The Pursuit of Appiness

From virtual kissing to guitar tuning, smartphones are making it easier for urban Indians to live, work and play.

Age of the Apps

The cover story has brought into focus how the mobile revolution is touching every walk of life from childhood to old age. The control is within one’s palm. Mobile applications and its upgradations seem to be fascinating and virtually endless (“Planet of the Apps”, July 23). There is no telling on the future uses of the mobile phone that are to unfold. The personal computer and mobile phone is witnessing an era of perpetual innovation, to which the new generation is attracted. Apps surely improve and enhance the quality of our life, but there is a need to draw a line. One must realise that life doesn’t begin or end with electronic gadgets. One has to be careful about the ‘ other’ side of mobile apps. K. V. RAGHURAM, Wayanad

‘‘ It’s not about reliance on technology but about learning from it. It’s our generation’s stamp on history.‘‘

RAJIV SEN , Kolkata

Trendy, user- friendly mobile apps are fascinating. Undoubtedly, they are ushering in a revolution in the digital world and, thus, enriching our lives in a multi- faceted manner. Apart from personal use, can we imagine today’s apps serving as a beacon for further innovation by contributing towards the national cause? Fictional or preposterous one may call, inventing apps for devising national policies, reducing disparity between rich and poor or a smart app operating effectively in the system to hunt scams are just few examples. Evolving but enabling apps can assist the nation purposefully. SANJIV GUPTA, Australia Information technology has been undergoing a seachange ever since its inception. All the information one looks for is available at

the click of a button fixed on a palm- sized gadget like a smartphone or a tablet. Now lame excuses like lack of availability of information can’t pass for lack of effort on the part of a person. If you can put in your best efforts, sky is the limit of what one can achieve. V. K. TANGRI, Dehradun

Siege Within

The story has exposed how Manmohan Singh failed to inspire his people, guide them and extract the best out of them (“Men Who Failed Manmohan Singh”, July 23). He has avoided taking any strong economic measures as a prime minister. Suffering from numerous handicaps of governance, he is unable to deliver the results he is capable of. However, he is still the best bet for UPA provided he is supported in his efforts by his team. ROHINI MALEKAR, Pune A person who has the responsibility of looking after 1.2 billion people of India cannot be seen being subjected to arm- twisting and embarrassed by his Cabinet colleagues. Singh comes across as a man who has lost his way. At a time when the economic growth rate shows a precipitate decline, an acute policy paralysis makes matters worse. There is a complete absence of direction. There is indiscipline in the UPA ranks. The allies have been acting in a wayward fash- ion and all too often demanding their pound of flesh. The members of the Cabinet have not been pulling together. Hardly a day passes without a serious financial scam hitting the media headlines. KUSUM VATS, Bangalore Mayawati is getting ready to upstage Samajwadi Party ( SP) in the next general elections (“Mayawati Plans Revival”, July 23). She is going to encash the weaknesses displayed by the ruling party in the days to come. If the law and order situation in Uttar Pradesh continues to deteriorate, SP will lose the golden opportunity provided to it on a platter by the people. ROHIT NIGAM, Sangli

Gearing Up

Transparency Must

It is high time that temple committees across the country are made more accountable through legislative amendments of the relevant act (“Temple of Boon”, July 23). These committees sit on heavy cash and do not like to be questioned on accountability in the guise of being autonomous trusts, despite allegations of misappropriation of ‘ public funds’. Andhra Pradesh’s Endowment Minister C. Ramchandraiah is spot on in trying to rope in CAG to scrutinise the accounts books of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams. ANJUM M. SAMEL, Mumbai

Ecology in Danger

The Karnataka government is rejecting UNESCO’s heritage tag for the Western Ghats ( States Vote for Growth”, July 23). It is strange that the environment ministry has set up another committee to review the report of the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel. It seems that the issue has become mired in power politics. Western Ghats are ecologically sensitive, and therefore, mining and polluting industries need to be stopped. The attempts to destroy our great treasure should be avoided at any cost. PRAKHAR, www. intoday. com

Happy Ending

The unlikely mating of a strong patriarchal society ( Haryana) to an equally strong matriarchal society ( Kerala) is pleasantly ironic to see (“North Meets South for a Happily Ever After”, July 23). For an area where panchayats rule supreme with their orthodox ways, it is heartening to see cross- cultural marriages being encouraged. Perhaps the only good thing to come out of the vile practices that have caused such an imbalanced sex ratio in Haryana is this blend of southern and northern familial ties. This is an interesting dichotomy that raises hope for a fully united India someday, unobstructed by strong regional identities. BHASKAR TANEJA, Delhi