REMEMBERING TAGORE

This refers to the article ‘Philosophy with timeless relevance’. There is an appalling lack of creativity in today’s educational systems. The emphasis is on shoving information down the throats of mostly unwilling students to be regurgitated at intervals during examinations. The entire system is designed to kill any kind of latent creativity among children, mass producing generations of unthinking adults. How many original thinkers has our nation produced in the past century? How many poets and writers or painters and sculptors? Tagore would have certainly been pained by the toxic patriotism we are witnessing. He believed in humanity over the nations.

Not just India, the world needs to adopt some of the ideas of Tagore to ensure a kind, just and humane society.

— ANTHONY HENRIQUES, MUMBAI via email

A RARE FEAT

It is very rare to see two out of three topmost athletes being from India, in any track and field event. So, it is huge for

India to see Eldhose Paul and Abdulla Aboobacker winning gold and silver medals for India in triple jump in the Commonwealth Games at Birmingham. Though the level of competition in Olympics and Asian Games is completely different as records for men’s triple jump in those two games is 1 meter and 0.5 meter higher than what Paul has achieved in Birmingham, but still, it is good work in progress and it should pave way for bigger success for Indian athletes in future. Hope more young boys and girls start opting for track and field games, however non glamorous it may look at the start. If Neeraj Chopra’s gold in Tokyo can inspire thousands of boys and girls in India, then there is no reason why Avinash Sable, Priyanka Goswami and the likes cannot do the same.

— BAL GOVIND, NOIDA via email