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SPAN January/February 2008
Letters to the Editor To view the article in magazine format,
Please click here for the PDF File  Abdul Sami Porvorim, Goa It was gratifying to come across Chester Bowles' illuminating and inspiring article "What Americans Can Learn from Gandhi." Rightly, the author has emphasized that the message of Mahatma Gandhi of noncooperation and nonviolence has inspired millions of Black Americans to achieve their cherished goal of civil rights in America. It is worthy to note that the Gandhian way of peaceful persuasion stirred the conscience of the majority of Asian and African countries to break the shackles of slavery and attain their freedom. V.S.S. Kannan Karaikudi, Tamil Nadu Chester Bowles' article on Gandhi is a good presentation and comparative study on the realization of Gandhism. The illustrative pictures are informative and impressive. S. Raghunatha Prabhu Alappuzha, Kerala The article "What Americans Can Learn from Gandhi" made Gandhi alive once more and helped one appreciate the greatness of Martin Luther King, Jr., who can be described as a true disciple of Mahatma Gandhi. This article can also be titled as, "What Indians Can Learn from Gandhi," for, to many Indians at present Gandhiji is a person whose birthday is a holiday. People do just lip service to the Gandhian principles and seldom practice them.
The article "Preserving Winter's Miracles of Beauty" by Dr. Kay Redfield Jamison was breathtakingly beautiful, but I wish you had indicated the snow crystal numbers in each of the 11 very beautiful photographs of snowflakes that were reproduced. Unfortunately, the article does not reveal the answer to the promised, "How an American farmer invented snowflake photography," as stated on the cover. Full details of the process were expected. Surabhi Chaturvedi, New Delhi I read the article on snowflakes and I was enthralled by it. I am an ardent fan and passionate lover of nature, but unlike Bentley and others I have not found ways to preserve my passion. So through them, I carve out ways of keeping the love alive Harish Khosla, New Delhi It is fascinating to read about the beauty of snowflakes and its varied formations. Wilson Bentley had a vision and the patience to preserve beauty that is so very fragile. Apart from enjoying the mysteries of nature, it teaches us how much is around to see that we do not see or care to see. Manisha Gupta, New Delhi Angus McDonald's "America Supports Cultural Preservation," was really interesting as well as enlightening. Moreover, it is heartening to learn about the Ambassador's Fund for Cultural Preservation to protect the world's cultural treasures with the priority being benefit to the relevant communities, which is indeed a need of the hour. Traditional knowledge is dying out because of lack of a proper system of documentation. And communities practicing these traditions are in most cases unable to sustain themselves, and their younger generations see no livelihood options in these, so they rather become laborers. Just like the mentioned "Baul music" and "art of lost wax metal casting" of Bangladesh, there is a huge array of such cultural expressions all over the region which need to be preserved for the benefit of not only the communities involved but also the entire "nation society." We need a well thought-out strategy to protect them even under an Intellectual Property Rights system, and for that the first basic step is systematic and proper documentation of such cultural knowledge. Maybe the Ambassador's Fund for Cultural Preservation could address such needs, too. Anil K. Goel Botanic Garden, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh I was turning the pages of the new calendar which has been brought out by you excellently under the theme "Wonders of America." Congratulations! In this connection I would like to mention that the main photograph published under the month of September 2008 is not of the American Lotus. In the inset, the small photo is correct but I am afraid to tell you that the main photograph is of a Water Lily (Nymphaea), not of a Yellow American Lotus (Nelumbo lutea). SPAN replies: We thank Anil K. Goel for pointing out this error, and are pleased to share with our readers a photograph of an actual American Lotus. S.M. Joyal Ajmer, Rajasthan The President of the United States of America is the most powerful person in today's world politics. It is as such quite obvious that this year's election has not only a local interest but also a global one. The process takes quite a long time, which I think is necessary, for it involves 50 states and is perhaps the most transparently democratic one. They come face to face on the same platform, facing the audience. Other countries need to learn a lot from such practices. |
