Editor,
Apropos the letter by AS Lyngdoh (ST Nov 4,2016) as an ex-banker, I strongly support Mr Lyngdoh. and respect his sentiments. It is true that customers are facing rough and rude behaviour from the banks and most of the customers remain silent. This trend is not healthy in the context of changing economic scenario of the country because we now have different types of alternative instruments. The days are not far when most of the small banks will perish! Bank managements should think very seriously on these and other issues and must talk to such badly behaved staff of their branches. Such staff should learn lessons from PMA books and interactions with polite people. Hope, my this letter is read by the staff about whom Mr Lyngdoh has mentioned today!
Yours etc.,
Anjan kr Das,
Shillong-6
“Disruption of peace”
Editor,
Apropos the letter, “Desecration of temples, a sacrilege” (ST November 03, 2016) by PK Dwivedi, the writer has been spitting venom against Islam and it would be better if he stops expressing his frustration and anger in a public platform using inflammatory language. If Dwivedi continues to reflect his imprudence and premature behaviour in this platform, he would be solely responsible for communal violence in the city. Let me remind Dwivedi that Islam is a religion of peace and condemns desecration of religious places and Muslims would be against such attacks. Dwivedi even hinted indirectly in his letter that the earth would be a better place without Muslims but he should peep through the windows of history with an unbiased mind free of prejudices to see the enormous contribution of Muslims in the field of astronomy, medicine, mathematics, geography etc. and then you would realise the contribution of Muslims in making this world a better place. Some Hindutva brigades killed Muslims and Dalits in the garb of protecting cows and love jihad and forcibly made Muslim youths to drink cow urine and eat cow dung and the Modi government remained silent. However everybody knows this basic fact that there are black sheep in every community and if these do something wrong it would not mean that the entire community is wrong but for people like Dwivedi it is very difficult to understand this simple logic.
Yours etc.,
Md Sageer,
Via email
Via email
On Dylan’s Nobel Prize
Editor,
Bob Dylan is the only man to have won the Oscar, Grammy and now the Nobel. It’s been a slow train coming, but it is no simple twist of fate. Dylan undeniably a prolific poet and the literally genius of our times and whose songs and poetry inspired the toiling millions. Dylan songs in some way were predictive and indeed stirred anthems for the rights movement throughout the world. Some critics sparked off debates about the Swedish Academy choice to award Dylan but the Academy’s decision proves that Literature in the modern world is not restricted to genus like the novel, short story or poetry. To class Dylan as a mere ‘ singer – song writer ’ is rather unceremonious. American Professor of the Boston University, Christopher Ricks wrote ‘Dylan’s Vision of Sin’ in 2006, that illuminates Milton, Shakespeare, Keats and Elliot’s words.
The Swedish Academy rightly pointed out that Dylan ‘created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition’. Rabindranath Tagore was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature in 1913 for his collection of poems, Gitanjali. In India, Dylan’s creative values are also recognised, for instance Delhi’s Jamia Milia Islamia – Central University introduced Dylan’s ‘Blowin’ in the wind’ in its MA English programme in 2011 a compulsory paper for those studying English Literature. Kolkata’s Jadavpur University incorporated some of his classic songs for their English Literature syllabus in 2003.
Since 1972, the forever young Bah Lou Majaw, recipient of the 4th Bhupen Hazarika National Award, hosted shows each year on May 24, to felicitate Dylan’s birthday celebrations. NEHU acknowledged Cassandra Syiemlieh’s thesis on Dylan’s songs and poetry and in 1986 conferred her the degree of Master of Philosophy. To wrap up, Bob Dylan’s quote comes to mind – ‘some people feel the rain, others just get wet ’.
Yours etc.,
Sonny L Khyriem,
Via email