Letters to the Editor: Governor versus CM

The Governor of a state happens to be the first citizen of a state duly appointed by His Excellency, the President of the India. A Chief Minister (CM), on the other hand, is duly elected by the electorate of the state and duly appointed by the Governor after taking oath to abide by the Constitution of India. Both the Governor and the Chief Minister are supposed to work unitedly to serve the people of the state.

But very unfortunately of late it is seen in some states, namely West Bengal and Kerala, where both the Governor and the CM seem to be at loggerheads, posing great hindrance for the development of the states concerned. We still remember with utmost disgust the bitter exchange of words between WB CM Mamata Didi and the then Governor of West Bengal, who happens to be now the Vice President of India. In Kerala, the CM Vijayan did not lag behind in his tussle with the Governor after he was embroiled in a gold smuggling scandal.

The tussle between the Governor and the CM is very unbecoming in a democratic set-up as it makes the common people to suffer in the long end.

Dr Ashim Chowdhury,

Guwahati.

Absorbing reading

The letter 'A worthy read' (November 7) by Gaurav Chowdhury made absorbing reading. Despite living in the digital age, there are some passionate and diehard habits which many of us simply cannot give up. Preferring to read a printed book over the online version is one such. There are multiple reasons why a large swathe of Indian readers always prefers hard copy of books to online reading. Psychologically, the 'ownership' factor could be a key reason, besides like the nice feeling you get while touching a new book, its fragrance, pleasure of turning the pages, easy portability, leisure reading – all make a physical book comfortably win over an e-book. However splendid the cover image of an e-book may look on screen, it is still an image rather than a physical thing. Another major disadvantage with an e-book is that you cannot look at more than one page at once. In fact, a study from West Chester University of Pennsylvania reveals that students who read on iPads had lower reading comprehension than when they read traditional printed books. A good physical book is like a full course of a sumptuous meal, whereas an e-book is just fast food. Said the noted American novelist Harper Lee: "The book to read is not the one that thinks for you, but the one which makes you think."

Ranganathan Sivakumar,

Chennai - 600091.