Thegesture of Prime Minister Narendra Modi gifting a packet of Melody chocolates to his Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni took India by storm. It contagiously went viral on social media and grabbed the attention of millions of viewers. The picture postcard of the pair at the iconic Colosseum was bubbling under and, understandably so, given their glamour and charisma. It was fortuitous that the names blended so well to form the coinage – Meloni + Modi = Melody. Both the leaders exuded exuberance and smiled radiantly without detectable simulation. While a packet of eye-catching Melody may have warmed the cockles of the heart of the Italian Prime Minister and established a close rapport with her, it is hard to quantify how much it has contributed to strengthening, as against ‘sweetening’, the relations between the two countries. Still, it is certainly indicative of greater cooperation and collaboration that both the countries are keen on having. Leaders too are human like the rest of us, and they are quite within their rights to give a personal touch to their diplomatic encounters if they choose to. However, it becomes farcical when it is done to make reels for the consumption of supporters. The thought of how Modi’s predecessor Dr Manmohan Singh would have conducted himself while meeting another head of government springs to mind. The Opposition has dubbed it “Toffee diplomacy” and faulted him for handing out candies as a token of intimacy in Italy when India is faced with the prospect of an economic crisis.

G David Milton, Maruthancode (TN)

It’s more than an amusing market anecdote

With reference to the news report “Wrong Parle Stock jumps 5% after Modi-Meloni video,” (THI, May 21), the episode of investors rushing to buy Parle Industries Ltd — an entirely unrelated listed company — simply because its name resembled Parle Products, the maker of Melody toffees, is more than an amusing market anecdote. It exposes a serious and persistent problem with retail investor behaviour in India. A significant section of market participants continues to make buying decisions based on social media videos and name recognition rather than any basic due diligence. SEBI has repeatedly flagged this concern, yet the pattern recurs. Stock exchanges and brokers must strengthen real-time investor alerts when trading surges in scrips with no visible fundamental trigger. Financial literacy campaigns need to move beyond awareness posters and reach investors at the point of transaction, before uninformed decisions cause avoidable losses.

A Myilsami, Sulur (P O)–641402

Modi must pursue diplomatic goals

PrimeMinister Narendra Modi’s visit to Italy seems more glamorous than achieving an economic breakthrough out of trade deals between the nations. The ‘Melody’ and Meloni rhyming and Modi gifting Re one iconic toffee to Georgia Meloni, his Italian counterpart, became an amusing meme creating an internet viral moment. The expensive foreign trips of the PM need to pursue diplomatic goals, such as regarding the Iran-US and Ukraine-Russia war as well as to ink deals bringing capital/technology inflows into India.

P R Ravinder,

Hyderabad.