For a change we have inspiring stories that can move anyone.

wonderful.
i read all of them.
truly inspiring.

These are truly inspiring stories which should make all Indians proud. A "must-read" especially for our youngsrers.

These are truly inspiring stories which should make all Indians proud. A "must-read" especially for our youngsrers.

wonderful.
i read all of them.
truly inspiring.

For a change we have inspiring stories that can move anyone.

A Pressing Moment Can Kindle That Heroism In You
Hats off to those saviours of humanity for enabling broken lives to regain vitality and bringing them back from the jaws of death or a state of numbness (Earth, Sea, Mountain, Man, Jan 9). What can be more encouraging than to note that globalisation hasn’t failed to wrest the capacity for compassion from among us. Let us hope the tribe of such people only expands as the years pass by.
Arvind K. Pandey, Allahabad

The great deeds of the folks left my eyes misty. Suddenly I realise that heroism lies hidden in all of us, waiting to be woken up.
Parthasarathy, Chennai

Heroism is that thing in you which comes out of circumstances, only that people around should appreciate it strongly (Who Are You, Who?). Thus popular perception has a role in lending somebody the tag of a hero. Perhaps a better word is ‘leader’ so that we don’t confuse the term with our favourite entertainers. The interpretation of heroics changes based on social realities. Adolf Hitler was a great hero to most of the German population, but not any more. Mahatma Gandhi was a leader before he died, now he is an icon. Indira Gandhi is certainly more appreciated today than in the days of Emergency. All the same, there are people who do wonderful things that people may not know or appreciate. Nice that you highlighted them.
Srini Jasti, San Jose, US

For a change, Outlook has carried inspiring stories that can move anyone positively.
Swaminathan, Chennai

Good to see an array of lesser-known heroes amongst us but sad to find that young Nagapattinam collector J. Radhakrishnan did not find mention among them. He not only came immediately to the rescue of the people post tsunami, but also brought along with him his wife Krithika and their little son. With their warmth and caring attitude, they consoled the victims. Any ordinary person would have balked at dragging one’s own family into such a heart-rending site but not Radhakrishnan. No wonder, the orphaned children in the district still call them ‘appa’ and ‘amma’.
Brinda Kumarakrishnan, on e-mail

The account of Raja Karthikeya’s deed calls for special mention because he alone took the plunge when everyone wondered what could be done. An invasion of armies can be resisted, but not an idea whose time has come.
D. Ravishankar, on e-mail

I was shocked to find India’s World Cup cricket win in 1983 being described as ‘flukish’ (All For the Game, Or The Man?). This is derogatory towards the team that had achieved such a feat against a mighty team like the West Indies. I hope the writer, Sambit Pal, knows and appreciates the saying that cricket is a game of glorious uncertainties.
Moulinath Banerjee, Manchester

Kapil Dev shows uncommon common sense because he does not have to put up a show (‘Hero Worship In India Is Too Big. It is Both Right And Wrong’). The ace allrounder is an achiever and is obviously down to earth.
S. Soundararajan, Portsmouth, UK

Javed Akhtar is absolutely right with regard to heroes, idealism and the current social trend (‘We Don’t Have Collective Dreams, And Therefore Heroes’). But I still believe that India will get its hero, though he may be within each one of us right now.
Mahesh Rathi, Calcutta

Should one tell a senior journalist like M.J. Akbar that our comrades are mere opportunists (Yawn, It Was A Sleep Year)? Their backing the Congress is one example. Despite being marginalised globally, they still carry on with their bullying tactics to sabotage the country’s economy. The generation next shall not allow anyone to upset our reforms agenda—be they green, red or saffron.
Gyan Ranjan Saha, Calcutta

If politics (an overdose of which we seem to suffer from) taking a backseat to economics is what the heading implies, then I am happy and I hope the future years continue to give us the same drowsy feeling. Left, right, centre, communal, secular, pseudo-secular...there isn’t much to choose from. It’s gladdening we have an economist at the country’s helm. So India’s economic growth will create a class which doesn’t need anything from the politician-bureaucrat nexus, and hence will start to force a change in the power dynamics between the rulers and the governed.
Arun Maheshwari, Bangalore

The recent rape and murder of a call centre employee has come up as a wake-up call for the bpo industry and its workforce (The Wolf Strikes). Security to the staffers should be accorded topmost priority considering that a good number of them are young women compelled to work at odd hours. Added to this is the general apathy of people when it comes to rescuing strangers.
Shazia Shaikh, Nagpur

No bpo firm can take a casual approach on providing safety to its employees. Neither should it shirk the responsibility by blaming lax law and order and the government machinery. All the same, there is a need to recognise and fulfil the collective responsibility that devolves upon citizens, employers and employees. Only that will help them prevent such crimes.
K.C. Subhash Chandra, Bangalore

Crimes like this can be curbed to a large extent if women are recruited as security guards and even drivers for some of the vehicles. Also, there is a need to keep a watch on the pubs in the locality of bpo firms.
Manu Nair, Bangalore

Just as the match-fixing scandal seemed to subside, cricket lovers are now faced with a new phenomenon called selection-fixing (Spring In The Wintry Air). The selection of Sourav Ganguly for the Pakistan tour can trigger more sensational street scenes by fans to pave the way for the selection of their chosen hero into the national team. That really would be a sad day.
S.R. Devaprakash, Tumkur, Karnataka

At first, Outlook made Greg Chappell the villain in Ganguly’s spat with the coach. Then you fall silent and congratulate eve-ryone except Chappell just as Team India is showing signs of resurgence. What’s more, you even find virtues in Wasim Jaffer when the nation is aghast at the treatment meted out to Dada.
Rohit C.J., Kochi

As usual, Vinod Mehta is trying to shield the shortcomings of the Congress by saying that the Manmohan Singh government has had an average year (Reflections). Who can honestly deny that the legacy of this party is survival in power by hook or crook and promoting ‘secular’ sycophants, full-time thugs and even virtual jehadis?
Raj Purohit, Toronto

His diehard support for the Congress apart, Mehta is right when he says that the upa government "has done nothing seriously wrong, but neither has it done anything seriously right". On the economic front, the PM has shown good intentions but has mostly been let down by the Left parties propping him up. His image has taken a severe beating due to political controversies like Bihar, Goa, atr on the 1984 riots and tainted ministers like Shibu Soren and Laloo Yadav.
Vineet Tandon, Lucknow

Nineteen months out of power has reduced the bjp to a laughing stock. Its leaders have started behaving in an abnormal and erratic manner. Even the seniors among them sometimes act like stand-up comedians in Parliament. Let them continue the show, we have fortunately an able government to carry forward the country in all spheres of life, especially economy.
Lalkrishna Henduklal, Mumbai

Maybe it’s Nitish Kumar for Mehta, but my pick of the year is expelled bjp leader Uma Bharati—the unmasked face of ’05.
A. Azim, Lucknow

Mehta says ex-cricketer Arun Lal was only "displaying a national trait" when he kept addressing the new bcci chief as ‘sir’ in a TV interview. Just as Mehta hopes that this would ebb in 2006, we readers too expect him to curb sycophancy in the new year.
S. Srinivas Rao, Delhi

Agreed, Lal cowers before Sharad Pawar, but what about you bowing and quivering in front of that Italian woman?
S.S. Nagaraj, Bangalore

Don’t try to lend legitimacy to the pseudo-secularist class by associating it with Gandhi. A deeply religious man, the Mahatma never degraded or disparaged Hinduism in the name of secularism. Far from it, he derived a great amount of strength from the ancient scriptures of his religion. Can you ever imagine a pseudo-secularist holding the Gita on his or her deathbed?
Arthashastra.blogspot.com, Madison, US

Though Mehta meant the opposite when he referred to Gandhi as a pseudo-secularist, let’s not forget that the Mahatma sought to win over Muslims at all costs—his indifference to the sufferings of Hindus during the Moplah rebellion being just one example. He blundered during the Khilafat movement, refused to see through Jinnah’s divisive politics—worse, even attempted to make him the PM. Gandhi also failed to live up to his proclamation that India could be partitioned only over his dead body. Remember, he never condemned the killings of Hindus in nascent Pakistan.
V.R. Ganesan, New Jersey

Why did you call those benefactors ‘Heroes from Hell’ when they have all worked like angels from heaven?
Philip Verghese Ariel, Secunderabad

A Pressing Moment Can Kindle That Heroism In You
Hats off to those saviours of humanity for enabling broken lives to regain vitality and bringing them back from the jaws of death or a state of numbness (Earth, Sea, Mountain, Man, Jan 9). What can be more encouraging than to note that globalisation hasn’t failed to wrest the capacity for compassion from among us. Let us hope the tribe of such people only expands as the years pass by.
Arvind K. Pandey, Allahabad

The great deeds of the folks left my eyes misty. Suddenly I realise that heroism lies hidden in all of us, waiting to be woken up.
Parthasarathy, Chennai

Heroism is that thing in you which comes out of circumstances, only that people around should appreciate it strongly (Who Are You, Who?). Thus popular perception has a role in lending somebody the tag of a hero. Perhaps a better word is ‘leader’ so that we don’t confuse the term with our favourite entertainers. The interpretation of heroics changes based on social realities. Adolf Hitler was a great hero to most of the German population, but not any more. Mahatma Gandhi was a leader before he died, now he is an icon. Indira Gandhi is certainly more appreciated today than in the days of Emergency. All the same, there are people who do wonderful things that people may not know or appreciate. Nice that you highlighted them.
Srini Jasti, San Jose, US

For a change, Outlook has carried inspiring stories that can move anyone positively.
Swaminathan, Chennai

Good to see an array of lesser-known heroes amongst us but sad to find that young Nagapattinam collector J. Radhakrishnan did not find mention among them. He not only came immediately to the rescue of the people post tsunami, but also brought along with him his wife Krithika and their little son. With their warmth and caring attitude, they consoled the victims. Any ordinary person would have balked at dragging one’s own family into such a heart-rending site but not Radhakrishnan. No wonder, the orphaned children in the district still call them ‘appa’ and ‘amma’.
Brinda Kumarakrishnan, on e-mail

The account of Raja Karthikeya’s deed calls for special mention because he alone took the plunge when everyone wondered what could be done. An invasion of armies can be resisted, but not an idea whose time has come.
D. Ravishankar, on e-mail

I was shocked to find India’s World Cup cricket win in 1983 being described as ‘flukish’ (All For the Game, Or The Man?). This is derogatory towards the team that had achieved such a feat against a mighty team like the West Indies. I hope the writer, Sambit Pal, knows and appreciates the saying that cricket is a game of glorious uncertainties.
Moulinath Banerjee, Manchester

Kapil Dev shows uncommon common sense because he does not have to put up a show (‘Hero Worship In India Is Too Big. It is Both Right And Wrong’). The ace allrounder is an achiever and is obviously down to earth.
S. Soundararajan, Portsmouth, UK

Javed Akhtar is absolutely right with regard to heroes, idealism and the current social trend (‘We Don’t Have Collective Dreams, And Therefore Heroes’). But I still believe that India will get its hero, though he may be within each one of us right now.
Mahesh Rathi, Calcutta

Should one tell a senior journalist like M.J. Akbar that our comrades are mere opportunists (Yawn, It Was A Sleep Year)? Their backing the Congress is one example. Despite being marginalised globally, they still carry on with their bullying tactics to sabotage the country’s economy. The generation next shall not allow anyone to upset our reforms agenda—be they green, red or saffron.
Gyan Ranjan Saha, Calcutta

If politics (an overdose of which we seem to suffer from) taking a backseat to economics is what the heading implies, then I am happy and I hope the future years continue to give us the same drowsy feeling. Left, right, centre, communal, secular, pseudo-secular...there isn’t much to choose from. It’s gladdening we have an economist at the country’s helm. So India’s economic growth will create a class which doesn’t need anything from the politician-bureaucrat nexus, and hence will start to force a change in the power dynamics between the rulers and the governed.
Arun Maheshwari, Bangalore

The recent rape and murder of a call centre employee has come up as a wake-up call for the bpo industry and its workforce (The Wolf Strikes). Security to the staffers should be accorded topmost priority considering that a good number of them are young women compelled to work at odd hours. Added to this is the general apathy of people when it comes to rescuing strangers.
Shazia Shaikh, Nagpur

No bpo firm can take a casual approach on providing safety to its employees. Neither should it shirk the responsibility by blaming lax law and order and the government machinery. All the same, there is a need to recognise and fulfil the collective responsibility that devolves upon citizens, employers and employees. Only that will help them prevent such crimes.
K.C. Subhash Chandra, Bangalore

Crimes like this can be curbed to a large extent if women are recruited as security guards and even drivers for some of the vehicles. Also, there is a need to keep a watch on the pubs in the locality of bpo firms.
Manu Nair, Bangalore

Just as the match-fixing scandal seemed to subside, cricket lovers are now faced with a new phenomenon called selection-fixing (Spring In The Wintry Air). The selection of Sourav Ganguly for the Pakistan tour can trigger more sensational street scenes by fans to pave the way for the selection of their chosen hero into the national team. That really would be a sad day.
S.R. Devaprakash, Tumkur, Karnataka

At first, Outlook made Greg Chappell the villain in Ganguly’s spat with the coach. Then you fall silent and congratulate eve-ryone except Chappell just as Team India is showing signs of resurgence. What’s more, you even find virtues in Wasim Jaffer when the nation is aghast at the treatment meted out to Dada.
Rohit C.J., Kochi

As usual, Vinod Mehta is trying to shield the shortcomings of the Congress by saying that the Manmohan Singh government has had an average year (Reflections). Who can honestly deny that the legacy of this party is survival in power by hook or crook and promoting ‘secular’ sycophants, full-time thugs and even virtual jehadis?
Raj Purohit, Toronto

His diehard support for the Congress apart, Mehta is right when he says that the upa government "has done nothing seriously wrong, but neither has it done anything seriously right". On the economic front, the PM has shown good intentions but has mostly been let down by the Left parties propping him up. His image has taken a severe beating due to political controversies like Bihar, Goa, atr on the 1984 riots and tainted ministers like Shibu Soren and Laloo Yadav.
Vineet Tandon, Lucknow

Nineteen months out of power has reduced the bjp to a laughing stock. Its leaders have started behaving in an abnormal and erratic manner. Even the seniors among them sometimes act like stand-up comedians in Parliament. Let them continue the show, we have fortunately an able government to carry forward the country in all spheres of life, especially economy.
Lalkrishna Henduklal, Mumbai

Maybe it’s Nitish Kumar for Mehta, but my pick of the year is expelled bjp leader Uma Bharati—the unmasked face of ’05.
A. Azim, Lucknow

Mehta says ex-cricketer Arun Lal was only "displaying a national trait" when he kept addressing the new bcci chief as ‘sir’ in a TV interview. Just as Mehta hopes that this would ebb in 2006, we readers too expect him to curb sycophancy in the new year.
S. Srinivas Rao, Delhi

Agreed, Lal cowers before Sharad Pawar, but what about you bowing and quivering in front of that Italian woman?
S.S. Nagaraj, Bangalore

Don’t try to lend legitimacy to the pseudo-secularist class by associating it with Gandhi. A deeply religious man, the Mahatma never degraded or disparaged Hinduism in the name of secularism. Far from it, he derived a great amount of strength from the ancient scriptures of his religion. Can you ever imagine a pseudo-secularist holding the Gita on his or her deathbed?
Arthashastra.blogspot.com, Madison, US

Though Mehta meant the opposite when he referred to Gandhi as a pseudo-secularist, let’s not forget that the Mahatma sought to win over Muslims at all costs—his indifference to the sufferings of Hindus during the Moplah rebellion being just one example. He blundered during the Khilafat movement, refused to see through Jinnah’s divisive politics—worse, even attempted to make him the PM. Gandhi also failed to live up to his proclamation that India could be partitioned only over his dead body. Remember, he never condemned the killings of Hindus in nascent Pakistan.
V.R. Ganesan, New Jersey

Why did you call those benefactors ‘Heroes from Hell’ when they have all worked like angels from heaven?
Philip Verghese Ariel, Secunderabad