Disregard for the rapidly dwindling populations of the hilsa

ohini Bhaumik,Calcutta Radical visionSir - Sukanta Chaudhuri's brilliant, satirical article, "Tagore the traitor" (Sept 23), demolishes the nationalistic narrative that political leaders today are constructing in order to promote jingoism and xenophobia among ordinary citizens and even intellectuals. The accompanying visual - a painting of Rabindranath Tagore by his nephew, Abanindranath, depicting the bard as a mercurial baul - reinforces Chaudhuri's view of Tagore as the iconoclastic seer-poet whose vision is still relevant in contemporary India.Tagore had proclaimed that nationalism is "a great menace". It is also important now to recall his last speech, which he wrote at a time when the Second World War was going on. It contained these prophetic words: "As I look around I see the crumbling ruins of a proud civilization strewn like a vast heap of futility. Yet I shall not commit the grievous sin of losing faith in Man."Laksmisree Banerjee,JamshedpurSir - What follows after the shocker of a title, "Tagore the traitor", is a biting satire on the thought processes of the proponents of 'New India'. Sukanta Chaudhuri shows how Tagore would have indeed been branded a "traitor" in the Hindutva scheme of things. One hopes that the article will create some discomfort among those in the Bengali community who have started readily believing the falsehoods peddled by the right-wing. After all, the ideas propagated by Hindutvavadis go directly against the traditions and philosophies espoused by luminaries from the community such as Tagore, Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Ishwarchandra Vidyasagar, Swami Vivekananda, Ramakrishna Paramhansa and Subhas Chandra Bose. Will there come a day when these figures are all branded 'traitors'? Or perhaps their words and actions will be given a clever spin, or fake statements shall be attributed to them, in order to suit a particular ideology.Vidyasagar, for example, would certainly not fit in 'New India'. Unfortunately, there hardly seems to be any effective resistance to the emergence of this new order, with a weakened Opposition fighting to stay alive.Pronoy Kumar Ghosh,JamshedpurSir - Sukanta Chadhuri's article made me wonder about the fate that would likely befall Rabindranath Tagore and the eponymous character of his novel, Gora, in these times of hypernationalism. Perhaps the Hindutvavadi Gora's realization that he belongs to no religion - especially not the one he thought he belonged to - would have resulted in him being sent to a detention camp, even if he had valid identification papers. And what would happen to his creator? In Tagore's case, there are several possibilities; for one, he could be put under house arrest for his views. The 'one nation, one religion, one flag' brand of nationalism that is rapidly gaining ground has no room for Tagore's widely-acclaimed vision of inclusion.Goutam Kumar Jana,CalcuttaSir - In 'New India', Rabindranath Tagore would indeed be an "anti-national". Would his words, "I will never allow patriotism to triumph over humanity", ever be accepted in these times of zealous patriotism? Through his poem, "Bharat tirtha", Tagore dared to welcome people from all over the world to India so that different cultures could mingle and make the country richer. In present-day India, where people are detained for the purposes of the National Register of Citizens, Tagore's ideas would never be welcome.Through his novel, Ghare Baire, Tagore also highlighted the enormous losses that small traders incurred as a result of the swadeshi movement, as they were forced to burn their stocks of British goods. He warned against the spectre of communalism, as the small traders suffering on account of the movement were predominantly Muslim. Perhaps, in New India, his criticism of the swadeshi andolan would make him "anti-national". Moreover, he wrote extensively about transcending the barriers of religion, race, nationality and caste. Such ideas have no place in a nation where a particular religious community is being projected as supreme. He spoke out against hate; would he find any takers in New India, where the politics of hate is awarded social sanction? He renounced his knighthood to protest against the Jallianwala Bagh massacre and earned the wrath of the British, and yet he was called a 'stooge' of the Empire for his alleged 'praise' of King George V in the Indian national anthem. The bard - who condemned nationalism, welcomed everyone to India, spoke in favour of the poor, protested against communalism and casteism and advocated equality - is certainly not fit to be lauded in 'New India'.Kajal Chatterjee,Calcutta DailyhuntDisclaimer: This story is auto-aggregated by a computer program and has not been created or edited by Dailyhunt. Publisher: The Telegraphhttps://thefastdiet.co.uk/forums/users/kumaarswami/

No BJP tea tribe candidate for the four Assembly constituencies

Shamsul Hoque is the Congress's Jania candidate.In previous Lok Sabha elections, all three BJP candidates from the tea garden community had won. "A majority of the tea garden people voted for the BJP in the past elections. However, they did not choose a single candidate from the community. The BJP does not want the tea garden community to be politically strong," said former Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi.Asked if the Congress would ally with the All India United Democratic Front, Gogoi said there is no point talking about an alliance for the bypoll as both the parties have announced their candidates. "However, we may talk about the 2021 Assembly elections," said Gogoi. There have been reports that both the parties are looking for "an understanding to fight elections to defeat the BJP". Gogoi has said the Congress is "open to alliance with any party to defeat the BJP".The Congress on Monday released the list of 40 star campaigners. The list includes the party's Assam in-charge Harish Rawat, APCC president Ripun Bora, leader of the Opposition in the Assam Legislative Assembly Debabrata Saikia and Gogoi. DailyhuntDisclaimer: This story is auto-aggregated by a computer program and has not been created or edited by Dailyhunt. Publisher: The Telegraphhttps://justpaste.it/69pn9

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Life is not fair. Learn to deal with it!

You can think that this situation arose because you are lacking in something or look at it as an opportunity to grow without the additional pressure of fulfilling somebody's expectations. In real life, that is outside of school, you will face many challenges like this where sometimes your boss will ignore you despite knowing you are the better worker or victimise you because you are more hardworking. In a way, it is good that you are learning to deal with this emotionally when the stakes are not that high. If the teacher seems approachable, you could ask them why you are getting lower marks in class but higher marks in an external exam. The answer might surprise you - it could be that the expectations of your school as to how an answer has to be written is slightly different from an external exam. If asked, your teacher might give you positive feedback which might actually help you improve yourself. I would strongly recommend working hard and preparing well for your boards - one of the reasons external exams are established is to remove the teacher bias that might creep in. The fact that you got high marks in an external exam indicates that one individual cannot close all the opportunities available to you. Focus on your own learning, work hard and you will find that no single person can ever prevent you from succeeding. Benchmark your success against your self. The external exams will take care of the rest. DailyhuntDisclaimer: This story is auto-aggregated by a computer program and has not been created or edited by Dailyhunt. Publisher: The Telegraphhttp://danmooredesigns.com/UserProfile/tabid/61/userId/471012/Default.aspx

Forever 21 goes bankrupt

What we're hoping to do with this process is just to simplify things so we can get back to doing what we do best," Linda Chang, the chain's executive vice-president, said in an interview. Chang's parents, Do Won and Jin Sook Chang, who still run the chain, founded Forever 21 in the 1980s after immigrating to California from South Korea.The bankruptcy is a blow to a company that prided itself on embodying the American dream, as well as a reminder of how quickly the retail landscape is transforming. Forever 21 experienced big success in the early 2000s with its troves of merchandise that imitated of-the-moment designer styles at rock-bottom prices. It joined Zara and H&M in making fast, disposable fashion widely available to American shoppers, especially young women, who were exposed to new wares seemingly every time they entered a store. But the company expanded too aggressively just as technology was beginning to upend its business."The retail industry is obviously changing - there has been a softening of mall traffic and sales are shifting more to online," Chang said. Forever 21, which said e-commerce made up 16 per cent of its sales, saw its revenue drop to $3.3 billion last year, down from $4.4 billion in 2016. The company employs about 32,800 people, down from 43,000 in 2016. DailyhuntDisclaimer: This story is auto-aggregated by a computer program and has not been created or edited by Dailyhunt. Publisher: The Telegraphhttps://www.coalindia.in/ActivityFeed/MyProfile/tabid/64/UserId/528956/language/en-US/Default.aspx

Have peanut butter for a healthier you

"It can help stop cravings that often lead to a person eating another portion. And its high protein and fibre content provides essential strength for bodily processes, making it a favourite snack of fitness enthusiasts," a spokesperson from Alpino Health Foods said. A tablespoonful of peanut butter contains almost 100 calories. But these calories are in the form of mono-unsaturated fats that aid weight loss and cut the risk of obesity thereby preventing heart disease.On the other hand, saturated fats, found in dips and fried chips, lead to high cholesterol and heart disease. So peanut butter an ideal food for the body. And the chunkier it is, the more filling and healthier it will be. DailyhuntDisclaimer: This story is auto-aggregated by a computer program and has not been created or edited by Dailyhunt. Publisher: The New Indian Expresshttps://www.openlearning.com/u/yohannosam/

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Here is why Joaquin Phoenix's Joker movie is unnecessary

The Joker is so popular that he sometimes outshines the hero Batman. Indeed, the greatest 'superhero' movie of all time, The Dark Knight has precious little superhero in it. The movie mostly revolves around the psychopathic, murderous Clown Prince of Crime bent on terrorising Gotham City, and the Caped Crusader takes a back seat in his own film, and admits defeat even at the end by taking the blame for murders committed by Harvey Dent. But Christopher Nolan and Heath Ledger's interpretation is only one of the many. This character has appeared in many live-action movies, animated features, video-games, and of course, his original abode, the comics and played by top-end actors such as Jack Nicholson, Mark Hamill (as voice-actor), Heath Ledger and others. The most recent depiction of this supervillain by Jared Leto in Suicide Squad did not find much traction with critics and audiences and now it seems Warner Bros and DC want to eventually dump Leto and get a better actor to play the role. Leonardo DiCaprio's name had also popped up, but later Joaquin Phoenix was confirmed to play the character in an origin movie. However, this Joker will not be in DC Extended Universe and the movie is supposed to be a one-off. Phoenix is a great actor, and even the negative reviews say he has given an amazing performance, but for the life of me, I cannot understand why Joker's origin movie was even being considered. Let me explain why I think so. As I already said, the Joker has seen numerous iterations in different media, but it is Heath Ledger's interpretation that is the gold standard now. So I will consider his version only for my argument. Usually, audiences like villains to be complex with solid, poignant backstories to explain their current motivations properly. It needs to be told in a satisfactory manner the reason why the bad guy is doing bad things. Being bad just for the sake of it makes for boring, generic villains. Take Justice League's Steppenwolf, for instance, who I consider the masterclass in how to write bad villains when it comes to superhero movies. That CGI behemoth was being destructive because that is what alien warlords supposedly do. His personality was like dozens of other superhero villains with no unique trait to speak of. But Heath Ledger's Joker was, as he said it himself, an agent of chaos. Explaining his backstory and things like how his face was disfigured and how he went mad, and so on, would have been counter-productive. For the most part, in The Dark Knight, Batman, that world's greatest detective, struggles to understand the enigma that is the Joker. He desperately seeks for a rationale, and is horrified to discover that there is none. The Joker was an unstoppable force (as he says at one point), and not simply a man. Can something as primal as a force have an origin? 'Do you wanna know how I get these scars?' the Joker asks thrice in the film. And save for one instance when Batman prevents him from answering the question, he gives different answers in the other instances. Once, he says he gave them to himself to please his scarred wife, and the second time, he says it was his father who blemished his face. This was dashed smart writing. Christopher Nolan and David S Goyer, who together wrote the story, realised that Joker's charm lay in the mystery itself. When it comes to this singular character, over-explaining leaches away his frightening charisma. It makes him less scary, less interesting, and less evil. So, no soppy, tragic backstory, please. DailyhuntDisclaimer: This story is auto-aggregated by a computer program and has not been created or edited by Dailyhunt. Publisher: The Indian Expresshttps://www.sbnation.com/users/neptunemaars

Modi-Trump: Show of friendship

By using the popular slogan, Modi, it seems, has overstepped the boundaries of the office he holds. The event can also be looked at as an attempt by Trump to gain the support of the affluent Indian-American voters ahead of the 2020 presidential polls. Ranganathan Sivakumar, Chennai Sir - Narendra Modi breached the "time-honoured" convention of Indian foreign policy of "not interfering in the domestic elections of another country" by proclaiming "Abki baar Trump sarkar" at the "Howdy, Modi!" event in Houston. While Modi may have been carried away by the adulation he received from Donald Trump, his endorsement of the latter's campaign was unbefitting his office. His act is not only inappropriate but also diplomatically unwise, as it portrays the Indian prime minister as partisan. One hopes that he will be more circumspect in such sensitive matters in the future.It must be noted that soon after, in a joint address to the press along with the prime minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan, Trump had labelled a statement from Modi on Pakistan's role in terror as "very aggressive". This implies that Trump disapproves of such 'aggression' and also exposes his continued interest in mediating in the matter of Kashmir, even though the Indian government has explicitly stated its position of 'no third-party mediation' in this regard. Trump seems to have not got that message.S.K. Choudhury, BangaloreSir - Narendra Modi succeeded in stealing the show at the "Howdy, Modi!" event, outshining Donald Trump. However, getting entangled in the domestic politics of another nation can have repercussions. The prime minister of India weighing in on the upcoming presidential election of another country goes against diplomatic conventions. But neither Trump nor Modi are known to be conventional. The prime minister has highlighted the common values that the two countries share by referring to India's diversity as the foundation of its democracy. By defending his government's decision on Kashmir, he has reiterated his commitment towards eradicating terrorism.J.S. Acharya,HyderabadSir - There is no doubt that the Indian prime minister's address to a congregation of about 50,000 Indian-Americans in Houston has opened up a new chapter in US-India bilateral relations ("'Trump sarkar' shadow on bipartisan record", Sept 24). Narendra Modi's visit was not bound by stiff diplomatic protocol; it was aimed at wooing the masses. By addressing a huge public rally in Houston and by supporting Donald Trump, Modi has ensured a "great friend in the White House".Modi also introduced the Indian diaspora as his family, drawing attention to the fact that there are "over a billion Indians and people of Indian heritage" in the world. Perhaps he was alluding to India's human resource potential which could be pivotal in determining bilateral relations.Modi's slogan, "Abki baar Trump sarkar", acted as a reminder to the Indian diaspora that their participation in US electoral politics is valuable. The American leadership would do well to remember India's important position in domestic as well as global politics.Subrata Pal,NadiaSupport systemSir - Recently, Ramata Sissoko Cissé, a professor in a college in Lawrenceville, Atlanta, carried her student's baby during a lecture. Cissé had allowed the student to bring the baby to class as the babysitter was unavailable for the day. This gesture was heartwarming, but also reminded us that millions of women, as primary caregivers to children, are often deprived of education on account of the burden of childcare. It is important that we create inclusive spaces and infrastructural facilities so that the education or careers of women who have children are not hindered. Srestha Dasgupta, Guwahati DailyhuntDisclaimer: This story is auto-aggregated by a computer program and has not been created or edited by Dailyhunt. Publisher: The Telegraphhttp://langleygymnastics.ca/ActivityFeed/MyProfile/tabid/61/UserId/952735/Default.aspx