Respect and honour the national flag

Dear Sir,

I request the authority concerned to  inspect the condition of national flags displayed at various public buildings.
The government must ensure that they are not faded and their ends are not shredded.
It is appalling to see that some of the flags flying even on government offices are badly torn and mutilated.
Flags are highly respected symbols of a country and must be looked after with such respect.

B Siva Sankar, P O Box 32530, Doha

Tributes to Abdul Kalam

Dear Sir,

Further to the two letters, “People’s president” and “A source of inspiration” (Gulf Times, July 29), I would like to add my own tributes to A P J Abdul Kalam whose autobiography Wings of Fire is one of my favourite books.
As has been described elsewhere, Abdul Kalam, “born in humble circumstances in a Muslim family in rural Tamil Nadu,  who sold newspapers as a boy to help his family make ends meet, rose to the highest office in the land”.
And he did so not through the conventional route of a political career but through the dint of hard work as a scientist in government service.
India’s “missile man”, as he was dubbed in the popular press, Abdul Kalam was a rocket scientist who rose to prominence as head of the country’s successful civilian space and missile defence programmes.
His sudden death is a huge loss to India.

C K Krishnan, narayanikrish@gmail.com

When silence is not golden

Dear Sir,

There’s usually the belief that silent people are more intelligent. Well, it may be true for some but not for everyone.
Children who are usually quiet, it is felt, are so because of their personality. But I feel that the case is different when an active child becomes a silent adolescent. They need close attention.
But when you begin to question them intensely, a necessary condition that must be fulfilled is that they must know you well so that they can open up. As matter of fact, no one likes to confess to strangers.
Such adolescents don’t express their emotions freely and are seldom social. But it is not what it appears to be. Everyone has a story. And they too have a story. They need to be communicated, however hard it may seem.  
People usually ignore quiet children, thinking that being silent is part of their nature. This neglect can lead such children to great stress as suppressing their emotions can have a great effect on their personality. They might even fail to open up even in urgent cases.

Reegana Doulath, reeganadoulath@yahoo.com


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