Atanu responds: Rahul, I retained the misspelling of the original email’s subject line.

That email is simultaneously funny and sad. I think it is possible to learn simple English and rural people are not idiots. We should not expect them to be less capable of learning.

Jyoti, don’t have much to add on how to help the rural people except to say that the government has to get out of throwing money into inappropriate schemes. Recently heard that Rs 65,000 crores were being allocated to make rural areas digitally empowered.

BB, I think people who write like idiots are — how shall I put it — idiots. Sloppy writing is really a reflection of sloppy thinking. I suppose receiving sloppily written applications is a blessing — it helps one reduce the pile of applications with little effort.

Sharvari, have you heard those people on FM radio who cannot talk one sentence in either pure Hindi or English? Don’t know if they are incapable of speaking either of the language or are merely posturing. But they sound pathetic. Perhaps the writer also mistakenly believes that “v” is cooler than “we”.

Where do they learn this sort of English? Do they write this way because they are short of time and internet access is expensive? Do they lack the time to draft a letter before e-mailing it? Where do the Chinese learn how to write so well in English?

Very moving indeed. There are bright people to be found, but sadly there is no network or unified resources for them to tap into. Would you have any suggestions for creating those?