Reader's Digest India-August 2021

75th Independence Day Special

AUGUST 2021 `100

OF INDIATHE STORY
In 32 Iconic Objects

EXPERT SPEAK

Is It Good To
Be Bored?
Why It’s
Okay To
Say ‘No’

DRAMA IN REAL LIFE

How They
Caught Their

Stalker

BONUS READ

War And
Peace On
Melrose Hill







Reader’s Digest

CONTENTS

94

illustrations by ryan garcia Features 80 94

56 extraordinary lives drama in real life

cover story The First Lady How They Caught
of Mental Health Their Stalker
THE THINGS THAT
MAKE US INDIAN Even at 98, India’s first An elusive hacker
woman psychiatrist, humiliated a group
Stories of our favourite Sarada Menon is easing of high-school girls.
products can trace the the our mental anguish. Then they helped the
history of our nation. police set a digital trap.
by bhavya dore
by shreevatsa nevatia by stephanie clifford
and naorem anuja 86
102
68 rd classic
bonus read
health Triumph of
an Olympian War and Peace
Home Remedies From on Melrose Hill
Around the World In 1987, two competitors
from different countries A chance encounter on a
13 folk treatments that showed the world the train journey leads to an
are proven to work true meaning of respect amazing discovery of a
and sportsmanship. decades-old connection.
by rd editors
by doug small by dr yashwant thorat

reraedaedresrdsidgiegsets.tin.in 33

Reader’s Digest

10

8 Over to You it happens 13 things top: illustration by richard borge; below: illustration by serge bloch
only in india
Conversations 34 Scent-sational
22 Filtered Dark News About
department of wit and a Marriage Smell
Menagerie
10 Robots Gone Wild by emily goodman
by naorem anuja
by andy simmons news from the
Better Living world of medicine
ask an expert
30 The Power of No 38 The Illusion of
14 Is It Good to Multivitamins,
Be Bored? by leah rumack Pet Videos to
Beat Stress and
by courtney shea Hep-C Screening

good news 34

18 A Unique Harvest,
and Drones to
the Rescue

by ishani nandi

points to ponder

20 Naomi Osaka,
Nayantara Sahgal
and Dilip Kumar

4 august 2021

Culturescape studio Humour

interview with 123 Gandhi Greeted 37
irvin allen sealy by Darwen’s Laugh Lines
Textile Workers
110 Turning Over 40
a New Leaf by shreevatsa nevatia Humour in Uniform

by sukhada tatke me and my shelf 66
All in a Day’s Work
rd recommends 124 Ira Mukhoty’s
Favourite Reads 78
118 Films, Watchlist, Life’s Like That
Books and Music Brain Games
85
review 126 Brainteasers As Kids See It
128 Sudoku
122 A History of Violence 129 Word Power 114
131 Quiz Laughter, The Best
by jai arjun singh 132 Quotable Quotes
Medicine
118

halfdark/getty images On the Cover

Cover design by Nilanjan Das

The Story Of India in 32 Iconic Objects ....................................... 56
Expert Speak: Is It Good To Be Bored? ........................................ 14
Why It’s Okay To Say ‘No’.............................................................. 30
Drama In Real Life: How They Caught Their Stalker................... 94
Bonus Read: War And Peace On Melrose Hill.......................... 102

readersdigest.in 5

VOL. 62 NO. 8
AUGUST 2021

Editor-in-Chief Aroon Purie
Vice Chairperson Kalli Purie
Group Chief Executive Officer Dinesh Bhatia
Group Editorial Director Raj Chengappa
Chief Executive Officer Manoj Sharma

editor Kai Jabir Friese IMPACT (ADVERTISING)
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senior associate editor Ishani Nandi kolkata: deputy gm (east) Indranil Chatterjee
features editor Naorem Anuja
BUSINESS
consulting editor Shreevatsa Nevatia group chief marketing officer Vivek Malhotra
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Published at F-26, First Floor, Connaught Place, New Delhi-110001. Editor: Kai Friese (responsible for selection of news).

6 august 2021



OVER TO The Ever Beloved
YOU Mr Bond

Notes on the As an 11th-standard
June issue student, a voracious
reader and one who
He Trots the Air has decided to try my
hand at writing, I en-
Pets become members of a family and their loss is joyed this interview
as ravaging as the death of any loved one. I’m no pet with one of my favou-
keeper but tried raising a Labrador pup on my rite authors. I have
daughter’s insistence. She soon got on with her life, learnt from him that
leaving the responsibility of this young arrival on my complacency should
wife’s and my shoulders. He grew bigger, more active. never set in if one
In the limited space of our flat, we soon found the sit- wants to become a
uation unmanageable. A senior military official with celebrated writer.
large open spaces agreed to adopt him. While our Bond sets an example
furry friend found his forever home, we felt deep to all writers by con-
sorrow and solitude. So the author’s grief upon the tinuing his craft even
passing of her four-legged companion, who stayed at his grand age of 87.
by her side for decades, resonated with us deeply . Steve Frank, via email

—Arvind Arya, Mumbai Bond’s responses in
this interview can form
Arvind Arya gets this month’s ‘Write & Win’ prize of ₹1,000. —EDs a well-set guide for
budding writers and
We Will Study! even seasoned jour-
nalists. Reading Bond
Shantha Sinha’s article was a fantastic read. During is always a pleasure,
this pandemic several children have had to forgo not only for kids but
education because of a lack of mobile phones, digital adults as well and
connectivity and a steady source of income. All the Bond is my all-time
efforts and incremental progress made in education favourite. A trick I
are under threat—will education, particularly for girls— tried on my grand-
reduce drastically because of the pandemic? This is a children to get them
monumental challenge for the government, and must to give up their smart-
be dealt with much thought and adequate financing. phone addiction was
Jayanta Kumar Padmapati, Guwahati gifting them Bond’s
books. It brought ex-
cellent results. Now

8 august 2021

Reader’s Digest

his unforgettable char- can never be matched. like played a significant
acters—Rakesh and his Among the many kinds role since the beginning
grandfather, Binya, Bijju help offered, volunteer- of the battle against CO-
and others—loom large ing to give a respectful VID-19. As Pope Francis
over their leisure time burial to the dead is per- says, our faith enables
rather than those coun- haps the most selfless, us to reach out to others.
terproductive games brave service of all. May their tribe increase!
on tablets and smart- Hopefully, the services SANJAY CHOPRA, Mohali
phones that were de- rendered by citizen he-
vouring their precious roes will serve as an eye Open up and say Haha
days for so long.  opener to communal-
Tharcius S. Fernando, minded and religious This story was a worthy
Chennai fanatics who cannot read with advice worth
look past differences. emulating. As Firakh
They Give Us Hope Anna Mary Yvonne, Gorakhpuri says in one
Chennai of his verses, a person
That there are thou- who brings cartloads of
sands of Indians with The pandemic has seen laughter brings precious
compassionate hearts Indians from all faiths gifts of youthfulness and
becomes evident when- and backgrounds come many shades of poems
ever we face calamities together to save lives, and pleasures.
like the present pan- driven by sheer human- Janardan Sharma,
demic. The stories of ity in the face of a mas- Pushkar
citizen heroes and their sive systemic failure
service to COVID vic- to address the second Write in at editor.india@
tims, irrespective of wave. Indian civil-soci- rd.com. The best letters
caste, community or re- ety groups, public-spir- discuss RD articles, offer
ligion at the cost of their ited individuals and the criticism, share ideas.
own health and safety, Do include your phone
number and postal address.

Reader’s Digest’s Very Big Year

That’s right, RD becomes a centenarian in
2022! But don’t call us old—we’re timeless.
Kick off our celebration of 100 years of goofs,
gags, thrillers, and tearjerkers by telling us the
story of an RD article that made a big
impression on you. Why did it stay with you?
Send us your stories [email protected]
and we might publish your memory (and
even the original article) next year.

readersdigest.in 9

DEPARTMENT OF WIT

Robots Gone Wild

What happens when you train a machine to take over
for humans? It screws up—just as people do

By Andy Simmons

10 august 2021

Reader’s Digest

R obots really are taking over Another specialty was ‘Tart Cover
the world. They’re writing Shrimp Butter Wol’, featuring “1 can
novels—the first was 1 the Road, fried pale fruit to cover that drain.”
a cyborg’s homage to Jack Kerouac Are you out of fried pale fruit? You
published in 2018. And they’re mak- might have some rice, though you’ve
ing lunch: The California restaurant probably never used “1 cup grated
chain CaliBurger is trying out a ro- white rice,” as listed in another recipe.
bot that can flip 2,000 burgers a day. Clearly, Betty Crocker can sleep easy.
What human can compete—espe-
cially given that androids don’t com- You Call That Service?
plain, ask for raises or get drunk at the A few years back, the Henn na Hotel
office Christmas party? in Nagasaki, Japan, hired 243 robots
to cover positions ranging from con-
To celebrate the 100th anniversary cierge to bellhop. Unfortunately, the
of the coining of the word robot by check-in robots had trouble answer-
the Czech playwright Karel Capek, ing guests’ questions and photo-
we thought it would be fun to take a copying passports, while bellhop
look at another side of robotkind, one robots kept banging into walls and
that’s all too human. Here’s a by-no- tripping over curbs. One in-room
means-complete list of failed attempts assistant sprang to attention every
by automatons to replace us flesh- time a lodger snored, saying, “Sorry, I
and-bone types. couldn’t catch that. Could you repeat
your request?” Not long after the ex-
Hold the Beothurtreed periment began, the hotel ‘fired’ half
Janelle Shane, an optics research sci- of the malfunctioning robots. And
entist, wanted to find out whether they didn’t get their tips, either.
artificial intelligence could create a
menu that didn’t taste, well, artificial. Stop the Presses!
So she fed a computer 30,000 cook- In 2017, the Los Angeles Times pub-
book recipes and then programmed lished a story about a 6.8 earthquake
it to create its own recipes. The re- that shook Santa Barbara, California.
sult: Something called ‘Beothurtreed You would expect such a large quake
Tuna Pie’. Want to make it? You’ll need to have gotten a lot of press coverage.
these ingredients: And it did … in 1925, when the earth-
quake happened. Turns out the report
1 hard-cooked apple mayonnaise was produced by a computer program
5 cup lumps, thinly sliced called the Quakebot, which generates
Once you have your apple mayo articles based on notices from the US
and lumps, “surround with 1 ½ dozen Geological Survey. When a staffer at
heavy water by high, and drain & cut
into ¼ in remaining the skillet.”

illustrations by Richard Borge readersdigest.in 11

Reader’s Digest Department of Wit

the USGS made an error while updat-
ing the historical data, the Quakebot
jumped on it as if it were breaking
news. Soon, Southern Californians
were quaking in their boots over a
non-earthquake.

You Look Familiar spread the puppy’s load throughout
Facial recognition software has one the house, decorating floorboards,
problem—it can’t always recognize furniture legs and rugs, “resulting in
faces. The American Civil Liberties a home that closely resembles a Jack-
Union proved that point when it used son Pollock poop painting,” as Newton
the Amazon Rekognition software described it.
to match mug shots of criminals to
28 members of Congress. But what Whatever You Do, Don’t Anger Sophia
about soccer ball recognition? During ‘Sophia’ is a social humanoid robot
a match last year, the Scottish soccer developed by Hanson Robotics. She/
team Inverness Caledonian Thistle FC it has an attractive face, with a square
unveiled AI-programmed video cam- jaw, high cheekbones and impressive
eras designed to automatically follow eyebrows. And she can hold a conver-
the ball. Alas, the cameras constantly sation to rival the mere chitchat of Ap-
mistook the referee’s bald head for the ple’s Siri. This is surely the robot of the
soccer ball. One helpful viewer called future. When CEO David Hanson and
the team to suggest supplying the ref Sophia appeared on CNBC’s The Pulse,
with a toupee. Hanson asked the robot the question
humans have been asking themselves
Quick, Grab a Broom! about robots for years: “Sophia, do
What’s the worst a robotic vacuum you want to destroy humans?” With-
cleaner can do, right? Let Jesse New- out hesitation, Sophia—smiling a tad
ton fill you in. Poor Newton: His new too broadly for our taste—responded,
puppy pooped on the floor sometime “OK, I will destroy humans.” Humans,
before 1:30 a.m., while he and his wife you’ve been warned.
were asleep. How did Newton come
up with that particular time? “Our
Roomba runs at 1:30 a.m. every night,”
he noted online a week later. “And it
found the poop.” And so it began: “The
Pooptastrophe. The Poohpocalypse.
The Pooppening.” The robot vacuum

12 august 2021



ASK AN EXPERT

Is It Good
to Be Bored?

We ask psychologist and
York University professor,

John Eastwood

by Courtney Shea

illustration by Lauren Tamaki

ÊBoredom gets a bad rap. But is Instead of sitting down with our
there an upside? thoughts or complex ideas, we’re giving
Absolutely. Its function can be com- our minds over to a screen—and our
pared to that of pain, which provides capacity for willful focus and attention
feedback to prevent us from damaging may atrophy through disuse.
our body. Boredom does the same
work to protect us from stagnation. If There’s also an addiction metaphor
we were content to be mentally unoc- that’s used: Technology messes with
cupied, we might never learn, explore, our brain, giving us a constant high,
grow, discover. and then we need even more stimula-
tion to feel satisfied, to get that fix.
Ê These days, we’re constantly
stimulated, arguably over-stimulated,
by technology. Has it led to a decrease
in boredom?
It may actually be making us more
prone to boredom. Technology grabs
our attention, but it does that by turn-
ing us into objects rather than agents.

14 august 2021

Reader’s Digest

ÊSounds like we need to get better captivity pull their feathers out when
at being bored. they’re under-stimulated.
It’s more that we need to engage in
activities that might make us feel bored ÊIt seems like a lot of kids today will
without succumbing to it—like going say they’re bored pretty much any
for a long walk by yourself without time they’re not being entertained.
your phone. There’s a lot of pressure on parents
these days to treat our kids like buckets
ÊEasier said than done. Most people that need to be filled with compelling
take their phone to the bathroom! experiences, structuring all their time
Absolutely. To move away from that you and never giving them the opportunity
can practise basic exposure therapy: to make a choice. The problem with
Head out on an errand without your this approach is that kids aren’t learn-
phone or read something that is longer ing to be agents creating their own
than a sound bite. Initially you will feel meaning in the world.
the discomfort of boredom—that urge
to reach for your screen. But after a TECHNOLOGY
while you won’t miss it as much. You MESSES WITH OUR
may even find you enjoy letting your BRAIN, GIVING US
mind wander. A CONSTANT HIGH.

ÊWhich is different from boredom? ÊYou’ve also said before that bored
Getting lost in one’s own thoughts is kids can play an important role in
probably the exact opposite of boredom. social progress.
Right. Young people being ‘bored’ of
ÊI read about a study where people their parents’ culture is a way they reject
were left alone in a room to either sit the status quo, which is how individuals
with their own thoughts or electro- and society move forward from one gen-
cute themselves. And a lot of them eration to the next. If kids didn’t get
opted for the latter. bored of their parents’ taste, we would all
I know of that experiment. I think it’s still be listening to Beethoven.
important to note that for a lot of peo-
ple the choice to shock themselves John Eastwood, a York University pro-
may have been based on curiosity, and fessor, is co-author of Out of My Skull:
that no other activity was on offer. That The Psychology of Boredom.
said, there is evidence that non-suicidal
self-injurious behaviour is correlated readersdigest.in 15
with boredom. For instance, animals in





(Left) IFS Officer Vaibhav Singh; (Right) One of the hundreds of chal kahls constructed
to harvet rainwater that helps restore the fragile terrain of the Rudraprayag hills.

GOOD NEWS seems up to the task. Under his aegis, (top) facebook; (right) twitter (@pemakhandubjp)
for a several soil preservation measures and
Better Planet rainwater harvesting structures were
set up, and the results speak for them-
A Unique Harvest selves. Along with trenches, check
dams and percolation pits, a total of
environment The verdant hills pepper- 612 chal kahls (man-made ponds) with
ing our country’s north may appear to the capacity to collect more than 10
be picture-perfect idylls, but the area is million litres of water were made in the
beset by serious problems that remain last year alone. Around 400 hectares of
largely unnoticed by all but local resi- degraded land has also been restored.
dents. The pine-covered Himalayan It just goes to show that age-old, tried-
region of Rudraprayag, Uttarakhand, and-tested techniques, assiduously
for example is plagued by landslides, enforced, can truly change the face of
forest fires and shortage of fresh water a faltering landscape.
supply to settlements. Soil erosion dur-
ing unpredictable monsoon showers Pulled from the Brink
also causes unstable terrain as well as
heavy silting and flooding of rivers. But service Amidst continuing stresses and
Indian Forest Service officer and Divi- crises in everyday lives, and a lack of
sional Forest officer Vaibhav Singh the required awareness and support for
mental-health issues, our ability to
cope is very often tested to its very
limits and many seek escape by ending
it all. Pulling people back from the edge

18 august 2021

Reader’s Digest

Sources: Environment: The Better India, 02.07.21; Service: Telangana Today, 01.08.21; Technology: The New Indian Express, 31.07.21; Public Health: India Today, 14.07.21 is no mean task but 45-year-old professor’s supervision. “The drone
M. Eshwaraiah from Maheshwaram, uses a feature that marks the location of
Hyderabad, a home-guard officer with detected people on a map and trans-
the Saroornagar Lake Police, does this mits real-time information to rescuers,”
time and time again—literally. Over the says Sruthi. “The drone was completed
last six months, he has rescued more using the parts which were open-
than 10 people attempting suicide by sourced. It is cheaper when compared
diving into Saroornagar Lake. “Most of to commercial drones. The technical
the people coming to the lake to end assistance was provided by the Interna-
their lives are either depressed with tional Centre for Open Source Soft-
family issues or financial problems or ware,” said the team.
relationship issues,” says Eshwaraiah. “I
try to reach the person within a few No Mountain Too High
minutes of being alerted by the patrol
mobile or the police control room. I put public health For the team of officials
in every possible effort and ensure they in the Tawang district of Arunachal
do not drown in the lake and pull them
out to safety,” Eshwariah says. While
alert first-responders like Eshwariah are
critical to suicide prevention strategies
and save lives, here’s hoping that
support systems soon develop enough
to make this line of work obsolete.

Drones to the Rescue COVID vaccine drive in remote Domstang

technology In a clear example of using Pradesh, there’s no time to rest when it
the power of new-age tech for good, comes to fulfilling their duty. To ensure
students from Government Engineer- no one is left behind in getting the CO-
ing College in Thrissur have devised a VID vaccine, the group, led by Tawang
way to use drones to locate stranded, District Magistrate, Sang Phuntsok, un-
lost or injured people during natural dertook a nine-hour journey crossing
disasters such as floods and landslides mountains, forests and a river to reach
particularly in remote areas with low Domtsang, a village along the Indo-
connectivity. The team—Sruthi MS, Tibetan border at 14,000 feet, where 16
Nandana VN, Lakshmi S and Manal locals missed getting their jabs during
Jaleel Poovathingal—from the Electri- a special drive conducted in May.
cal and Electronics Engineering depart-
ment devised the innovation for their —COMPILED BY ISHANI NANDI
final-year project under an assistant

readersdigest.in 19

POINTS TO PONDER from left: alamy, arun singh, alamy

I do hope that people can relate and understand it’s okay
to not be okay, and it’s okay to talk about it. There are people who

can help, and there is usually light at the end of any tunnel.

Naomi Osaka, tennis player

At Independence, India lost no time in establishing a
democracy and writing a Constitution that guaranteed the
liberty and equality of all Indians. Yet 70-odd years later, today’s
India recognizes no such guarantee. In this threatening political
climate, Indians who have been schooled in democracy, continue
to fight to reclaim their Constitutional rights ... Father Stan

Swamy is the latest casualty in this heroic endeavour.

Nayantara Sahgal, writer

Everyone says corruption is everywhere, but for me it seems strange to
say that, and then not try to put the people guilty of that corruption away.

Alexei Navalny, lawyer, anti-corruption activist

Naomi Osaka Nayantara Sahgal Alexei Navalny

20 august 2021

from left: alamy, sbeowulf sheehan, yogen shah Reader’s Digest

For the world is movement, and you cannot be stationary in
your attitude towards something that is moving.

Henri Cartier-Bresson, photographer

Empathy isn’t just something that happens to us … it’s also
a choice we make: to pay attention, to extend ourselves. It’s made
of exertion—that dowdier cousin of impulse. Sometimes we care for
another because we know we should, or because it’s asked for, but
this doesn’t make our caring. The act of choosing simply means

we’ve committed ourselves to a set of behaviours greater
than the sum of our individual inclinations.

Leslie Jamison, writer

If you allow fame to get the better of you, you become
a nuisance, a public nuisance, a nuisance as a friend,

a member of family, a nuisance of yourself.

Dilip Kumar, actor

Henri Cartier-Bresson Leslie Jamison Dilip Kumar

readersdigest.in 21

It Happens

ONLY IN INDIA

“Do you have a swimming licence?”

Filtered Dark everything good, suc- forlorn, and as they
Travel the length and cessful and joyful. No changed back to their
breadth of this repub- matter how many our lighter tones, happiness
lic, and you’re bound differences, dark-skin flooded their faces.
to find various shades bias unites us all. To no Looks like we’d
of brown skin, but the one’s surprise, Indian all benefit from a glow-
long and short of it is content creators up in societal attitudes.
we Indians hate mela- flocked to Instagram’s
nin. Maybe it is residual latest, fairly problem- Source: indiatoday.in
colonialism, or colour- atic, ‘blackface’ filter.
ism, but we’re wired to Reels flew fast and Fake It Till You Make It
equate a peaches-and- wide, portraying how In a tale full of fraud,
milk complexion with dark skin made them legal drama and a mas-
terful bluff, 27-year-old

22 august 2021 illustration by Raju Epuri

Reader’s Digest

Kerala woman Sessy and a black Labrador, a video calls for friends
Xavier managed to Buddha statue, a tradi- and family to attend
establish a thriving le- tional lamp stand and the wedding virtually.
gal career, minus an `10 lakhs, which they
actual law degree. De- said would be used The lesson, dear
spite never clearing her to get his betrothed a reader: Not all is as it
LLB exams, Xavier hus- job after marriage. seems on the internet.
tled her way into prac- This smorgasbord was
tising for around two demanded over and Source: firstpost.com
years, serving as an above the tributes he
office-bearer of the already received at the A Hairy Situation
Alappuzha Bar Associa- engagement. The Hair is everything!
tion and even getting bride’s family’s inability But for hair agents in
herself appointed as to find the tortoise en- Madhya Pradesh whose
advocate commission raged the groom hair parcels, weighing
by a panel submitted enough to call off the 10 quintal and worth
by the bar association. wedding. The bride’s `50 lakhs, got nicked
side only rushed to file from a Howrah-bound
The con was on till an a police complaint train, the hair loss is
anonymous letter with when the man refused irreparable. These
the truth about the to give the ‘gifts’ back. parcels were on their
forged documents she Better late than never! way to be processed
used was received by and manufactured into
Alappuzha Bar leaders. Source: indianexpress.com wigs and extensions.
She turned up in court, The Railway Protection
feigned surrender, only Wedded to Work? Nah! Force is combing the
to give the cops the slip A recent video to join hair-raising case for
and is now on the run. the viral hall of fame is details. To cut it short,
of a groom, sitting at his it was a bad hair day.
Source: timesofindia.com wedding altar, tapping
away at his laptop. The Source: vice.com
Marriage Menagerie internet quickly stepped
A marriage is a union in, tweeting their two —COMPILED BY NAOREM ANUJA
of love. Or in the case cents about ‘work-from-
of India, a greedy, home’ experiences, Reader’s Digest will pay
dowry extravaganza for only to be quickly for contributions to this
the groom’s family. One corrected by the few column. Post your sugges-
army man from Nashik, guests in attendance. tions with the source to the
for example, went all The groom wasn’t on editorial address, or email:
out, asking that he be duty, but was setting up [email protected]
gifted a 21-toed tortoise

readersdigest.in 23













BETTER LIVING

NOTPHEOOF WER
karen chapelle, a 50-year-old metal-

work artist in Toronto, has always had

trouble saying no when people ask

Why it’s okay to her for favours. Usually, she’ll
turn down favours respond with a knee-jerk yes—and

just as often find herself regretting it.

“It’s a natural thing for me to want

BY Leah Rumack to help people,” says Chapelle. “It’s a
ILLUSTRATION BY Ally Jaye Reeves good feeling to be useful and needed.”
The problem, she adds, is that she has

30 august 2021

Reader’s Digest
readersdigest.in 31

Reader’s Digest

unintentionally trained everyone in her To turn down favours without guilt—
life to expect a yes to their requests, no or with less guilt, anyway—Newman
matter what they are. says to remember that saying yes
in the moment means you’ll have to say
Chapelle knows her ‘okaying’ to no to somebody or something else later
favours, whether requested by co- on. View it, she says, as a time
workers, friends or her family, often at management issue as opposed to a
the expense of her own finances, time good-person-o’meter.
or mental health, isn’t good for her. But
it’s been a hard habit to break. “A lot of us tend to think we can
always fit one more thing in,” she says.
Many of us get sucked into saying “But the more you say yes to someone,
yes—even when we’d really rather the more you’re going to be targeted.”
not—to avoid conflict, because we feel Always being the go-to person can
sorry for others, or because we even be flattering at first, she adds, until
feel ashamed when we put ourselves you realize you have no time left
first. If you have difficulty figuring for yourself.
out when, or how, to say no, here
are some tips for breaking the cycle Newman says it can be useful to
of what one psychologist calls “the make a list of the people whom you
disease to please.” want to help, and decide in advance
what your general boundaries are
PRIORITIZE YOUR TIME when it comes to demands on your
time. Do you exercise every day at
Learning how to take better care of three? Do you need to be in bed by
yourself often goes hand in hand with nine? Do you have a standing lunch
learning that you’re allowed to put date every Saturday? Keep these
your own needs and wants first, and things in mind when you’re
that doing so doesn’t make you a considering adding to your load the
jerk. In fact, consistently putting parent council fundraiser.
yourself last is likely to leave you
drained and annoyed—a sure path to If you don’t want to completely turn
jerky behaviour. someone down, Newman suggests put-
ting specific limits on the scope of the
Dr Susan Newman is an American ask instead—and sticking to it. “Keep-
social psychologist and the author of ing in mind your own needs isn’t self-
The Book of No: 365 Ways to Say It and ish,” she says, “it’s self-preservation.”
Mean It—and Stop People-Pleasing
Forever. Newman’s book argues that LISTEN TO YOUR GUT
always being there for others (to your
own detriment) doesn’t necessarily How can you tell if the favour that’s
make you a nicer person; it just makes being asked of you is one you’re going
you miserable. to resent doing later? Oh, you’ll know.

32 august 2021

Better Living

As the bestselling author Sarah Knight personal boundaries, and you’ve
put it in her 2019 self-help book F*ck decided that no, your neighbour
No!: How to Stop Saying Yes When You cannot borrow your lawn mower again.
Can’t, You Shouldn’t, or You Just Don’t But how do you actually say no without
Want To, any time she felt saying yes damaging your relationships or
was a bad idea, a little warning voice stressing yourself out?
piped up in her head. She had to learn
to stop stifling it. In time, the more she “Avoid lengthy explanations,”
truthfully said no to things she didn’t counsels Newman. “As soon as you say,
want to do, the more she was able to get ‘Oh, I can’t because I have to walk my
in tune with herself and give other mother-in-law’s dog,’ you’re leaving
things an enthusiastic yes. wiggle room for them to debate with
you.” It’s sufficient to simply say, “No,
“If it’s something you really want to I can’t do it.”
do, you don’t tense up when you’re
asked,” explains Newman, “and you’re If that kind of bluntness makes you
happy to do it because it’s for someone uncomfortable, Newman suggests
you trust will likely reciprocate at some keeping at the ready phrases like
point down the road.” While favours “Maybe next time” and “Thanks for
aren’t a scoresheet that need to be asking, but I’m overloaded right now.”
perfectly balanced, she adds, nobody
wants to feel like they’re at the mercy Most importantly, she says, don’t
of a ‘user’ or a ‘taker’—that person who waste time worrying that the person
is always asking for something and you’ve refused is sitting around
rarely plans on giving anything back. thinking about what a pill you are.
They’re probably not thinking about
Newman says it’s always prudent to you at all and have already moved on
be wary of classic taker tactics, such as to their next target.
flattery (“Oh, but you have to make the
baby shower cake because you’re the Chapelle jokes that she’s spent
best at it!”); playing on your sympathies “many, many” hours in therapy
(“I’ve just been so busy with my sick learning how to say no to favours, but
iguana, I haven’t been able to work it still doesn’t come easily to her. She’s
enough hours to pay rent”); or working on being able to say no
pressuring you for an immediate sometimes and not feel terrible for
answer so you don’t have time to doing so. Often she still does feel guilty,
consider your options. but she’s learning to live with it.

SAY THE WORD Her new attitude has come with
some valuable lessons: “When you
OK, so you’ve made your chosen never say no, people take advantage of
people lists, you’ve figured out your you, and if you start doing favours
for the wrong person, you can get into
a lot of trouble.”

readersdigest.in 33

13 THINGS

Scent-sational News
About Smell

By Emily Goodman

1When asked in 2018 which sense Suddenly, the stepchild sense took
they would miss most if they lost centre stage.
it, smell came in dead last—only
two per cent of respondents picked it. 2Researchers soon realized that
Then came COVID-19. In early 2020, smell loss is a leading indicator
ear, nose and throat doctors around of COVID-19. Those infected
the world saw an unusual number of with the virus are 27 times more
patients who had unaccountably lost likely than noninfected people to
their sense of smell. Many of these exhibit smell dysfunction—but only
specialists then developed the same two and a half times more likely to
condition, and some became very ill. run a fever. Some public health

34 august 2021 Illustration by Serge Bloch

Reader’s Digest

experts started pro- Smell dysfunction is 7Women have
posing using smell also the most common keener noses than
tests—not temperature early symptom reported men, perhaps
checks—to screen by Parkinson’s patients— because they have as
people for the virus. even before they begin many as 50 per cent
to experience motor- more cells in the part of
3Scientists still related symptoms. the brain that processes
don’t fully under- smell. Studies have
stand the link 5That said, if shown that women are
between smell and your sniffer isn’t better able to identify
COVID-19. While they as sharp as it used and distinguish among
know that patients who to be, don’t panic. Our scents than men.
don’t lose their sense sense of smell naturally
of smell are more likely declines as we age. A 8Pregnant women
to be hospitalized and third of people in their have especially
placed on a ventilator, 80s can’t smell at all. sensitive noses.
they don’t know why. Smoking dulls the sense One theory is that the
Perhaps most worry- too (one more reason to increased sensitivity
ing, they don’t know quit). But you can boost during pregnancy
whether this virus’s your smelling savvy with reduces the likelihood
adeptness at invading a bit of training. Vary of the mother ingesting
noses indicates similar what you eat and focus toxins. On the other
skill at invading brains. on food’s aromas—our hand, depression liter-
(The smell receptors at sense is strongest when ally depresses our
the top of our noses are we’re hungry. ability to smell.
connected to the base
of our brains.) 6If seeing is be- 9While no scent is
lieving, smelling is universally ‘good’
4Smell loss could tasting. Our palates or ‘bad’, our nega-
also be an early are almost entirely de- tive response to odours
warning sign of pendent on our ability we perceive as foul is
Alzheimer’s disease, to smell. While taste detectable during an
schizophrenia, or buds distinguish among MRI brain scan. The
autoimmune diseases broad categories of fla- smell/mind connection
such as lupus. These vour such as sweet and is such that smell can
disorders can shrink salty, it’s the receptors play a role in the treat-
or otherwise disrupt in our nasal cavities ment of PTSD. Most
the parts of our brains that parse out the pasta current approaches try
that process smell. from the pastrami. to teach trauma victims

readersdigest.in 35

Reader’s Digest 13 Things

to suppress their fear grass like dogs are children aren’t
memories, but they perfectly capable of screened for smell
must first be able to finding and following disorders the way
recall those memories. a scent trail. The spe- they are for vision
Suggestive smells can cies with the strongest and hearing problems.
help trigger them. sense of smell, how-
ever, also has the big- 13 Companies
10Scent also gest schnoz: the African in France
heightens elephant. Elephants are and Canada
our positive so sensitive to scent are developing devices
experiences. A Dutch that they can smell that mimic our sense
museum recently water from 19 km away. of smell and can be
took advantage of built into home appli-
this by surrounding 12People with ances to create ovens
Jan Willem Pieneman’s anosmia have that shut themselves
painting The Battle of no sense of off when they detect
Waterloo with a unique smell. Unable to detect burning and refrigera-
fragrance combination odours such as smoke tors that alert you
of gunpowder, sweat or spoiled milk, they when produce is at its
and a perfume called are twice as likely to peak ripeness. Imagine
4711 Eau de Cologne, succumb to fire and all the wasted food
which is the one food poisoning than we could save—not to
Napoleon wore. those with the sense mention never burning
intact. Most causes of another piece of toast.
11Humans might anosmia are the result
not have the of illness or head injury sources: Intechopen.com,
greatest sniffers (car accidents are a Learnaboutcovid19.org,
in the animal kingdom, leading cause). Those Medicalnewstoday.com,
but we’re sharper than who are born with it Medpagetoday.org, Ncbi.
we might think. People often don’t realize it nlm.nih.gov, Npr.org,
willing to crawl through until their teens, as nytimes.com, Statnews
.com, Thehealthy.com,
Thespoon.tech, Vumc
.org, Worldatlas.com,
Yougov.com, Zdnet.com

Matching Wedding Bandwidths

Before you marry a person, you should first make them
use a computer with slow Internet to
see who they really are.

will ferrell, comedian

36 august 2021

Reader’s Digest

LAUGH LINES

When the pandemic is At what point after the
over, my greatest hope pandemic will you be able to

is that people at clear your throat without
concerts have forgotten everyone looking at you funny?
how to slowly wave their
— @lmhere4ever
hands back and forth
over their heads. I’m not whether to be
— @scullymike proud or concerned
that after over a year
Just wanna of pandemic life, I
announce ahead now know my debit
of time that after card details off by

the pandemic heart. This could
ends I will be be dangerous in
grunting at you
like a caveman the future.
because I forgot — @Casual_Heresy
how to talk.
— @RobDen-

Bleyker

I am going to continue to wear a The first date I have after
mask, my face is worthy of a paywall. this pandemic might end

— @hansmollman up being a proposal
— @y2shaf

shutterstock Post-Pandemic
Pointers

readersdigest.in 37

News From the Stressed? A Pet shutterstock
Video Can Help
WORLD OF
MEDICINE It turns out that watch-
ing cat videos on the In-
MULTIVITAMIN ternet may actually do
BENEFITS some good. We already
INCLUDE ILLUSION know that hanging out
with pets in real life can
Millions of us take a multivitamin every relieve stress, but now a
day—and we feel as if we’re getting re- British trial suggests that
sults. In a Harvard-led investigation, watching adorable ani-
people who used these supplements mals on a screen can
rated their overall health, on average, trigger a similar effect
30 per cent higher than non-users’ self- on your blood pressure.
assessments. It turns out, though, that The next time you’re
both groups actually had comparable feeling a bit anxious,
levels of well-being, both physical and spending some time
mental. It’s possible that people with a with cute critters
more positive outlook are more attracted online might help.
to multivitamins or that taking them
promotes a healthy self-image. Dancing Helps
Seniors Stay
38 august 2021 on Their Feet

Worldwide, almost a
third of people over
65 take a tumble each
year. Dance activities
such as tango, folk
dancing, or swing
reduce this risk by
around 37 percent,
according to a new
review. This is likely
because dancing
improves balance,
mobility, and lower-
body strength.

Reader’s Digest

mphillips007/getty images CHOOSE AN EXERCISE Overeating Is OK
APP THAT SUITS YOUR (Once in a While)
PERSONALITY
We all overindulge
If sticking with an exercise habit is a challenge for from time to time,
you, there may be an app for that. In a University of and it’s nothing to stress
Pennsylvania trial, smartphone games helped sub- over. For a study that
jects become more active. sounds more fun than
most, healthy young
Participants were randomly assigned to one of men ate as much pizza
three versions of a game that recorded how many as they could in one sit-
steps they took each week. The first version placed ting: 3,000 calories, on
them in direct competition with others. In the sec- average. Their blood
ond version, they worked as a group to gain points. sugar didn’t climb more
In the third, players earned points on their own but than it would after a
were asked to designate a friend or family mem- normal meal, and fat
ber to be their supporter. This person received an levels were only slightly
e-mail each week reporting on the player’s perfor- elevated. Frequent
mance in order to help cheer her or him on. overeating can lead to
obesity, diabetes and
On average, all three groups racked up more steps other issues, but the
than usual. That said, certain versions of the game odd indulgence likely
worked better for people with different personality won’t create major met-
traits. For instance, players who were more outgo- abolic consequences.
ing and more motivated to persevere with their goals
tended to accumulate more steps in the competitive Screen for Hep-C
mode. In contrast, introverts responded well to the
game whether it was competitive, collaborative, or Hepatitis C is a liver in-
supportive. A third type, made up of those prone to fection that often goes
taking risks with their health and safety (by not wear- undetected for years,
until serious complica-
ing a seat belt, for example), was tions, such as liver scar-
not helped by the game at all. ring, arise. The US Preven-
So though not all of us tive Services Task Force
benefit, exercise gami- recommends Hep-C
fication can work—and screening for ages 18 to
work especially well when 79, given that treatment
you keep your personality now exists to provide a
in mind as you choose from safe and quick cure.
among the many available apps.

readersdigest.in 39

Reader’s Digest

Humour in

UNIFORM

ellis nadler/cartoonstock.com During our introduc- mud-filled hole that put down the paper,
tion to Vietnam, the had been dug into the turned to my friend,
instructor warned us side of a berm and cov- and said, “Well, there
about the deadly sea ered with lumber for goes the light bulb.”
snakes in the South protection. Their one —James Valouch,
China Sea. “If one of extravagance: a bare from rd.com
those snakes bites light bulb they’d hung
you,” he said from the ‘ceiling’. Reader’s Digest will pay
ominously, for your funny anecdote
“you’ll take One guy was reading or photo in any of our hu-
three steps a newspaper article mour sections. Post it to the
and drop dead.” from back home about editorial address, or email
a congressional investi- us at [email protected]
A newly arrived gation into why some
GI raised his hand and troops were living in
asked hopefully, “What relative luxury. The guy
if we stand still?”
—Dick Crislip

When I lost my rifle,
the Army charged me
$85. That’s why in the
Navy, the captain goes
down with the ship.
Dick Gregory,
comedian

While serving in
Vietnam, my friend
and his buddies were
hunkered down in a

40 august 2021

2021

2021

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CONGRATULATIONS

TO OUR WINNERS

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Trusted Brand Special Supplement
INTRODUCTION

The Brands We Trust

Reader’s Digest launched Trusted The Reader’s Digest Trusted Brand
Brand in 1998, as a way to uncover award continues to serve as a buyer’s
India’s most trustworthy brands guide to the Indian consumer, allowing
with the help of its readers. Honouring them to make decisions regarding their
excellence and quality, the Reader’s product choice by enlisting only those
Digest Trusted Brand awards are now a brands that have kept and maintained
benchmark in the Indian marketplace. the trust and loyalty of a discerning
Our winners have built a longstanding public for several years.
relationship with consumers, allowing
them to stay relevant in a mercurial The following pages contain some of
market and obtain the seal of India’s most trusted and best-loved
customer approval. brands. Our winners have continued to
stay in step with changing consumer
For the past 23 years, consumers needs and have become wonderful
have picked their favourite brands success stories over the years. „
across segments and categories,
sharing with us the factors that
influence their purchases, including
value for money, consistent quality,
innovation and excellent customer
service. These years of research allow
us to confidently dissect the qualities
that top brands embody as well as
measure brand performance against
the yardstick of customer approval and
satisfaction. This is particularly useful
in India’s ever evolving market, where
the customer is spoilt for choice.

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METHODOLOGY

How We Conducted the Survey

For the last 23 years the annual reflect the population distribution of
Reader’s Digest Trusted Brand the respondents.
survey has showcased Asia’s most
trusted brands. 2021 marks the 16th The results of the 2021 Reader’s
edition of the survey in India. Digest Trusted Brand survey aims to
Conducted in collaboration with Ipsos, accurately reflect consumer
one of the world’s largest market preferences, and identify and award
research companies, the survey has brands that have earned the seal of
established itself as a premier consumer approval by maintaining
consumer-based, international brand excellence and the highest level
measure of brand preference. of quality and integrity. „

A representative sample of 3,750
people across 17 cities were surveyed
online. Respondents were asked to
name their most trusted brands across
44 categories. The participants were
then requested to select ‘Most Trusted
Brand’ out of the ones given and further
rate their choice of ‘Most Trusted
Brand’ on a predefined list of attributes
on a scale of 1 to 5. To ascertain the
Trusted Brand winners, the composite
scores for each brand were arrived
at through the collation of the stated
and derived scores. For statistical
accuracy, the data was weighted to

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ALL BRANDS LISTED HERE ARE IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER

AUTOMOBILES

C AT E G O R Y BRAND

FOUR WHEELERS HONDA
HYUNDAI
MAHINDRA
MARUTI SUZUKI
TATA MOTORS

BAJAJ

HERO

TWO WHEELERS HONDA
MAHINDRA

ROYAL ENFIELD

TYRES APOLLO TYRES
BRIDGESTONE

C E AT
JK TYRES
MRF TYRES

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2021

ALL BRANDS LISTED HERE ARE IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER

CONSUMER ELECTRONICS

C AT E G O R Y BRAND

AIR CONDITIONER BLUE STAR
LG

SAMSUNG
V O LTA S

WHIRLPOOL
GODREJ

LG

AIR PURIFIER PA N A S O N I C
PHILIPS

WHIRLPOOL

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ALL BRANDS LISTED HERE ARE IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER

CONSUMER ELECTRONICS

C AT E G O R Y BRAND

R E F R I G E R AT O R GODREJ
LG

PA N A S O N I C
SAMSUNG

WHIRLPOOL
BOSCH

KENT

VACUUM CLEANER LG
PA N A S O N I C

PHILIPS

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2021

ALL BRANDS LISTED HERE ARE IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER

FINANCIAL SERVICES

C AT E G O R Y BRAND

CREDIT CARDS AMERICAN EXPRESS
( I N T E R N AT I O N A L CITI BANK
HSBC
BANKS) S TA N D A R D

INSURANCE CHARTERED
(GENERAL) BAJAJ ALLIANZ
GENERAL INSURANCE
HDFC ERGO GENERAL

INSURANCE
ICICI LOMBARD

INSURANCE
SBI GENERAL
INSURANCE
TATA AIG GENERAL
INSURANCE
AMAZON PAY

BHIM

PAYMENT WALLETS GOOGLE PAY
PAY T M

PHONEPE

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