Letters would perhaps be piece of archives: Pranab Mukherjee
New Delhi, Sep 24 : Former President Pranab Mukherjee on Monday expressed dissatisfaction over loss of "letter writing habits" due to modern instant communication systems, saying the practice would "perhaps be a piece of archives for the next couple of decades".
Launching former External Affairs Minister K. Natwar Singh's latest book "Treasured Epistles" -- a compilation of letters written to him by several personalities like Indira Gandhi, E.M. Forster, C. Rajagopalachari, Lord Mountbatten and Vijay Lakshmi Pandit -- Mukherjee showed his gratitude to bring together the letters of such eminent personalities.
"Natwarji brought out together the letters which he received on different occasions from very distinguished personalities from different walks of life over a long period of time... Now a days, with the instant communication, the habit of writing letters taking the trouble of putting thoughts in details on a piece of paper. It would perhaps be piece of archives for the next couple of decades," Mukherjee said.
Remembering his student days, the former President said: "Letter writing was regular part of the curriculum 'how to write a letter'. And therefore we developed the practice of writing letters... I have no doubts that future readers would be deprived of a great taste which are being received from the collection of letters," he said.
He mentioned the letters written by first Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru to her daughter and former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi from Naini jail in Allahabad in the 1930s.
"Indiraji was quite young and perhaps could not understand many of Panditji's observations written by him in his letters to her. Those letters which later become the substance of Panditji's famous book "Glimpses of World's History" in which he spoke about the history of civilization, conflict of culture and the synthesis which has evolved over the years."
He also describe about Mahatma Gandhi, Tolstoy and Rabindranath Tagore who used to write letters, saying "letters reflect the thinking on the contemporary issues..."
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Another North Goa nightclub sealed; Kejriwal says corruption led to fire tragedy
Panaji (PTI): As part of a crackdown against tourist establishments violating laws and safety norms in the aftermath of the Arpora fire tragedy, Goa authorities on Saturday sealed a renowned club at Vagator and revoked the fire department NOC of another club.
Cafe CO2 Goa, located on a cliff overlooking the Arabian Sea at Vagator beach in North Goa, was sealed. The move came two days after Goya Club, also in Vagator, was shut down for alleged violations of rules.
Elsewhere, campaigning for local body polls, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal said the fire incident at Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub at Arpora, which claimed 25 lives on December 6, happened because the BJP government in the state was corrupt.
An inspection of Cafe CO2 Goa by a state government-appointed team revealed that the establishment, with a seating capacity of 250, did not possess a no-objection certificate (NOC) of the Fire and Emergency Services Department. The club, which sits atop Ozrant Cliff, also did not have structural stability, the team found.
The Fire and Emergency Services on Saturday also revoked the NOC issued to Diaz Pool Club and Bar at Anjuna as the fire extinguishers installed in the establishment were found to be inadequate, said divisional fire officer Shripad Gawas.
A notice was issued to Nitin Wadhwa, the partner of the club, he said in the order.
Campaigning at Chimbel village near Panaji in support of his party's Zilla Panchayat election candidate, Aam Aadmi Party leader Kejriwal said the nightclub fire at Arpora happened because of the "corruption of the Pramod Sawant-led state government."
"Why this fire incident happened? I read in the newspapers that the nightclub had no occupancy certificate, no building licence, no excise licence, no construction licence or trade licence. The entire club was illegal but still it was going on," he said.
"How could it go on? Couldn't Pramod Sawant or anyone else see it? I was told that hafta (bribe) was being paid," the former Delhi chief minister said.
A person can not work without bribing officials in the coastal state, Kejriwal said, alleging that officers, MLAs and even ministers are accepting bribes.
