Letters to the Editor: Hijab row

The on-going controversy over putting on Hijab by the Muslim girls while attending classes in schools/colleges exposes the gutter politics being played by the mainstream political parties. The issue originated from Karnataka when six Muslim girls in Hijab (head-scarf) were denied entry into a college in Udupi in December last year. Soon the incident made hot news and it spread to other select pockets as the Muslim clerics brought the religious angle to it, stating that it was an interference with their religious practice. This is unfortunate as pupils attend educational institutions for learning that serves as the foundation of their future career. The prescribed uniform in colleges or schools is aimed at ushering unity and bonding among students of different background irrespective of caste, creed and faith. Seeking a religious identity in schools and colleges is totally unacceptable, where the students are required to imbibe the spirit of unity and inter-religious harmony from the early stage. The agitation was confined to Karnataka, but some political parties have been hand in glove with the collaborators to spread protest demonstrations on to other States. It is downright unethical for the Opposition parties to fish in troubled waters over a situation caused by this controversy. It must stop right now.

Pannalal Dey,

Guwahati.

Pathetic speed post

Through your esteemed daily, I would like to draw the attention of the department of Post, Ministry of Communications, Government of India regarding an undelivered speed post item even after 16 days have elapsed, which contained some perishable food items. This has exposed the lackadaisical attitude of India Post towards its customers. The said parcel was sent from Guwahati to Imphal, Manipur on January 31, 2022 vide speed post consignment No. ES933594920-IN. Such incidents prove the futility of India Post and expose it as an inefficient department compared to the private operators. The higher authorities of India Post may now either shelve this incident or bring to book the erring officials concerned.

Bimal Singh,

Wireless, Guwahati-06.

Disco King

The nation danced to Bombay se aaya meri dost in the 1970s and it continued with peppy numbers like Koi yahaan naache naache, Jawani jane man, De de pyar de, Ramba ho ho, Yaar bina chain kahan re, Jile le jile le and an endless list of mesmerizing songs that will remain immortal and evergreen forever. The Disco King of India has left for his heavenly abode, but the tunes that came from this golden tunesmith, Bappi da, will keep lilting the soul and spirit for generations to come. Bappi da was truly a musician who knew the pulse beat of the common man and had him dance and croon to his magical tunes. He could make people jump with joy and at the same time make them lilt their hearts with love and also make them cry. How can one forget the greatest of Hindi songs - Chalte chalte which even now is crooned for every farewell occasion. If De de pyar de brims with the yearning of love, Aaj rapat still takes us to drench ourselves in the romantic rain and when Yaad aaraha hai strikes a chord in our heart with memories, Tama tama makes anyone go mad to dance with scintillating music.

Though he is branded as the pioneer of disco music in India, Bappi da was also a melody master who came out with a long list of soul-stirring melody numbers. Bappi da worked with almost all the singing legends of India that range from Lata didi, Kishore da, Rafi saab, Yesudas to Amit Kumar, Abhijeet and Shreya Goshal and every song has its own speciality. Almost all the legends of Bollywood and other languages have danced to the notes of the 'musician with the Midas touch' and each song sequence is a class apart. Bappi da himself is definitely a legend, a legend who brought music down to earth and made the power of melody sink into the hearts and souls of millions of music lovers who really worship music.

M Pradyu,

Kannur - 670001

Music's loss

While the music lovers are still mourning the demise of Lala Mangeshkar, just at that moment on Tuesday evening within four hours came two more tragic news. Bengal and India lost its two geniuses, iconic Sangeet Ratna Sandhya Mukherjee (90) in Kolkata and singer-composer Alokesh Lahiri alias Bappi Lahiri (69) in Mumbai.

Well-known as a stalwart in classical and semi-classical music, Sandhya Mukherjee was the last surviving singer of the golden era of modern Bengali music. Stalwarts such as Hemanta Mukherjee, Manna Dey, Shyamal Mitra and Manabendra Mukherjee have all passed away. She has sung for numerous Bengali movies and for several Hindi films and has worked with leading music directors, including SD Burman, Madan Mohan, Naushad, Anil Biswas, Salil Chaudhury and others. She had also won the National Award for Best Female Playback Singer in 1970 for the Bengali cult classics 'Jay Jayanti' and 'Nishi Padma'.

Mukherjee played a role in the Bangladesh liberation war, joining many leading artistes who performed free concerts to raise money for the 10 million then East Pakistan citizens who were forced to seek refuge in India. Who can forget that when Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding father of Bangladesh, returned to Bangladesh in 1972, he was greeted by a song sung by Mukherjee which was played on Swadhin Bangla Betar (Free Bangladesh Radio) in Kolkata. Last month, the veteran singer turned down the Padma Shri honour when she had said with a singing career of eight decades, being recognized for Padma Shri at the age of 90 is demeaning for a singer of her stature and the award is more deserving for junior artistes.

On the other side, one of the all-time great singers Kishore Kumar's nephew and the son of famous Bengali singers and composers Aparesh Lahiri and Bansuri Lahiri, Bappi Lahiri was best known for popularizing disco music to the Indian mainstream and experienced huge success in the 1980s and 1990s. He earned the title 'Disco King', thanks to his work on films such as Disco Dancer, Namak Halaal, Dance Dance and Commando. It seems that 'Disco King' was happy in his innumerable work, and it proves when after completing 50 years in the industry in 2019, the singer expressed his gratitude and told PTI, "I feel so proud to have had this journey and to have worked with all the extremely talented people in the industry. Simply put, my life is Dilip Kumar to Ranveer Singh. From Dharm Adhikari to Gunday I've done it all."

Saddened by both the music icons' demise. Both are forever treasured in the hearts of their admirers. May their souls rest in peace.

Bidyut Kumar Chatterjee,

Faridabad -121005.