Mail of the Week

PICTURE SPEAK

"Single Young Men: Secret Desires", November 13

"It is nice to see that men no longer hide their sexuality in the closet. A migrant, young workforce and sex education are partly responsible for this."s."

Jinu Mathew, on e-mail

Sexing It Up

The India Today sex survey is the modern version of the Kamasutra ("Men In a Muddle", November 13). The essays reveal the hidden sexual fantasies of today's youth, but you have not given us insights into rural India and its sexual behaviour.

K.V. Raghuram, Wayanad

Sex in any form sells, but India Today can do better than make a cover story out of a shoddy survey. Many questions are leading or badly phrased. Jumping to conclusions from a small street corner sample is irresponsible. As for the sales gimmick that you have passed off as a photo essay, words fail me.

Veena Krishnamurthy, Bangalore

I am aghast at the sex survey you have published. When the magazine was delivered at my home, it had to be hidden from the children. What a survey like this achieves is beyond me, but if it brings value to you, you should publish and price it separately.

Debjani Nag, on e-mail

The fourth India Today sex survey reveals interesting facts and provides fundamental knowledge about sex. The youth is less confident and more confused about sex even in this era of globalisation. It is a relief that today's youth prefer to get to know their partners intimately before marriage.

J.V. Narasimha Raju, Vijaywada

This year's sex survey is interesting, as always. In future, please include a column on incest.

Arshad Habeeb, on e-mail

The survey has used credible indices that indicate the sexual moods, fantasies and preferences of the youth. However, it is clear that perversity is setting in and chastity is getting eroded.

Jagpal Krishna, on e-mail

You seem to be concentrating on increasing the circulation of your magazine through cheap literature. A couple of pages on the sex survey would have been enough. The vulgar photographs were unnecessary.

Kapoor Rustogi, Delhi

There is a Kannada proverb: one need not wear a garland of bones to prove one eats meat. Everyone knows about sex. Your survey might satisfy the voyeuristic curiosity of readers, but it does not aid in the advancement of healthy sexual habits.

B.N. Gururaj, Bangalore

I am no prude, but I am shocked at the sex survey that has monopolised your latest issue. You seem to take pride in bringing out the survey for the fourth time. I am sure it appeals only to the baser instincts of a sick society and perhaps titillates a morbid section thereof.

M.R. Hosangady, Mumbai

Is the survey meant to make parents fear that their young sons and daughters are having sex rather than studying? Or does it claim that we are as "forward" as firangis? Contrary to your claim, you are not making sense of India.

Colonel R.D. Singh, Jammu

Your sex survey issue borders on pornography. The cover in particular is most offensive. Who cares if men between 16 and 25 masturbate or fornicate? We are not interested in the bedroom stories of other people.

A.R. Maslekar, Pune

I write with a sense of loss at what the magazine has become. The contents have deteriorated to a great extent. Please go back to being a fortnightly so that you have enough time to work on the content.

Asha dongrey, on e-mail

It is becoming more and more clear that we have no right to act as moral guardians of today's liberated youth. It is also commendable that you have covered such a sensitive issue, but you could have been less explicit for the sake of family audiences.

Sanjay Kapoor, Delhi

It looks like secret desires are not secret anymore. Your magazine, which used to find place in the living room, will now have to be kept in the bedroom.

S. Balakrishnan, Jamshedpur

Gay Pride

It is heartening to see men admitting they have had homosexual experiences ("Marginal, No More", November 13). While homosexuality has existed from time immemorial, there's a long way to go before Indian society accepts gays and lesbians.

Dr Kapoor, Lucknow

Talent Crunch

The failure of Team India's youth brigade this year is unfortunate ("Salvaging the Shipwrecked", November 13). On winning a couple of matches, we praise the coach and the captain for their strategic planning and great acumen, but do not hesitate to find fault with them at the first sign of failure. Can we not be dispassionate enough to recognise-as Vengsarkar put it-that our cupboard is bare?

A.V. Karnik, Mumbai

The BCCI has failed to groom our players into world class champions and Chappell has demoralised the Indian team, perceived as a threat to Australia. With the World Cup just a few months away, it is time for a reality check.

M.B. Baben, Oman

BACK TO FRONT

With the exception of Sonia Gandhi, the Congress party seems to be defunct. If subsidiary organisations like the Seva Dal are to be revitalised, decentralisation is a must. Kumud Mehrotra, Kanpur The feeder organisations of the Congress, which lack efficient leadership, are as chaotic as they are useless. The party has better things to do than pay heed to them. Aman Kapoor, Delhi Today, the greatest drawback of the Congress is the conspicuous absence of sincere workers at the grassroot level. It is high time it focused on its front organisations. A. Jacob Sahayam, Thiruvananthapuram

Train to Super Bowl

Javagal Srinath has rightly pointed out that we need to select a few fast bowlers and train them well ("Bowlers' Blues", November 13). The first 20 overs of fast bowling could win or lose a match.

D.B.N. Murthy, Bangalore

The Trouble With Tech

The modern man has lost much more than what he has gained in his tryst with technology ("Menage a Treo", November 13). We live in an artificial world which has turned people into heartless robots.

T.S. Pattabhi Raman, Coimbatore

Women At Work

The Tejaswini programme of training women workers for taking up heavy mechanical work is a good beginning that is worthy of emulation ("From Mops to Machines", November 13)

B. Rajasekaran, Bangalore

30 Years Ago in India Today DECEMBER 1-15,1976

Stealing the Thunder

Gauhati had never seen anything like it before. Five tumultuous days melted into cold nights as people from the remotest corners of the country poured in to witness or participate in the greatest show in the country-the All India Congress Committee (AICC) session. Nearly 10 km out of the city, the once thickly forested bit of flat land known as Khana Para, was, by the touch of some magic wand, transformed into a glittering miniature township called Jawaharnagar. The entrance ticket here was the tricolour Congress party badge, emblazoned on a thousand banners and flags every inch of the way. The most significant event of the session was the emergence of the Youth Congress as a major force. In Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's words, the Youth Congress "had stolen the thunder out of us".

-By Sunil Sethi

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