— A. Paramesham

Hyderabad

Graceful Gilly

• It requires tremendous courage and conviction for any cricketer to hang up his boots, when he is just four Test matches away from completing a hundred appearances.

Gilchrist’s own revelation that the dropping of V.V.S. Laxman’s catch in India’s first innings prompted him to make up his mind to say good bye is note-worthy. How many such lion-hearted cricketers would one find in the present era and the years to come?

One must not forget the cold reception given to Gilly by teammates in general and the captain in particular, after he broke Mark Boucher’s record tally of 413 catches, by catching Anil Kumble off Stuart Clark, when India’s first innings was folded at 526. Barring the bowler, none of the Aussie players celebrated his feat and this particular incident was even lambasted by the fellow Aussie, Dean Jones, in one of his syndicated columns.

Perhaps, his dwindling batting form in Test matches in recent times contributed to his retirement decision, though his reflexes till the last day of the Adelaide game were quite fine.

— Ganesh Sovani

Thane

Mob power

• No action will be taken against Raj Thackeray by the Vilasrao Deshmukh government for spitting venom on the North Indians in Mumbai and inducing violence. After all, we are a nation of hooligans that go scot-free with muscle power or mob power.

— Rajesh Vyas

Mumbai

Setu asunder

• Is it Ram or politics that is getting the better of us?

Undoubtedly, jobs will be created while constructing the Ram Setu, but what of the ensuing mess? Saving in time and fuel will be totally offset by problems of navigating the Palk Strait. Who will use the channel? Certainly not ships going east to Singapore, maybe Indian ships, but what will be the volume of traffic? Deep draught vessels (big bulk carriers/tankers) would not like to go through the channel.

Imagine the slow pace and pilotage aspects and the cost thereof. And then what of ship safety? It will be bonanza for pirates and, the gravest part, for the likes of the LTTE!

— Mukund B. Kunte

New Delhi

Mid-East contrast

• Israelis and their supporters tend to depict Israel as a country of miracles citing evidence such as the country’s astonishing birth and then survival against all sorts of threats. How else would Israel develop at such a rare pace, making the desert bloom and continually scoring high amongst developed nations? Meanwhile, Palestinians continue to be depicted as their own worst enemies, a people who ‘never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity’ and who stand outside the norms of rational human behaviour. Israel is often viewed against a regional backdrop of backward, undemocratic and essentially violent Arabs. Such is the stuff of propaganda mounted by Israeli, American and Western media.

— Aaron Sears

Pune