Ghazal king no more

No comparison
This is with reference to 'Don't grumble, Mumbai fares cheapest in the world '(October 6). It's grossly unfair to compare the fares of New York, Paris and other western cities with Mumbai, without mentioning their per capita income as compared to ours. The comparison is flawed and does not present the true picture. Moreover, most of the autos and taxis have converted to LPG and their operating costs have come down drastically. By citing such fares, the report has tried to convince aam aadmi that he is better off than he actually is. But the truth is the common man is left to fend for himself in the wake of steep rise in essentials, be it milk, fares, fees, entertainment or food because income levels are almost static.
—Ashok Goswami, Mumbai

II
Apropos 'Don't grumble, Mumbai fares cheapest in the world', the article is without any sense of comparison. Comparing the fares after converting it in to rupees makes no sense. In US, the minimum wage is $7 an hour, which means Rs336 for every hour of work. How many Indians does the correspondent think are earning that amount in India? Similar is the case of all the other countries that he has highlighted. Any Indian who earns that much, owns his/her car and doesn't need a taxi or rickshaw. Here in India, politicians are making a mockery of the common man by quoting that Rs32 is enough to live in city and the media is doing the same by comparing the travel fares of the countries.
—Ashish Singh, via email

Ghazal king no more
The news that Ghazal maestro Jagjit Singh is no more' has stunned the music lovers. After the late Talat Mehmood, it was Jagjit Singh who, with his golden voice, stirred millions of hearts. He really infused a new life in a dying genre of music in the seventies and carved a niche for himself in Bollywood. The death of his only son was a turning point in his life and the song Chitthi na koi sandesh, Tum chale gaye kaun se desh, in the memory of his young son touches the heart of everyone. Singh made his mark during the 70s when the ghazal scene was dominated by well-established names like Noor Jehan, Malika Pukhraj, Begum Akhtar, Talat Mahmood and Mehdi Hassan. Now he will always be remembered as the ghazal king, leaving behind a huge body
of work. May his soul rest in peace.
—Dilbag Rai, Chandigarh

II
Passing away of ghazal king Jagjit Singh has shocked his innumerable fans. As students, we were together for two years at the Kurukshetra University hostel. With his exceptional interests in music he was a personal favourite of the vice-chancellor. Both of us came to Mumbai about the same time, I to join BARC and he, in his pursuit of music. He provided memorable music for a few movies and became a household name after the TV serial, Mirza Ghalib on Doordarshan. Watching him perform on stage was always a moving experience. He was a trend setter who started composing 'special' music for each of his ghazals, to set the mood. His admirers all over the globe will also remember him for popularising the 'ghazal', by his soulful rendition. I cannot forget his performance as a special guest at his alma mater on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the university in 1996. He has indeed left his stamp on 'ghazal-gaayaki'.
—JV Yakhmi, via email

Rising rates of interest
Of late it has become extremely difficult to approach banks to take loans. The reason is every now and then the rate of interest is hiked and so is the EMI.  The reason the banks give is that The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), force them to do so. Even the government does not provide the common man anything to cheer about. The condition of those who availed bank loans for home, car or children's higher education is pathetic. The EMI which was fixed initially is now beyond the person’s reach because the EMI increases, not their incomes.  All the above mentioned things directly and indirectly affect only the poor and middle class, who form a major part of the electorate. But their their needs and wants are often neglected. The frequent price rise of fuel and essential commodities has made the life of the poor unbearable and the hiking of repo rate and subsequent increase of  EMIs have left the middle class worried. May I request the RBI to look into the scenario and, in consultation with the government, create history by decreasing the so-called repo rate so that the poor and middle income groups  will benefit.
—K Unnikrishnan, via email

Common man suffers
The only way to control the unruly autorickshaw drivers and their leaders is to pay them back in their own coin, as was seen with MNS and Shiv Sena supporters coming to the rescue of the common man, at least for the time being. It is the duty of the state government to maintain law and order and ensure that the citizens are not inconvenienced due to the frequent strikes of the essential services. But the government seems to be helpless as their own leaders are indulging in this game of one-upmanship at the cost of the common man.
—Sudhakar Shenoy, Mumbai