Take steps to set right board exams
Sir, This current batch of students taking their second year PUC exams have been victims of the lopsided decisions of the government, all along, right from their VII standard public exams to the trimester pattern of exams and now the advancement of second PUC exams and GET, all experiments have been conducted on this batch. As caring parents it is time we got together and raised our voice against these hastily made decisions so as to protect our children. Why is it that students and parents are not being consulted on issues that deeply affect them and only them, before implementation? Why are all these decisions being announced just two to three months before the board exam? A KASARAGOD
Bangalore
Not gender specific
Sir, We have a general perception that only men can have criminal tendencies but with the Mallika’s case, it shows that even women can portray Ekta Kapoor’s Komolika or Ramola in reality. It was Mallika’s greed for a lavish lifestyle that pushed her to kill six gullible women. Now the question is how cyanide is so easily possible for criminals? There should be some kind of regulatory mechanism to control the availability of cyanide. Meanwhile, Ekta can take an idea from here for her new “K” serial. What say Ekta? Chinmay Mukhi
Bangalore
Not a miracle Sir, Your photo caption showing a bunch of bananas emerging as if from the root (Dec 27) is not a miracle but a natural phenomenon. The so-called aerial stem of banana tree is a pseudo stem formed from adpressed leaf bases. The true stem remains underground but emerges from the centre of pseudo stem carrying the inflorescence at the time of flowering.
For any reason, if the pseudo stem is damaged or broken before this last event, the underground stem emerges carrying the bunches by piercing its way from any weak point on the pseudo stem. H N Krishnamoorthy
Mysore
Rs 1 lakh car
Sir, Reference your editorial on the subject of Tata small car, it is a pity that the concern being expressed about the possible impact of the car is being viewed through the narrow prism of elite and non-elite classes. Simply because more people can afford cars does not diminish the disastrous effect on the already collapsing infrastructure and environment. Those who already have one car will go for another, people who have high priced two-wheelers will go for this car, price of second hand two-wheelers will go down, and those who are now travelling by public transport will get themselves two wheelers. So instead of discouraging the use of private transport which should be the core concern of society, the exact opposite will happen. N K Raghavendran
Bangalore
On the wrong path
Sir, The news of the death of a young software engineer in the new year bash in Chennai made a sad reading. Such bashes conducted in star hotels at heavy cost should be banned. An amount of Rs 3,500 per head was collected for the show for just few hours of liquor and obscenity. Young revellers are able to spend so much, thanks to the fabulous salaries paid by MNCs. The police should take stern action against the hotels conducting such shows without taking proper safety measures. Mehr Unnisa Rahmani
Chennai
Follow one standard
Sir, The one-rupee coins issued by the government in 2005 denotes a broad cross with four dots, the two-rupee ones of 2006 bears double-lined cross and dots. The earlier symbol of cross is replaced with that of a woman’s hand in 2007 Rs 2 coins. While these symbols can be interpreted in different ways, what is the rationale behind this? Isn’t it appropriate that the government adopt one standard only — the Ashoka emblem on one side and denomination on the other. P K POOVAIAH
Bangalore
