For most of us, war, the army, soldiers, terrorist attacks, border skirmishes and deaths are only abstract ideas and words on a page. Most of the time, these are read about and forgotten in a day or two because they are not real enough. But two articles, “Humiliating to be carried on palanquin: ex-armyman” (Inside pages) and “Too fraid to make a phone call” (OpEd, both March 12), brought to the fore real people and their all-too-real pain and distress. Such stories force us to think. But above all, they put a face to distant events that until then had only existed on the pages of a newspaper. The human element in these stories makes one realise our own precarious hold on life, and, eventually, our own humanity.
Alphy Plakkoottam,
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Hyderabad