Letters May 2008

“I’m Here Mom,” by Anish Majumdar is a mind-blowingly honest and heart-felt article. Kudos to you and your mom for feeling so deeply.
Anonymous, via eMail

As a fellow survivor who has a close loved one suffering from this disease, I found the article “I’m Here Mom” beautifully written. It hit so close to home that at times I felt I was reading about my own experience. Thank you, Anish Majumdar.
Amal, via eMail

The article on schizophrenia touched my heart. My mom went through something similar. Unfortunately I didn’t deal with it as well as Anish Majumdar did. We were never really close. And now it’s too late.
Anonymous, Via eMail

Anish Majumdar’s article on his mother’s schizophrenia touched me in a way that no article has ever done. The painful honesty and the final reconciliation are testament to familial bonds. This, my friends, is what pain and love are. Be in peace.
V. Singh, via eMail
 

If Barack Obama wins the U.S. presidency he inherits a “poisoned chalice.” America is heading south in every measure and the next president will more or less be a lame duck even before he starts. It is unlikely that the new president will get an opportunity to shine, so we must look to the president after the next one.
Satish, via eMail

Even if you support unlimited immigration, (“The Immigration Solution,” March 2008) by putting quotes around European and undocumented, you expose your true colors. One of the strengths of the Indian community has been its desire to follow immigration laws and assimilate in the community while maintaining its heritage. This article turns that around and mixes those great contributions with illegal aliens and against the pre-1965 Americans.
That is not a winning strategy – if you think skin color alone will create alliances among Indian, Mexican and Black communities. That has never happened. Hard work and adherence to the law has been the hallmark of the Indian experience and this article twists that into an anti-White statement.
Anonymous, via email

The suicidal palm tree in your February 2008 issue is, in fact, the century palm tree. Contrary to the article, this variety of palm tree grows wild in South America and is in no danger of extinction. There are millions of them and each tree bears at least 100,000 fruits. Guyana has so many of these century palm trees that they are considered a nuisance.
The century palm is an amazing tree with many secrets; perhaps because of that she suffers such an agonizing death. She flowers after about 100 years and keeps her flowers and fruits for almost 1 year, not just a few months as stated in the article. The tree suffers for years after flowering before it dies. Sadly, nothing can stop her demise.
Mukesh Megnauth, via eMail

The letter by Byravan Viswanathan in the March 2008 issue has to be challenged. He claims that George Bush has done enormous damage to this country. This is inaccurate. In fact, George Bush rewarded U.S. companies with tax breaks for shipping jobs overseas to countries such as India and China. George Bush thus helped the Indian economy boom, which benefited from the export of U.S. jobs.
 Of course the US economy slowed down due because of these job losses, for which the Republican Party is responsible.
Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama may not provide tax breaks to U.S. companies for outsourcing jobs to India. There is also no guarantee that they will impose heavier taxes on U.S. corporations because of lobbyists. We have to wait and see if they have any solutions if they are elected president. The increasing labor costs for Indian professionals will also be a factor in determining whether it will be cost effective for U.S. companies to export jobs overseas.
Suresh Mangalore, via eMail

I enjoyed the editorial “Chuck de Yadain” (April 2008) reminiscing on the times India dominated field hockey. As someone who remembers well the decades we were world champions, I am saddened that the country has frittered away its talent in the sport. The table detailing India’s performance since the 1928 Olympic Games was very revealing. Frankly, even I had no idea just how successful we had been at the sport, nor how precipitously and quickly we had fallen. I guess cricket is pounding the final nail in the coffin of the country’s national sport that has long been on life support.
J. Bala, Via email