Beer Price

Dharmendra Kumar, Suva

The man who “ducks under the table” on a regular basis has reduced duty on beer by 20 per cent.

When women and children are abused by drunk fathers who will protect them?

Total hypocrisy!

Biman Prasad will bring chaos to this country.

Minimum Wage

Wise Muavono, Balawa, Lautoka

Will small businesses be able to survive with the $5/hr minimum wage?

Equal lease money

Tukai Lagonilakeba, Namaka, Nadi

Thank you Fiji Sun page 48 02nd November for your interview of SODELPA candidate Mosese Bulitavu and his leader Sitiveni Rabuka which is relevant to the equal lease monies distribution at TLTB for all landowners around the country.

Rabuka and Bulitavu are recorded as saying that they will abolish the equal lease distribution and revert to the old discriminative system where only the Chiefs, turaga ni mataqali and the turaga ni yavusa will benefit from the chunk of the monies they are allocated and forgetting the ordinary clan members.

They are reasoning that the chiefs, turaga ni mataqali and turaga ni yavusa all have a very big responsibility over other iTaukei landowners where they rightly deserve a bigger slice of the cake but they have failed to explain what kind of responsibility and how does that translate into monetary value.

These are the very same heads and chiefs who will frequent brothels and night clubs pre-2015 equal lease distributions to abuse their lease earnings where they will also be missing from their villages for weeks on a senseless walkabout.

There are over 500,000 indigenous iTaukei landowners in the country where there are about 300,000 whom are eligible registered Fijian voters and I would like to ask them to not vote for any SODELPA candidate in our 2018 November 14th National Election.

All right thinking iTaukei children and adult landowners have benefited greatly and indiscriminately from the equal distribution since 2015, please reject them outright but I would also like to urge and ask the Fiji Sun to please kindly print the same interview in your iTaukei vernacular column so those illiterate and unsuspecting relatives of ours may read about it so they can talanoa and spread the gospel around the Tanoa to guard themselves against such political parties with their rhetoric and nonsense.

Diwali Labasa

Sukha Singh, Labasa

FBC is coming to Labasa to celebrate Diwali.

I just want to know why all of a sudden everybody wants to celebrate everything in Labasa?

Kava Ban

Joan McGoon, Martintar, Nadi

While catching up on all the recent excitement of the royal visit, it was interesting to note Prince Harry, Meghan and the world’s reaction to kava, somewhat known as our national drink now.

Strange though because I always thought that our national drink was coconut water.

Must have been popular in the good old days. Anyhow, it was interesting to note that kava is banned in the European Union which is probably why the royal prince drinking a “banned” drink back home is causing a bit of a stir.

At least Meghan continued to gaze adoringly at her husband as he sipped the “mud” drink which it has been compared to and many more husbands (and men) are now wondering why their women are not giving them the same adoring glances around the kava bowl.

One has to wonder.

On this Deepawali

Dewan Chand, Suva

Deepawali, the Hindu festival of lights, will be celebrated on November 7 throughout the world where Hindus reside.

Here, Government has declared a national holiday on Deepawali day so that people of all cultural and religious backgrounds can celebrate this grand festival together.

The euphoria is already around as business houses are using high-powered advertisements to sell their products.

You switch on any radio station, any TV station or newspaper, you are bound to hear ads such as Dhoom Dhadaka Diwali, Lelo Diwali, happy Diwali and there are many more jingles and songs.

It is the season of happiness and people want to be at their very best.

There are several stories as to why Deepawali is celebrated.

India being such a vast country with different regions have a different story to tell.

However, the most popular belief amongst Hindus is that when Lord Rama along with his consort, Sita, and brother, Laxmana, returned to Ajodhya, the capital city, after fourteen years of exile, there was celebration.

The people of Ajodhya lit the streets of the city with small earthern lamps to express their jubilation.

This being the darkest night or amaawasya. They prepared all sorts of sweets and food, played music and danced the night away.

Remember, human happiness is associated with lights, music, good food and enjoyable company.

Others believe that Goddess of wealth, Maha Lakshmi emerged from the ocean of nectar this very night and Lord Krishna had killed the demon Narkasura the same night.

Hence, people celebrated the victory of good over evil, victory of dharma over adharma. As a build-up to Deepawali many Hindus fast, pray and remain vegetarian as this is a very auspicious occasion.

People buy new clothes, new pots and pans, new jewellery, clean up their compounds and decorate their houses with lights. Many people paint their houses as well. Women decorate the entrance to the house with rangoli to welcome Mahalaxmi, the Goddess of wealth.

Farmers bathe their animals, cows are decorated and offered pooja. Most families buy heaps of fire crackers and the Deepawali night really becomes a Dhoom Dhadaka night. Millions of diyas (earthern lamps), neon lights will light the horizon and fire crackers will explode the night.

The din and chaos will last till midnight and the humanities’ joys would have reached seventh heaven!

May I take this opportunity to wish all Fijians a very happy and prosperous Deepawali.

Feedback:  jyotip@fijisun.com.fj