Readers Digest

Reader’s Digest

My stepfather doesn’t like it when I call I just found out that

him my fake dad. He prefers faux pa. I’m colour-blind.

—Glenn Moore, comedian This came right
out of the purple.

just received this letter Ê René Descartes —Scarymommy.com

from my mother say- walks into a bar.

ing she isn’t accepting “You want a beer?”

our invitation to come the bartender asks. Reader’s Digest will pay
and stay with us, as we “I think not,” says for your funny anecdote
don’t appear to want or photo in any of our
her. What does she Descartes, and then humour sections. Post it
mean? I told you to he disappears. to the editorial address, or
email: [email protected]
—Gamertelligence.com

write and say that

she was to come at

her own convenience. PAPER PUSHER
You did write to tell
Many goods sold on etsy.com are masterpieces of

her this, didn’t you?” craftsmanship. A user named MrImprov, however,

“Yes,” says the hus- sells ‘Terrible Origami’. Here are a few of his creations.

band. “But I couldn’t

spell ‘convenience’,

so I made it ‘risk’.”

—Herway.net

courtesy terrible origami Another Round of ‘Guy Ghost Horse
$91 (`6,753) $100 (`7,420)
Walks into a Bar’ Jokes
Ê Charles Dickens Snowplow Fist
walks into a bar and $98 (`7,273) $88 (`6,530) [SOLD]
orders a martini.

The bartender asks,
“Olive or twist?”
—perezgc on reddit.com
Ê An SEO expert
walks into a bar, bars,
pub, tavern, public
house, Irish pub,
drinks, beer, alcohol
—rd.com

readersdigest.co.in 101

RD RECOMMENDS

Films

ENGLISH: Based on a The cast of The Last Letter From Your Lover
JoJo Moyes novel, THE
LAST LETTER FROM impulses that she can HINDI: Threatening to
YOUR LOVER (Netflix) is only control with the blow up a school, a sui-
about a journalist Ellie help of a special elec- cide bomber demands
Haworth (Felicity Jones) trode device. Love be- that a much-glorified
who knows a good story comes hard to find, but cop commit a set of hei-
when she sees one. when she finally does, nous crimes. Racing
Having discovered a her partner is murdered. against time, to com-
stash of secret love Also starring Susan plete this hellish sca-
letters from 1965, she Sarandon, the film sees venger hunt, the officer
starts to uncover secrets Lindy exact her revenge. is forced to confront his
that Jennifer Stirling own past, while seeing
(Shailene Woodley), the his idyllic hometown
wife of a wealthy indus- descend into chaos.
trialist, shared with Starring Jimmy Sheirgill
Anthony O’Hare (Cal- and Sparsh Shrivastav,
lum Turner). The film COLLAR BOMB pre-
streams from 23 July. mieres on Disney+
Hotstar on 9 July.
In JOLT (on Amazon
Prime Video from Film poster for Collar Bomb MALAYALAM: Fahadh
23 July) Lindy (Kate Faasil plays Sulaiman
Beckinsale) tries hard Malik, a man who fights
to hide her pain with
sardonic humour. Her
neurological disorder
forces her to suffer
rage-filled, murderous

102 july 2021

political and police Reader’s Digest
corruption to save his
coastal village. Follow- Fahadh Faasil in a still from Malik
ing him from the age of
20 to 57, MALIK (releas-
ing on Amazon Prime
Video on 15 July) does
tell us Sulaiman’s story,
but more importantly,
it tells us the story of a
village in Kerala where
minority communities
constantly face the
threat of displacement.

#WATCHLIST: life that leaves her
0N OUR RADAR spoiled for choice.

Should she go for

Never Have I Ever Sea- Paxton, her dreamy

son 2: As the second long-term crush, or

season of this Mindy should she instead

Kaling show comes to choose Ben, her former HeidiKlumandTimGunn
Netflix on 15 July, we rival who stood by her

see that Devi (Maitreyi in the toughest of Tim Gunn. The show

Ramakrishnan) has an times? Will she make brings together 10

altogether enviable love her mind up in time? talented entrepre-

neurs and designers

Making the Cut Season 2: from around the

Coming to Amazon world to compete for

Prime Video on 16 June the biggest of prizes:

is a fashion reality show a chance to take their

that is made compelling brands to the next

by the star power of its level and become a

hosts—Heidi Klum and global phenomenon.

A still from Never Have I Ever 2

readersdigest.in 103

Reader’s Digest

Books

Asoca: A Sutra by Irwin Allen Sealy,
Penguin Viking

Our history textbooks tion, sadly, is not Scope Out
give us a broad outline knowledge enough.
of Ashoka’s life. We A Passage North
know, for instance, that With Asoca, Irwin
the emperor once ruled Allen Sealy fills a gap. (Hamish Hamilton): In
much of the Indian Separating man from Anuk Arudpragasam’s
subcontinent. king, this historical novel, the traumas of
We also know Sri Lanka’s 30-year-long
that he was novel tells us civil war come alive as
overcome by about both his the protagonist makes
great grief after demons and sense of devastation,
having master- his dreams. absence and longing.
minded the The scope, we
bloody and are told, is epic The Tatas, Freddi
brutal Kalinga and the drama Mercury & Other Bawas:
War. His em- Shakespearean. An Intimate History of
brace of Buddhism and Coming from
his vow of ahimsa are, one of India’s the Parsis (Westland
of course, the stuff of greatest living writers,
legend. This informa- the book tells us a story Non-Fiction): Delving
that history often only deep into the history of
glosses over. her community, Coomi

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE ... It Has No Name Kapoor asks, “What
by Payal Dhar (Red Panda): Sami has does it mean to
gotten used to people asking her if she is be Parsi?”
a boy or a girl, but much to her surprise,
her new classmates in the town of Khwabnama (Hamish
Chandnisarai are somewhat indifferent
to her buzzcut. The cricket club is where Sami Hamilton): Written by
spends her days and friendships—both online and Akhtaruzzaman Elias
offline—are where she finds refuge. Old secrets and
forgotten memories, however, interrupt this idyll, and translated by
leaving Sami with difficult choices. This, in many Arunava Sinha, this
ways, in the definitive gay coming-of-age novel. magic-realist novel
sees peasants demand

two-thirds of the
harvest they have

produced.

104 july 2021

Music

TUNE IN

Song: ‘Mohabbat’
Artist: Arooj Aftab
Album: Vulture Prince

Originally written by Hafiz Hoshiar- Singer Arooj Aftab
puri, the ghazal ‘Mohabbat Karne
Wale’ is familiar not just because its and harp—all add melancholy to a
lyrics are hard to forget but also be- song that is already plaintive. Aftab’s
cause it is sung often. Mehdi Hassan, voice itself is both mournful and cap-
Farida Khanum and Iqbal Bano all tivating. You have to keep returning
included it in their repertoire. Arooj to it in order to savour its sorrow.
Aftab, however, insists that her version In 2018, Aftab, a Pakistan-born,
must not be thought of as a cover. “It’s New York-based musician lost her
very difficult to do this, it has taken a brother in an accident. She brings
lot of time and energy as a musician. to ‘Mohabbat’ the pain of that loss,
I am taking something that is really only to make it beautiful.
old and pulling it into the now,” she
recently said to an interviewer.

The instruments Aftab uses in
‘Mohabbat’—the guitar, percussions

LISTEN emotion in her narra- recount ancient sto-
tion, but most often ries and find in them
AUDIO- the actress leaves room for feminists
BOOK: you in stitches. and queer activists.

Nora PODCAST: A twice-
Ephron’s weekly podcast about
1983 Roman and Greek
novel, myths, LET’S TALK
HEARTBURN, has it
all—heartbreak, ag- ABOUT MYTHS, BABY,
ony, comedy. Meryl
Streep teases out each sees host Liv Albert

—COMPILED BY SHREEVATSA NEVATIA

readersdigest.in 105

Reader’s Digest

REVIEW

Into the
Wild

In Amit Masurkar’s
Sherni, men are the

real beasts

By Shreevatsa Nevatia

With Sherni (streaming Vidya Balan in Sherni conforms to a formula.
on Amazon Prime The performances, es-
Video), director Amit Madhya Pradesh as a pecially, are all more
Masurkar ticks some of Divisional Forest Offi- authentic than typical.
the boxes he did with cer, Vincent quickly Vijay Raaz plays zoo-
his 2017 film Newton. finds her hands full. logy professor Hassan
An upright govern- A tigress is terrorising Noorani with a disarm-
ment employee again the area, killing a vil- ing earnestness. Saxena
fights that impossible lager every few days. and Balan are both
fight—one against sys- Narratives of wildlife convincing, but it is
temic apathy and cor- conservation and hu- Brijendra Kala, portray-
ruption. Much like man–animal conflict ing Bansilal Bansal—
Newton, Sherni doesn’t seamlessly blend into Vincent’s morally
manipulate you into the film’s story as dubious boss—who
rooting for its protago- Vincent starts trying to proves to be truly
nist. You want Vidya protect T-12, the ti- memorable.
Vincent (Vidya Balan) gress everyone around
to win, not because wants her to catch. Her All the actors take
she is good or noble, empathy for the ani- ordinary situations and
but because Masurkar mal is juxtaposed with make them cinematic.
deftly shows how her the cruelty of Ranjan Masurkar barely shows
work environment is Rajhans (Sharat Sax- us the real tigress. He
riddled with injustice. ena), a hunter desper- doesn’t need to. Vidya
ate for his next trophy. Vincent is enough.
Having been
recently posted in Nothing in Sherni

106 july 2021

Culturescape

STUDIO

Wave only artwork that has contribute their white
its own emoji,” she and blue trash, Nayar
By Parvathi Nayar says. With Wave, her soon found herself
trash-art installation, wading through bottles
Trash, metal fixtures, Nayar didn’t just want of Harpic, detergents,
PVC, sand and paint, to pay homage to that shampoo and deodor-
great piece of Asian ant sprays. The instal-
2018 art, she also wanted to lation, she says, soon
make literal a line she became “a statement
114 in x 192 in X 32 in sometimes heard in about how much we
Chennai: “drowning consume, and waste
ARTIST PARVATHI in a wave of trash”. The at home”. Even more
scale of Wave is stag- striking is the obvious
NAYAR points out gering, yes, but it also message of this work:
that the 19th-century gives value to that Our oceans and rivers
woodblock print which is worthless. will soon only have our
The Great Wave off plastic to throw up.
Kanagawa is now Having asked the
so iconic that it has people of Chennai to — BY SHREEVATSA NEVATIA
come to enjoy a rare
distinction. “It’s the readersdigest.in 107

ME & MY SHELF

Born in Trinidad, West Indies,
Peggy Mohan has taught

linguistics at Jawaharlal Nehru
University and Jamia Milia Islamia.
Author of three novels, her most

recent book, Wanderers, Kings,
Merchants, tells the story of India

through its languages.

The Tangled Tree: through the corridors of his hospital— photo: from the author
A Radical New the same kind of treatment that I also
History of Life loved in Quammen’s style.

BY DAVID QUAMMEN, The God of Small Things

William Collins, `599 BYARUNDHATI ROY, Penguin India, `450
David Quammen’s most Arundhati Roy’s The God of Small Things
recent book discusses the conjured a landscape and a childhood
role of viruses and bacteria in the evolu- familiar to me from the Caribbean. I par-
tion of more complex life forms. It was a ticularly admire her courage in taking on
wonderful lesson in how to delve into tough issues with firmness and grace.
complex scientific topics while keeping
the reader glued to the narrative. What The Kingdom of This World
he does when he discusses animal spe-
cies and the natural environment is what BY ALEJO CARPENTIER, Farrar, Straus
I hope to do when I talk of language. and Giroux, `21,444
Alejo Carpentier, a Cuban writer,
The Emperor of All Maladies: captured the surrealism of the Afro-
A Biography of Cancer Caribbean world long before García
Marquez. This novel is written as three
BY SIDDHARTHA MUKHERJEE, vignettes of the time before, during and
after the Haitian Revolution, and it has
Fourth Estate, `599 run through my mind as something
Siddhartha Mukherjee’s first book precious for years after I read it.
is a brilliant blend of new and exciting
scientific information nested in a walk

108 july 2021

Reader’s Digest

The Poetry of Derek Walcott Black Trinidadians without actually say-
1948–2013 BY DEREK WALCOTT, ing that this is who his characters were!

Farrar, Straus and Giroux, `2,650 The Three-Body
I would read The Schooner Flight— Problem BY CIXIN LIU,
a long poem by Derek Walcott, who
I once called the heart and soul of the Head of Zeus, `599
West Indies—aloud to my daughter just There is something
to hear how it made our Creole sound. It intriguing in how this
was like a journey home. As he recited it Chinese science-fiction
at his party for winning the Nobel Prize, writer projects China as
she sat and recited it along with him! the epicentre of this planet—something
only the West dared to do before—and
Borderliners all the confidence in his writing that
makes the world feel like a larger, or
BY PETER HØEG, Picador, `1,679 at least different, place.
This book by Danish writer Peter Høeg
read like an intense autobiography of a No Longer at Ease
boy who grew up in an orphanage and
then went to a chillingly cold school that BYCHINUA ACHEBE, Penguin UK, `360
wished to experiment by including Achebe is the one writer who, years ago,
children who were ‘borderliners.’ voiced his criticism of how Third-World
writers were compelled to project their
Anansi Boys homelands and people in shades of
mockery, which writers in the West are
BYNEIL GAIMAN, Headline Review, `699 not made to do. I met him by accident
As I read this book, I kept thinking that on a 52-hour train ride to Mysore in 1981,
there was something crazily familiar where this book was my travelling com-
about the language of the dialogue. Then panion. I still remember the surprise and
I recognized my own Caribbean dialect. delight in his eyes as he signed my copy.
He had written a whole novel full of

Wide Sargasso Sea BY JEAN RHYS, Penguin UK, `350

This book won Rhys—who was born in Dominica, West Indies,
but lived all her adult life in England—her first literary award at
the age of 70. The colour and intensity of this novel, and Rhys’
own compelling personality, captures the childhoods of so many
Caribbean women, particularly those of us who ended up living
our lives far away. The way she wrote, in the mid-20th-century, is
timeless: everything could have been written yesterday.

Book prices are subject to change.

readersdigest.in 109

BRAINTEASERS

Pic-a-Pix: Penny 32 232 (PIC-A-PIX: PENNY) DIANE BAHER. MORE DETAILED INSTRUCTIONS AVAILABLE AT LEARNPICAPIX.COM; (NO MORE SCISSORS) DARREN RIGBY
Moderately Difficult
Reveal a hidden picture 4 6 3 2 10 10 2 3 2 0
by shading in groups of
horizontally or vertically 2
adjacent cells. The
numbers represent how 6
many cells are in each of
the corresponding row or 8
column’s groups. (For
example, a ‘3’ next to a 322
row represents three
horizontally adjacent 22
shaded cells in that row.)
There must be at least one 22
empty cell between each
group. The numbers read 322
in the same horizontal or
vertical order as the groups 8
they represent. There’s
only one possible picture; 6
can you shade it in?
2

No More Scissors Maruf will ensure
Moderately difficult Maruf that the new game
decides to create a variant of the is balanced, mean-
game rock, paper, scissors. It will ing that each ele-
feature five elements. So far, she ment wins against
has decided that: as many other ele-
Ê Water puts out fire ments as it loses to.
Ê Fire melts metal Under this system,
Ê Water rusts metal between earth and
Ê Air blows away earth fire, who wins?

110 july 2021

reader’s digest

Eighty-Six the Toast Unlike the waiter, the cook doesn’t need to know
Difficult A diner offers which customer gets what: he only needs to
three options for know how many of each breakfast plate to make (for
breakfast: example, three plates of bacon and eggs and one
Ê bacon and eggs plate of pancakes). Considering this, and assuming
Ê pancakes that each student asks for only one breakfast plate,
Ê sausage and hash how many different possible orders are there that the
browns cook could receive?
If four college students
come in, the waiter could
get any of 81 different
orders, since each per-
son could ask for any
one of the three things,
and 34 = 81.

Treasures 21211221

Easy Can you locate 12 2
hidden treasures in the

(EIGHTY-SIX THE TOAST) DARREN RIGBY; (TREASURES) FRASER SIMPSON empty cells of this grid? 3
The numbers outside

indicate how many 2
treasures are in each row

or column. Each arrow

points directly toward one 2

or more of the treasures

and does not share a cell 0

with one. An arrow may

be immediately next to a 2

treasure it points to, or it

may be further away. 0

Not every treasure will

necessarily have an arrow 1

pointing to it.

For answers, turn to page 112.

readersdigest.in 111

BRAINTEASERS SUDOKU
ANSWERS

FROM PAGES 110 & 111 BY Jeff Widderich

Pic-a-Pix: Penny 95 78
9
32 232 876
4 6 3 2 1010 2 3 2 0 51
2 3 73
6 62
8 8
322 14
22 7 823
22
322 87 26
8
6 To Solve This Puzzle SOLUTION
2
Put a number from 1 to 9 in 496521378
No More Scissors each empty square so that: 153879426
Earth does. 287634519
Ê every horizontal row and 925187643
Eighty-Six the Toast vertical column contains all 731456982
15. nine numbers (1-9) without 648293751
repeating any of them; 514968237
Treasures 362715894
879342165
21211221
2
3
2
2
0
2
0
1

Ê each of the outlined 3 x 3
boxes has all nine numbers,
none repeated.

112 july 2021

WORD POWER Brain Games

For July, we’ve rounded up some four-letter 9. deft adj.
words for your puzzling pleasure. No, not (deft)
those words—literally, words that have only a deceitful.
four letters! We swear you can use all of b masterful.
these in polite company, but can you guess c peaceful.
the correct definitions? Keep it clean and
10. lynx n.
turn to the next page for answers. (links)
a wildcat.
By Sarah Chassé b golf course.
c web language.
1. coif n. 5. rapt adj.
(kwahf) (rapt) 11. oust v.
a snub. a suddenly loud. (owst)
b hairdo. b deeply absorbed. a hurry along.
c sea snail. c swaying slowly. b fight on horseback.
c force out.
2. awry adv. 6. coda n.
(uh-’ry) (‘koh-duh) 12. iota n.
a off course. a final passage. (eye-’oh-tuh)
b absentee. b ancient scroll. a secret society.
c ironically. c poisonous snake. b tiny amount.
c dead battery.
3. bilk v. 7. laud v.
(bilk) (lahd) 13. vile adj.
a avoid. a tax. (‘vy-uhl)
b duplicate. b praise. a contained.
c cheat. c roam. b foul.
c charming.
4. udon n. 8. ecru adj.
(‘oo-dahn) (‘eh-kroo) 14. espy v.
a mob boss. a violet. (eh-’spy)
b violent uprising. b teal. a catch sight of.
c Japanese noodles. c beige. b sneak around.
c accuse.

15. brig n.
(brig)
a major general.
b temporary jail.
c rifle barrel.

readersdigest.in 113

Reader’s Digest

Swearing, Symbolically

Getting back to those not-fit-to-print four-letter words: You’ve
likely seen a string of keyboard characters standing in for in-
appropriate language (e.g., %@$&*!), but you might not know
the word for it: grawlix. Cartoonist Mort Walker is credited with
coining the term, though comic strips were using symbols or
squiggles for swear words as early as 1902, long before Sarge
was hurling obscenities at the hapless Beetle Bailey.

Word Power 6. coda (a) final 11. oust (c) force out. After getty images (2), maria amador (grawlix)
passage. “What a fit- the fundraising scandal,
ANSWERS ting coda to a terrible Rachita was ousted from
day—my tire is flat!” the PTA.
1. coif (b) hairdo. Even Sam grumbled.
on a windy day, Ravi’s 12. iota (b) tiny amount. “Al-
slicked-back coif doesn’t 7. laud (b) praise. gebra has never made one
budge an inch. Students and col- iota of sense to me,” Jeff
leagues alike lauded said with a shrug.
2. awry (a) off course. Our Mr. Barua at his retire-
plans for a large wedding ment party. 13. vile (b) foul. That vile
went awry because of the odour can mean only one
pandemic, so we had a pri- 8. ecru (c) beige. thing—Grandma burned
vate ceremony instead. “Should I paint my the cabbage soup again.
kitchen ecru or a
3. bilk (c) cheat. The hedge bright green?” 14. espy (a) catch sight of. If
fund attempted to bilk Niharika asked. you’re sitting on the right
investors out of millions side of the plane, you can
of dollars. 9. deft (b) masterful. espy the Statue of Liberty
Known for her three- just after takeoff.
4. udon (c) Japanese point shooting and
noodles. Hiro’s restaurant deft handling of the 15. brig (b) temporary jail.
serves udon in a savory basketball, Khushboo The captain handcuffed the
broth, topped with was named rookie of stowaway and escorted her
steamed vegetables. the year. to the brig.

5. rapt (b) deeply absorbed. 10. lynx (a) wildcat. Vocabulary Ratings
The rapt audience was mes- The lynx stalked its
merized by the violin solo. prey, ready to pounce. 9 & below: good
10–12: gold
114 july 2021 13–15: god

Brain Games

QUIZ 11. The proposed Jane
Goodall Act seeks to ban
BY Beth Shillibeer all imports of what animal
product into Canada?
1. Prince William’s 6. Which Star Trek
Earthshot Prize prom- actor stormed the 12. According to legend,
ises one million pounds beach at Normandy Pharaoh Pepi II had ser-
for solutions to what during World War II as vants cover themselves in
kind of global problem? part of the infantry? what substance in order to
lure flies away from him?
2. Tunnels, road 7. What British screen
closures and human- legend reads bedtime 13. At 4,528 metres,
assisted crossings aid stories on her new Mount Kirkpatrick is the
the migration of what podcast for families? highest peak of which
animals in Europe mountain chain?
and Canada? 8. Velocipede, penny
farthing, gravel, randon- 14. Rubik’s Cubes, magic
3. What was distinctive neur and folding are all squares and logic puzzles
about baseball pitcher types of what? are examples of what
Jackie Mitchell, who branch of mathematics?
struck out Babe Ruth 9. Which centenarian was
and Lou Gehrig during featured on the cover of 15. In efforts to create
a 1931 exhibition game? Guinness World Records bespoke products, some
2021 after breaking two beauty companies are col-
4. What fiction genre records in 2020 and pass- lecting DNA from clients
addresses the effects of ing away earlier this year? to map the microbiome
climate change? of what organ?
10. Astronauts have
5. What European compared what attribute
country plans to house of outer space to hot
all of its residents metal, seared steak
by 2027? and raspberries?

ISTOCK.COM/D3DAMON Answers: 1. Environmental issues. 2. Toads and frogs. 3. She was a 17-year-old girl. 4. Cli-fi.
5. Finland. 6. James Doohan (Scotty). 7. Julie Andrews. 8. Bicycle. 9. Captain Tom Moore. 10. Its
smell. 11. Elephant ivory and trophies. 12. Honey. 13. Transantarctic Mountains, Antarctica.
14. Recreational maths. 15. The skin.

readersdigest.in 115

Reader’s Digest ALAMY (2); SHUTTERSTOCK

QUOTABLE QUOTES

In a room where people unanimously maintain a conspiracy of
silence, one word of truth sounds like a pistol shot.

Czeslaw Milosz, poet

Caring is all we have, I think. Cynicism is
just a soft form of denial.

Jenny Offill, writer

What empty creatures we are! Our experiences and thoughts gain
relevance only if endorsed by others; our lives lived only in the
thoughts and memories of a handful of people who would also
be dead and gone in a short period of time.

S. Hareesh, author

The world may be mean, but people don’t
have to be, not if they refuse.

Colson Whitehead, novelist

Czeslaw Milosz Jenny Offill S. Hareesh Colson Whitehead

116 july 2021