MyVoice: Views of our readers 8th December 2024

All eyes on Revanth to keep poll promises

Apropos: "Revanth carved out a niche as CM of Telangana" (Hans 07-12-24). The author of this article has praised and cautioned on the current changes of political events. The one year rule of Revanth's regime cannot be wholly certified as excellent. Development of the State in various fields depends on how best the planning is made and its process of implementation. State as well as private investors have to come forward to fulfil their ventures with a time frame. Further and most important aspect is bringing into force the rest of six poll guarantees like Cheyutha (Aasara). Glaringly it appears as a failure one. Already one year has passed. BRS scheme of Aasara is still in vogue and it goes to the credit of KCR only. Revanth Reddy should respectfully and responsibly utilise his tongue to gain applauds from all sections. Unfortunately this spirit is not seen in our politicians.

–N S K Prasad, Hyderabad

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The first advantage on part of Revanth Reddy has been not to antagonise the Centre, unlike KCR who avoided the company of PM Narendra Modi whenever important events were held – like introduction of Vandebharat train services from Secunderabad to other destinations; and during the inauguration of the mammoth temple complex dedicated the vaishnavite saint Ramanuja in Hyderabad. Revanth Reddy’s another feather in cap has been his innovative move to free the fortress-like security arrangements in and around the new secretariat that BRS provided to the new Assembly building in the state. Another unmissable achievement by Revanth Reddy’s government is to take measures from Hyderabad being submerged during the monsoon; and cleaning and rejuvenation of Musi that remained on paper during BRS rule.

–S Lakshmi, Hyderabad

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The six gurantees that were announced by the Congress party before the state elections is a real challenge for it in Telangana. Parties promise sky-high and impractical promises during elections. Believing that the Congress would honour its promises, people voted for the party. It is more than a year that the six gurantees are yet to be implemented. The situation is same in Karnataka, too. What it will do in Jharkhand is yet to be seen. Want of funds is the real hurdle.

Using taxpayers money to win elections amounts to bribing the voters. It will make the state bankrupt since most of the state governments are running in debt. The SC should not be a silent spectator. It should stop this practice. The EC should also blacklist the political party which fails to keep its promises. It will discipline our politicians.

–N R Ramachandran, Chennai.

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Like many politicians, Revanth Reddy too became the Chief Minister for first time due to his hard work. His cheerful face and consistent focus on the solutions is an asset to him. Correct or wrong, it is the part of the politics that oppostion leaders keep pointing out the lapses, faults etc. However as the Chief Minister, he invited BRS leaders to share their useful and usable suggestions. He successfully completed 1 year without any unrest across the state. It is the people of TS who kept on watching for good governance during his tenure. As long as good governance is getting reflected across the state, the people don't interfere. It is the people who can decide about him only during the next election. Let us hope he and his team will fulfill all their assurances to the people and the state.

–G Murali Mohan Rao, Secunderabad

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The write-up by V Ramu Sarma on the Congress government led by Revanth Reddy managing to complete its first year of office by negotiating all hurdles coming in the way in Telangana made an interesting read. With he himself being under scrutiny by virtue of the vote for note case, people still have a suspicion upon his credibility. Nonetheless the fact remains that as there was no deserving person than him in the party in terms of charisma, fighting spirit and good oratory, getting the nod from the Congress High Command to be CM face was never in doubt. Notwithstanding his big talk at every podium and his focus on city's development with initiatives like Musi rejuvenation project, metro rail and elevated corridors and efforts to meet drinking water requirements in Hyderabad, still his failure to fulfil people's expectations due to dwindling revenue and heavy loans taken from different sources have only added to his cup of woes. Revanth should concentrate on development works and carry on without bias or prejudice instead of looking at projects to appease minorities and resorting to revenge politics on KCR and company by trying to undo all the good works done by them in the last decade.

– K R Srinivasan, Secunderabad

***

You were right in your Bold Talk that Rahul Gandhi should have been raised Sambhal issue in Parliament. But Rahul Gandhi was swift enough to meet the Sambhal violence victims, which should be appreciated. A major incident occurred in the country resulting in a loss of five lives because of hatred spread in the society. It is the responsibility of public representative to meet the people. But the UP police had stopped at the Gazipur border preventing Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi from going to Sambhal using heavy barricades and security forces. Rahul Gandhi is the leader of the opposition and the position gives him certain Constitutional rights which are different from others. It is wrong on the part of UP government to prevent him. Crating hatred between two communities is the only ideology of the BJP and the RSS.

– Zeeshan, Kazipet

‘Pushpa 2’ film frenzy turns tragic for family

In a tragic turn of circumstances, a 39-year-old mother who had stepped out to catch the latest release ‘Pushpa 2: The Rule’ in Hyderabad, along with her nine-year-old son, lost her life in a stampede outside the theatre. Prima facie, it appears that movie star Allu Arjun, hero of this film, was expected to attend the premiere which led the crowds to swell. The Hyderabad Police claim that neither the star’s team or the theatre management informed them of his presence which might have led to better crowd control — and possibly saved lives. While this is true, it is also a matter of grave concern that numerous lives have been lost in stampedes every year across India even when the police were present on site. The majority of stampedes in India occur at religious sites or during such gatherings; the rest when people move impulsively at venues that host celebrities, especially film stars and during a sudden collapse of a bridge or a pathway. The norms and protocols of crowd control exist but mostly on paper; implementing them on every occasion that brings crowds calls for a high level of anticipation and preparedness of the local police. Either way, whether informed or not, the buck stops at the door of the police.

– N Sadhasiva Reddy, Bengaluru

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It is quite unfortunate that a lady was killed in a stampede incident in Hyderabad theatre the other day. It is a matter of grave concern that innumerous people die of stampede every year in our country. But no lesson seems to have been learnt so far. In places where people congregate, crowd management is a must. All precautionary measures must be put in place to save lives from stampedes which happen mostly in temple functions. The organisers and the police have the responsibility to control crowds and prevent stampede from happening. As such strict action must be taken against them and punished severely so that such incidents do not happen again.

–Sravana Ramachandran, Chennai

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The film is made to once again show case the action skills of Allu Arjun and to exhibit the remarkable technical excellence on screen. The frenzy created around the film is meaningless and the madness of crazy fans took away a precious life in stampede that took place at Hyderabad .The film’s single goal seems to make as much money as possible within shortest time. There is nothing to boast off the film except for the rich presentation spending hundreds of crores.

The sad part off the film is the misbehavior of Allu Arjun and his indirect targeting of Mega Star Chiranjeevi in public shows how ungrateful he and his father Aravind to their bread provider. What is the fate of the third rate actors of Mega family without the support of Chranjeevi?

Rama Krishna M, Kakinada.

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As expected after the box office success of Pushpa: The Beginning, the sequel starring Allu Arjun has caused a frenzy, leading to a tragic stampede and the death of a woman and her son. The incident occurred at a single-screen theater, a popular venue for Telugu movies, located in a densely populated area ill-equipped to handle such a crowd. This unfortunate incident led the family to blame the theater management and the overwhelming crowd, which had gathered upon hearing that the star cast would visit the venue.

While I sympathize with the grieving family, I wonder why they chose to attend the first-day screening despite the risks, especially with a small child in tow. The film will run for several weeks; was it worth risking their safety for the first show?

On the part of the actors and filmmakers, promoting movies with such hype, including surprise theater visits, seems excessive. There also seems to be a trend where certain films, like The Kashmir Files, The Kerala Story, and Godhra Report, receive amplified attention from media and even political parties, possibly due to their controversial themes.

Interestingly, even brands like Amul have jumped on the bandwagon, using Pushpa for marketing campaigns with taglines like “Alloo Arjun.” Yet, they overlooked patriotic films like Amaran, which honored Major Mukund Varadaran. Why do such tributes fail to receive the same recognition?

– N Nagarajan, Hyderabad

Buddha teachings so relevant today

Bodhi Day commemorates the day when Sidhartha Gautham or Buddha attained enlightenment. It is celebrated on 08 December annually and is a time for introspection, meditation and a fresh resolution to live by the teachings of Buddha, which guide people to a life of wisdom, compassion and non-attainment. Bodhi Day emphasises the significance of the Dharma and teachings of the Buddha as a means of achieving Nirvana and putting an end to human suffering. Bodhi Day also highlights the im-portance of the “Noble Eightfold Path”, which provides a useful manual for moral and intellectual growth.

According to Buddha, the Noble Eightfold Path consists of Right View, Right Resolve, Right Speech, Right Action, Right livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, and Right Concentration. The first seven are taught to be pillars that support Right Concentration.

Bodhi Day origins can be found over 2,500 years ago in the life of Sidhartha Gautham, prince who gave up his royal existence after seeing human sufferings. He meditated under the Bodhi tree at Bodh Gaya in India to find a remedy to human sufferings.

This epiphany signified his transformation from a prince to the Buddha, the ‘awakened one’.

Buddha said “May all beings happy; may all be without sufferings”. He also taught that there is no path to happiness; happiness itself is the path. The happiness never be de-creased by sharing and caring.

– Dr Madhusudan Reddy Burra, Karimnagar

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Today many parts of the world are on the brink of war, attacks and ethnic and economic crisis. Some countries are stuck badly in the conflict of interest, genocide, nuclear warfare, militarisation and so on.

In such a milieu, the teachings of Gautama Buddha are a source of inspiration for all of us. Let us take a moment to remind ourselves the valuable teachings of the Lord Buddha. This day let us take a moment to decide to apply at least one principle of the eight fold paths in our lives.

–Kirti Wadhawan, Kanpur

Debate on constitution

It's good that the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha are going to debate on constitution for two days each in the next week. This is the seventy fifth year,'Amrutotsav' for the sacred document to get adopted by the constituent assembly, which came into effect from January 26, 1950. If India has been marching steadily as the largest Parliamentary democracy, the major credit goes to the Constitution. It has been a guiding light to the nation. So the debate on it in the highest legislative body at this crucial juncture should be befitting for the occasion. The parliamentarians and the political parties should take utmost care with reverence towards the ultimate goal to place their ideas on the floor of the House so that the nation could earn some bright insights.

There have been many developments in social, economic and political planes that merit discussion in the light of Constitution. For example, the liberal economy has been fostering concentration of wealth in the hands of a few, leaving majority in penury, which is against economical justice. The country is moving towards becoming a mighty union, weakening the states which is against federalism.

The judiciary, de-spite being effective custodian, is not representing social diversity in its power structure. The constitu-tional bodies like gubernatorial office, speaker's or

ECI are not acting quite objectively above any suspi-cion. The anti-defection law has become ineffective. All such issues will have to be discussed threadbare.

– Dr DVG Sankara Rao, Vizianagaram

Farmers' protest unfair

The continuous protests by some of the farmers from Haryana and Punjab for a couple of years in spite of the repeated assurance by the central government repealing the new farm laws etc., is really unfair and definitely looks more political than real.

The crux of the problem definitely is the demand of farmers for announcement of a legalised guaranteed minimum support price for the crops by the centre, which the Centre is not conceding. Minimum support price is a relative term depending on many unforeseen climatic factors prevailing in the country which is also an important point. All other demands of the farmers have already been agreed to and announced by the Prime Minister himself long time back.

De-spite this, the farmers' attempts to enter Delhi to stage protests, demonstrations etc will certainly paralise the administration of country's capital from all angles posing a traffic problem mainly. No doubt, both the states contribution to national food stocks is more than 75% mainly in wheat, but then these farmers cannot take entire country into ransom by their dictatorial attitude but should continue negoti-ations with the authorities in a peaceful manner.

– Katuru Durga Prasad Rao, Hyderabad

The Heavenly Voice  

Ghantasala Venkateswara Rao, the immortal singer in whose melodious voice all the nine Rasas blended in harmonious measure and who transported the audiences for decades into realms of rap-ture and ecstasy, was born on 4 December 1922 at Chavatapalli in a family that wallowed in excru-ciating poverty and misery. His father, Surayya, a Mridangist and Harikatha Bhagavatar, used to take him along with him to the remote villages where he used to give musical concerts and scraped a liv-ing. Despite the enveloping gloom at home, Ghantasala evinced keen interest in subtleties of classical music and learnt his first lessons in music from his father.

The sudden and untimely demise of his father made Ghantasala seek shelter in the house of his uncle Ryali Pichhi Ramayya, a popular stage artiste in those days. As the financial problems proved insur-mountable, Ghantasala had to sell away the only gold ring he had and started for Vizianagaram which was, in those days, the very home of acclaimed musicians and renowned artistes. It was here that he came into contact with the well- known Carnatic Violinist Patrayani Sita Rama Sastry who initiated him into the wondrous world of Carnatic music and moulded him into a musician of prom-ise and talent. He joined the Vizianagaram College of music and under the rigorous guidance of maestros unravelled the secrets and subtleties of music. Sita Rama Sastry, the renowed Violinist Dwaram Venkata Swamy Naidu and artiste Saride Narasamma patted him on his back.

Ghantasala made his creditable debut as a musician at a programme conducted by the veteran Bha-gavatar Choppali Suryanarayana . The year 1944 marked a new turn in Ghantasala’s life. Eminent lyricist Samudrala Raghavachari discovered in him seeds of genius and talent as a playback singer and introduced him to the cine world of music ‘’Swargaseema’’ was the first movie which made him fa-miliar to and popular with the lovers of music. With more than ten thousand songs to his credit, Ghantasala enriched the cine music and carved out a niche for himself in the hearts of millions of Tel-ugus.

Ghantasala’s mellifluous voice has been unsurpassed to this day. As a singer of the tragic world of man, he established a rare empathy with the scene and character on the screen and proved himself an indispensable asset to the leading actors For instance, the perpetuating appeal of Sarat Chandra Chatterji’s fictional character like Devdas owed as much to the histrionic talent of the thespian ANR as to Ghantasala. The philosophical vein in the lyrics like ‘Jagamemaya’ could only be captured by Ghantasala. In brief, a Bhima, a Sri Rama, a Krishna, a Ravana, and a Valmiki cannot be imagined without the rich and resonant voice of Ghantasala at the back. Who can rival him in tragic songs? At the same time, he sang of the youthful ebullience of the lovers, their rapturous romance, ecstasy of love, and pangs of separation with equal ease and felicity.

Ghantasala’s crowning glory is his impeccably inspiring rendition of the Bhagavadgita. The spiritual fervour and philosophical essence of the Gita could only be brought out by Ghantasala and no one else.

By propagating the message embedded in the Gita in his stentorian voice, he earned the grati-tude of millions of Telugus and succeeded where the saints and philosophers have failed. If the Gita is now revered and understood by even the illiterate villagers, the credit should go to the immortal singer Ghantasala.

–S M Kompella, Kakinada

Parents’ role key during exams

The Class 10 and Class 12 CBSE Board exams are scheduled to begin from February 15, 2025. As the ex-ams approach, both the students and the parents experience feelings of anxiety and confusion. These are very natural, but at times they are so overwhelming that both parents and students are stressed about the prospects of appearing for the exams. Ideally, exam seriousness starts to settle in from De-cember onwards and the next 3 months are important in the way students handle their revision. Parent's role is of utmost significance from now on. Often parents compare their ward with other chil-dren and try to impose their choices and opinions on them. Their marks and test results are also com-pared. The child is blamed for not performing up to their expectations. Any negative talk at this time can have a huge impact on students' mindset. Parents should always try and create a positive atmosphere at home. Parental support and guidance is extremely important in handling exam stress. Parents should encourage other parents also to create a positive outlook and approach for the upcoming board exams. A positive attitude and a calm mind by the parents during the exam preparation will surely help the stu-dents perform to the best of their ability.

Parimala G Tadas, Hyderabad