Tragic end
The recent suicide of Bollywood actress Jian Khan, juxtaposed with the full-of-life, joie de vivre, Lolita-ish performance of her debut film has once again highlighted that behind all the glitz and glamor of showbiz, troubled souls abound in Bollywood (‘Aamir Khan and other stars visit Jiah Khan’s house,’ Gulf News, June 6) This was the case with veteran Bollywood actors Guru Dutt and Meena Kumari! To have had the pleasure of debuting opposite heavyweight Amitabh Bachchan in a controversial storyline of a Lothario and a nymph, the thespian had the world at her feet, and also shared screen space with another superstar, Aamir Khan! A sad end to what might have been great stardom in an industry littered with so many hopefuls - emulating the abrupt end to other 27-year-olds who committed suicide, such as Amy Winehouse, Heath Ledger and Kurt Cobain.
From Mr A. R. Modak
Johannesburg, South Africa
Public safety is imperative
Recently, at about 5pm or so, in one of the mall parking lots, we heard a loud explosion. I approached the direction of the sound and found a car bonnet off its hinges and steaming hot water splashing about. A young man exited the vehicle. Obviously, he was driving the car at extremely high speed. It seemed to be a spruced-up engine. As they say in aviation safety messages – learn from other’s mistakes, you may not live to make them yourself. The authorities need to keep an eye on such modified vehicles, driven at high speeds. For drivers, please keep an eye on engine temperature gauge, and stop to cool down the engine. Never open the cap of a radiator when the engine is hot. Pour water on the radiator. Let your car engine and tyres be checked before the summer begins.
From Mr Kanwar Hayat
Dubai
Watch your trolleys
I would like to urge the shoppers to ensure that they don’t leave their shopping trolleys unattended. Unfortunately, some irresponsible people leave shopping trolleys unattended in the centre of the mall or even in the middle of parking areas, where they could damage the cars or even injure people walking towards their car. It’s not just the empty trolleys. There are carts full of goods, seen lying around unattended, which may further encourage thievery. Recently, I read somewhere that thieves target such unattended trolleys. Trolleys should be returned to the bays or docking stations provided by the shopping centre. They should not be abandoned in streets, public places or in the middle of parking lots.
From Ms Arushi Madan
UAE
Don’t blame social networks
In response to the Speak Your Mind discussion on media websites taking responsibility for young users, personally, I believe it isn’t their duty to take care of such acts (‘Focus: Underage social media users,’ Gulf News, June 8). It depends purely on the person. What networking sites do is in the name itself - they simply “network” or create links. Who the person wants to be linked to depends on them and not the social media website. However, since there have been acts of cyber crime, these sites are taking the necessary steps. For example, since there are a lot of young users on Facebook, every time you receive a friend request, Facebook tells you to add the person only if you know them. You can’t expect anything more from such social networks. They are doing their duty, hence it is the parents’ and children’s duty to be aware and careful of such bullying.
From Mr Govind Mohandas
Sharjah
Moderation please
No matter whether it is a youngster or an old person, beyond the boundaries of age, mobile phones are a status symbol now. Everyone nowadays is paying a substantial amount on purchasing an updated smartphone. It is nearly impossible to imagine a day without using mobile phones. From morning to night, our phone accompanies us wherever we go. These devices have become an obligatory aspect of our lives which cannot be overlooked. If you ask a person to stay a single day without his phone, he would certainly be indecisive. This is basically due to the simple reason that now we have all become too consistent in our use of phones. If we step out of our homes without bring along our phones, it seems as if something is missing and we it really becomes inconvenient. Yet, the rumours revolving around how they may be hazardous to our health worries us. Using mobile phones while driving greatly increases the risk of traffic accidents. Radiation is also known to cause severe headache, brain tumors and even lead to cancer. Always, prevention is better than cure. Safe usage of phone for prolonged hours can somehow reduce these threats to our health. Be safe.
From Ms Samina Kausar
UAE
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