{"id":223,"date":"2010-04-16T07:15:30","date_gmt":"2010-04-16T07:15:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/2010\/04\/16\/letters-10\/"},"modified":"2010-04-16T07:15:30","modified_gmt":"2010-04-16T07:15:30","slug":"letters-10","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/letters-10\/","title":{"rendered":"Letters"},"content":{"rendered":"

Readers’ Response\/ Opinion\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

To Our Readers\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Your views are of interest to us. They help us balance the argument in the correct perspective. We welcome you to draw our attention to anything or opinion expressed in the Mauritius Times (or any national or international event of interest) with which you agree from your own angle or disagree due to a different appreciation of facts. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

We will gratefully receive your communications at the email address: <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

mtimes@intnet.mu<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span>We may decide to publish your comments or the relevant parts thereof if we consider that they will help our readers better understand specific contexts and maintain MT as the foremost and most balanced analytical newspaper of the country.<\/span><\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

* * *<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Que vont faire les \u00e9pargnants \u00e9corch\u00e9s\u00a0?<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Payer 15% sur les int\u00e9r\u00eats re\u00e7us sur l\u2019\u00e9pargne\u00a0: voil\u00e0 la prouesse du tandem Sithanen\/Mansoor jouissant de la b\u00e9n\u00e9diction de Ramgoolam \u2013 un exploit qui va passer lourd dans la balance des urnes le 5 mai prochain.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span> <\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

* * * <\/span><\/p>\n

The Good Husband\u2019s Guide 2010<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

I refer to \u2018The Good Wife\u2019s Guide \u2013 as spelled out in 1955\u2019 published in your issue of last week. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

You would realize that this was complied at a time when the majority of wives were housewives \u2013 i.e. staying at home \u2013 rather than working women as most of them are today. It is proper therefore that the burden of housekeeping and children\u2019s upbringing be shared between husband and wife, especially in these days of the nuclear family.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

May I therefore suggest that you publish a Good Husband\u2019s Guide<\/em> for the benefit of today\u2019s couples. <\/em><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

SM Kumar<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Curepipe<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

* * *<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/em>Promotion in the Police Force<\/span><\/span><\/strong>\u00a0<\/span><\/strong> <\/p>\n

Early last year, examinations for aspiring sergeants\/inspectors were conducted by the Disciplined Forces Service Commission. It is more than fourteen months now and the results are still awaited. This is viewed with much concern and is sapping the morale in the Police Force.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The following need clarifications.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

1)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span>How long does it take to correct the papers and who are responsible for the above exercise?<\/span><\/p>\n

2)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span>Is fourteen months not adequate to publish the names of those who have succeeded in the above exams?<\/span><\/p>\n

3)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span>Whose responsibility is it to see that corrective action is taken? The DFSC, the CP or the Government?
<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If Cambridge takes less than four months to make public the list of passes for SC\/HSC students involving tens of thousands of candidates, why so much delay for hardly a thousand participants? Do police officers need to go on hunger strike in order to get satisfaction?<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

D.B.
<\/span><\/strong>A retired ACP<\/span> <\/p>\n

\n<\/p>\n

\n

W<\/span><\/span><\/strong>hen insults had class <\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

It is said that we get the leaders we deserve. Can this be true? I beg to disagree, for I just cannot accept the idea of being led by this bunch of so-called \u201cleaders\u201d whose only credential to leadership is their ability to trade insults with one another. Thus we come across such <\/span>derogatory speech and direct expressions like \u201ccr\u00e9tin\u201d, \u201cgros fey\u201d, and whatever that leaves nothing to the imagination. I am sure there is more to come\u2026 with two more weeks to go before the general election. In the meantime, allow me to invite <\/span>your readers to travel back to those days w<\/span>hen insults had class. Those glorious insults are from an era before the English language got boiled down to four-letter words. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Exchange between<\/span><\/strong> Sir Winston Churchill and Mrs Braddock\u2026<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYou are drunk Sir Winston, you are disgustingly drunk.\u201d
\u201cYes, Mrs Braddock, I am drunk. But you, Mrs Braddock are ugly, and disgustingly fat. But, tomorrow morning, I, Winston Churchill will be sober.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2026 and between Churchill & Lady Astor:<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n


<\/span><\/strong>\u201cShe said, \u201cIf you were my husband I’d give you poison.\u201d
He said, \u201cIf you were my wife, I’d drink\u00a0it.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

* * *<\/span><\/strong>
A\u00a0Member of Parliament to Disraeli:
<\/span><\/strong>\u201cSir, you will either die on the gallows or of some unspeakable disease.\u201d\u00a0
\u201cThat depends, Sir,\u201d said Disraeli, \u201cwhether I embrace your policies or your\u00a0mistress.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

* * *<\/span><\/strong>
\u201cHe\u00a0had delusions of adequacy.\u201d
<\/span><\/strong>— Walter Kerr <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

* * *<\/span><\/strong>
\u201cHe has all the virtues I dislike and none of the vices I admire.\u201d
<\/span><\/strong>— Winston\u00a0Churchill <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

* * *<\/span><\/strong>
\u201cI have never killed a man, but I have read many obituaries with great pleasure.\u201d
<\/span><\/strong>— Clarence Darrow <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

* * *<\/span><\/strong>
\u201cHe\u00a0has never been known to use a word that might send a reader to the dictionary.\u201d
<\/span><\/strong>— William Faulkner (about Ernest Hemingway)<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

* * *<\/span><\/strong>
\u201cThank you for sending me a copy of your book; I’ll waste no time reading it.\u201d
<\/span><\/strong>— Moses Hadas <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

* * *<\/span><\/strong>
\u201cI\u00a0didn’t attend the funeral, but I sent a nice letter saying I approved of it.\u201d
<\/span><\/strong>— Mark Twain <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

* * *<\/span><\/strong>
\u201cHe\u00a0has no enemies, but is intensely disliked by his friends.\u201d
<\/span><\/strong>— Oscar\u00a0Wilde <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

* * *<\/span><\/strong>
\u201cI am enclosing two tickets to the first night of my new play; bring a friend…\u00a0if you have one.\u201d
<\/span><\/strong>— George Bernard Shaw to Winston\u00a0Churchill <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cCannot possibly attend first night, will attend second… if there is one.\u201d
<\/span><\/strong>—\u00a0Winston Churchill, in response<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

* * *<\/span><\/strong>
\u201cI feel so miserable without you; it’s almost like having you here.\u201d
<\/span><\/strong>— Stephen Bishop <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

* * *<\/span><\/strong>
\u201cHe\u00a0is a self-made man and worships his creator.\u201d
<\/span><\/strong>— John Bright <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

* * *<\/span><\/strong>
\u201cI’ve\u00a0just learned about his illness. Let’s hope it’s nothing trivial.\u201d
<\/span><\/strong>— Irvin S.\u00a0Cobb <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

* * *<\/span><\/strong>
\u201cHe is not only dull himself; he is the cause of dullness in others.\u201d
<\/span><\/strong>— Samuel\u00a0Johnson <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

* * *<\/span><\/strong>
\u201cHe is simply a shiver looking for a spine to run up.\u201d
<\/span><\/strong>— Paul Keating <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

* * *<\/span><\/strong>
\u201cIn\u00a0order to avoid being called a flirt, she always yielded easily.\u201d
<\/span><\/strong>— Charles, Count Talleyrand <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

* * *<\/span><\/strong>
\u201cHe loves nature in spite of what it did to him.\u201d
<\/span><\/strong>— Forrest Tucker <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

* * *<\/span><\/strong>
\u201cWhy do you sit there looking like an envelope without any address on it?\u201d
<\/span><\/strong>— Mark\u00a0Twain <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

* * *<\/span><\/strong>
\u201cHis mother should have thrown him away and kept the stork.\u201d
<\/span><\/strong>— Mae\u00a0West <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

* * *<\/span><\/strong>
\u201cSome\u00a0cause happiness wherever they go; others, whenever they go.\u201d
<\/span><\/strong>— Oscar\u00a0Wilde <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

* * *<\/span><\/strong>
\u201cHe\u00a0uses statistics as a drunken man uses lamp-posts\u2026 for support rather than illumination.\u201d
<\/span><\/strong>— Andrew Lang (1844-1912) <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

* * *<\/span><\/strong>
\u201cHe has Van Gogh’s ear for music.\u201d
<\/span><\/strong>— Billy Wilder <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

* * *<\/span><\/strong>
\u201cI’ve\u00a0had a perfectly wonderful evening.\u00a0But this\u00a0wasn’t it.\u201d
<\/span><\/strong>— Groucho Marx <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

KC
<\/span><\/strong>Port Louis<\/span> <\/p>\n

\n<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Barlow: Reception in honour of A Luchoomun and S Geerdharry<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

On Sunday last, the \u2018Forces Vives of Barlow,\u2019Belle Vue Maurel held a reception on the occasion of the elevation of Shri Ajodha Luchoomun, more popularly known as Lallah, to the rank of M.S.K on the occasion of the National Day of Mauritius. At the same time, Shri Sudama Geerdharry also was honoured, although belatedly, for having been conferred the O.B.E in 1987.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Both Shri Geerdharry and Lallah are well-known personalities of the small village of Barlow, where they grew up together. The Luchoomun family owned sugarcane fields and employed several workers from the village. They also ran the only shop there for a long time, and it goes without saying that they gave credit to many a family through the \u2018carnet la boutique\u2019 system in practice throughout the island in those days. Besides, they were also owners of the first bus that used to travel from the district to Port Louis, and subsequently were stakeholders in the Riviere du Rempart bus company. They helped in the setting up of the local Barlow Brindaban Baithka, the hub of social and cultural activities in the village, which still stands to this day and where the function was held.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Mr Raouf Bundhun, ex-Vice President and a native of L\u2019Amaury, a neighbouring village, was also present. \u2018He is the oldest friend I have,\u2019 he said with happiness and a certain amount of pride, referring to Lallah, who had been his schoolmate from age five. He gave a very interesting and lively account of how they had grown up and played together, and of their days at the Port Louis Grammar School, as there was no secondary school in their locality. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Lallah had to leave after Form 3 so that he could assume responsibilities with his father in running their business, and the lessons gained thereby are what helped him to be a self-made man, explained Mr Bundhun, as he shifted to Quatre Bornes in the mid-1980s to open a shop in Georgetown. Mr Bundhun narrated how he himself faced similar challenges and difficulties, but finally through sheer commitment and hard work, both he and his childhood friend Lallah had come up in life and been successful in their own way. They had retained their strong bonds of friendship that extended to their respective families, and come Eid and Divali they had always exchanged sweets. He cited their lives as examples for others to emulate.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The same could be said of Shri Geerdharry, who at the ripe age of 76 is still very busy in social and educational activities. He qualified as a general purpose teacher, worked at Belle Vue Maurel and Riv. du Rempart primary schools before being appointed School Inspector, from which position he eventually retired. \u2018Retired but not tired,\u2019 underlined the Master of Ceremonies who is also the president of the Forces Vives, Shri Ghunshyam Bundhun, who conducted to ceremony in superb Hindi. Indeed, Shri Geerdharry is better know as Guruji, because to this day he in involved in the organization of Hindi and Sanskrit examinations on behalf of the Hindi Pracharini Sabha, as well as being an examiner in the two subjects too. Besides, he has taken an active part in the activities of the Human Service Trust, and is also a Trustee of the Ramayana Centre.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Shri Soogun Sooka, well-known accordion player who was also congratulated for his elevation to the M.S.K as well, entertained the 300-plus audience with oldies renderings for which he is justly famous since way back in the 1960s. The local ladies cultural group and the children\u2019s group also displayed their talent by singing and in a dance number respectively. Shri Raj Dhunny expressed the vote of thanks at the end of the function which was followed by some refreshments in the house of Lallah.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Readers’ Response\/ Opinion\u00a0 \u00a0 To Our Readers\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 Your views are of interest to us. They help us balance the argument in the correct perspective. We welcome you to draw our attention to anything or opinion expressed in the Mauritius Times (or any national or international event of interest) with which you agree from your […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-223","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-latest-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8QzSF-3B","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/223","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=223"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/223\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=223"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=223"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=223"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}