, national security and terrorism.

SD Sahay,
Delhi

Goodbye to entertainment journos?

Apropos of Jhoomur Bose's column, From the blog cabin (www.ho's better,who's best.com?, June 12) there is no denying the fact that celebrities have been smitten by the blogging culture and there is plenty of entertainment in cyberspace. We have to wait and see how far celebrity bloggers go to attract attention. One thing is or sure, entertainment reporters might be out of a job very soon.

Yashi Vikram,
Delhi

Unique punishment

‘The Pundit’, Writing can be punishing (June 11) was interesting. Having to write and distribute an essay for eve-teasing is an innovative punishment. Our courts can take a cue or two from such improvisations and hand out quick but effective judgements in case of petty crimes like ever-teasing.

DP Ganguly,
Delhi