Reader Digest

Reader’s Digest

© KATHRYN CLARK/ANIMAL FRIENDS COMEDY PET PHOTO AWARDS, COURTESY OF COMEDYPETPHOTO.COM call it the ‘brella’. But then left, and over a results were staggering.
he hesitated. mountain to a thick ✦ I got over my addi-
—Andy Field, comedian forest and leaves the ction to chocolate,
cat there. Hours later marshmallows and
A man hates his wife’s he calls home: “Jen, nuts. I won’t lie, it was
cat, so he drives it to is the cat there?” a rocky road.
a park and leaves it. ✦ Become an elemen-
As the man arrives “Yes,” she says. tary school math
home, the cat is wal- “Put it on. I’m lost, teacher and make the
king up the driveway. and I need it to give me little things count.
The next day he drives directions home.”
the cat to the next Reader’s Digest will pay
town, boots it out, —catsareontop.com for your funny anecdote
and heads home. or photo in any of our
And there was the cat! Rim Shots humour sections. Post it
Finally, he drives ✦ Doctors got together to the editorial address, or
20 miles, turns right, to study the effects email: [email protected]
of alcohol on the way
a person walks, and the

MY PET REMINDS ME OF SOMEONE

My dog looks like he’s That third life is always Someone said my dog
about to share a really the toughest. looks like Will Ferrell and
bad political opinion.
I can’t unsee it now.

@ranimolla Kathryn Clark @homasthesquare

Animal Friends Comedy readersdigest.in 101
Pet Photo Awards

RD RECOMMENDS

Films

ENGLISH: In the 16 Actor Eddie Radmayne in a still from The Good Nurse
years that Charles
Cullen practised as a all-sacrificing Pallavi his NRI girlfriend.
nurse in American Patel who always puts The film also stars
hospitals, he killed her family first. Pallavi’s Gajraj Rao.
400-odd people. Even tenacity is put to the
as THE GOOD NURSE test when her son Tejas Ayushmann Khurra-
(premiering on Netflix returns home to say na’s filmography is un-
on 26 October) shows that he wants to marry usual and impressive.
how Cullen (Eddie Be it Vicky Donor or
Redmayne) poisoned Poster for Maja Ma Shubh Mangal Zyada
his victims by injecting starring Madhuri Dixit Saavdhan, the actor has
lethal drugs in their IV never been prudish
tubes, it also pays trib- about signing films that
ute to Amy Loughren promote sexual health
(Jessica Chastain), a fel- and sensitivity. Out in
low nurse who’d bravely cinemas on 14 October,
helped bring the ‘angel DOCTOR G now sees him
of death’ to justice. play Uday Gupta, a lone
male student in his col-
HINDI: Coming to lege’s gynaecology de-
Amazon Prime Video partment. The jokes,
on 6 October, MAJA MA one feels, would have
promises a kind of en- written themselves.
tertainment that critics
of a certain vintage still
describe as “whole-
some”. Madhuri Dixit
plays the ever-perfect,

102 october 2022

Reader’s Digest

GUJARATI: For all their blus- A still from India’s 2022 Oscar entry, Chhelo Show
ter and chest-thumping, In-
dian films have never really
made a mark at the Academy
Awards. After CHHELO SHOW
(LAST FILM SHOW) was cho-
sen as India’s 2022 Oscar
entry, director Pan Nalin felt
certain his film will better
our chances in LA. An ode
to single-screen theatres,
Chhelo Show (releasing in
cinemas on 14 October)
demonstrates how cinema
helps us come of age.

#WATCHLIST: based on his Del Toro’s cine-
0N OUR RADAR
life experi- matic signature
Shantaram Season 1:
ences, there often defies
If you are a bookish
millennial, chances still seemed categorization.
are you would have
cut your teeth reading something His films—
Gregory David Roberts’
Shantaram. Though fantastical Pan’s Laby-

Charlie Hunnam in about the au- rinth, Shape
Shantaram Season 1
thor’s telling. A still from of Water and
How often do Guillermo del others—share a

heroin addicts Toro’s Cabinet mix of folklore,
become doc- of Curiosities fantasy and fear.

tors in Bombay? When curating this

Apple TV+ feels anthology series, the

it has some answers. director was looking

Their adaptation of for eight stories that

this tome premieres could together rein-

on 14 October. vent horror. Tune

Guillermo del Toro’s in to Netflix on

Cabinet of Curiosities 25 October to see if

Season 1: Guillermo he has succeeded.

readersdigest.in 103

Reader’s Digest

Books

The Song of the Cell: An Exploration

of Medicine and the New Human by

Siddharth Mukherjee, Penguin Allen Lane

Alongside his duties as books—The Emperor Scope Out
associate professor of of All Maladies and
medicine at Columbia The Gene—was an in- Himalaya: Exploring
University, Siddharth terrogation of what it the Roof of the World
Mukherjee is also a means to be human.
practising on- (Bloomsbury): Seeing
cologist. He re- That same how vast the Himalayas
searches cancer question, we are, a full biography of
treatments and see, recurs in the area seems impos-
helps run four The Song of the
separate health- Cell, guiding sible. Historian John
care companies. Mukherjee’s Keay, however, bravely
Given his brim- writing and re- rises to that challenge.
ming to-do lists, search. Starting
his prolific writing with how cells were In Search of the Divine:
seems nothing short first discovered, the Living Histories of
of miraculous. Pulitzer-winning au- Sufism in India
thor explains how their
At the heart of his manipulation saw (Hachette): In this
previous bestselling humankind evolve. exploration of Sufism
and its roots, writer-
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE ...
scholar Rana Safvi
The Birth Lottery and Other Surprises writes about her many

by Shehan Karunatilaka (Hachette): visits to Sufi shrines
across the country.
Ten years after the release of China-
man, a book that guaranteed Shehan The Hunter of Lalbazar
Karunatilaka a place in South Asia’s
literary canon, the Sri Lankan author now finds (Speaking Tiger): As
himself on the Booker shortlist with The Seven Kolkata starts record-
Moons of Maali Almeida. Not one to buy into ing a record number
the accolade hoopla, Karunatilaka is also out of murders and extor-
with a collection of short stories this month. tion cases, it is Suhit
Here, he uses his wit and charm to make
everything—even the morbid—beautiful. Sen’s protagonist,
joint commissioner
Tanya Samanta, who

affords us hope.

104 october 2022

Culturescape

image courtesy dayanita singh STUDIO sketched, I took photo- notice in this photo that
graphs.” In Let’s See, a Singh had taken at her
Untitled photo–novel Singh re- niece’s birthday party—
(From Let’s See) leased in September, the retro trousers, the
she collects pictures innocent affection,
by Dayanita Singh she made between 1981 the effortless composi-
and 1993. “In those days, tion—but it’s finally the
4 x 6 inches (300 dpi) the idea of the pose was newspaper her brother-
hardly there.” Her sub- in-law reads that makes
IN HER twenties, jects—everyone from one chuckle. “Plague
Dayanita Singh carried friends to actors and under control, don’t
her Pentax ME Super classical musicians— panic, says WHO,” reads
wherever she went. laze and lounge. No the front-page headline.
“Though I loved to pho- one performs for Singh. “We have all forgotten
tograph,” she tells RD, The world is what it is. that plague,” says Singh,
“I didn’t think of myself “but then life is like
as a photographer.” Singh While there are many that, no? So full of con-
used photography to ex- themes that jostle for tradictions and strange
tend the conversations prominence in Let’s See, things co-existing. This
she enjoyed: “Writers Singh ensures the domi- is just one example.”
made notes, artists nant rasa remains one
of joy. There is much to — BY SHREEVATSA NEVATIA

readersdigest.in 105

Ranbir Kapoor and
Alia Bhatt in a still from
Brahmastra—Part 1

REVIEW of powerful ancient he has astra-power,
astras (weapons), tries so to speak, running
The Bigger to persuade young through his veins.
Picture Shiva (Ranbir Kapoor)
that his destiny lies On one hand, this
Ayan Mukherji’s with the group; that he is a familiar trope of the
Brahmastra: Part 1— must learn to accept classic superhero story:
Shiva looks brilliant and harness his powers. the ‘chosen one’ who
Shiva protests: I am just must be convinced that
but feels banal a regular guy who got he is special, that he
caught up in this com- has world-saving pow-
By Jai Arjun Singh plicated mess, he says, ers. But at another,
and all I want is to live non-diegetic level, it
Midway through the a normal life with my is possible—if you’re a
new fantasy–adventure girlfriend Isha (Alia movie buff with a wan-
Brahmastra: Part 1, Bhatt)—I am not a di- dering imagination—
Guruji (Amitabh vine being like the rest to read this scene thus:
Bachchan), the head of you. Eventually, Gu- Ranbir Kapoor, having
of a secret society that ruji tells him that his come from a powerful
maintains the stability parents were of the di- acting dynasty, has
vine order too, and that decided enough is
Shiva must inevitably enough, he doesn’t
carry on their legacy— want anything to do
with this profession

106 october 2022

Reader’s Digest

anymore; Amitabh actors like Kapoor the ultimate weapon
Bachchan, undisputed and Bhatt (who has Brahmastra for her own
lord of the realm, is had a spectacularly nefarious purposes.
tasked with bringing good year overall) are
him back into the fold stymied by the need to It is this cosmic
by evoking memories mouth lines that might situation that Shiva
of his parents, who have worked—only (and Isha) become
were also actors and just—in a first-year involved with when
proud of the work they college production. the former realizes
did in their time. After that he has a special
all, what is Bollywood As indicated above, relationship with fire
without its self-perpe- however, the visual (agni). This provides
tuating dynasties? splendour of Brahm- the pretext for a series
astra makes up for a lot. of spectacular confron-
Does that sound like As does its generous de- tations: in Bombay, in
a flippant interpreta- Kashi and finally in a
tion? Well, it’s simply a ployment of cameos by Himalayan ashram.
response to the fact that big stars, including Shah
Brahmastra’s script is— Rukh Khan (as a scien- Of course, even
to put it mildly—under- tist named Mohan Bhar- a plethora of great spe-
cooked. This is often a gav, a nod to the actor’s cial effects can turn into
terrific-looking film, a role in the celebrated overkill if you find the
definite step forward in Swades) and Nagarjuna. story confusing or pro-
the evolution of the big- Both of them play mem- tracted—or if you less
budget CGI superhero bers of the Brahmansh than enchanted by the
movie in India, and group that comes up chemistry between real-
there are plenty of good against Junoon (Mouni life partners Kapoor and
reasons to watch it—es- Roy), who wants to Bhatt. But Brahmastra
pecially if you watch it gather all the pieces of is a bold, ambitious epic
the way it was made to that looks set to become
be watched: on a big an even bolder fran-
screen, in 3D, and if chise, with future in-
possible, in an IMAX stallments dealing with
hall. But at the level of back-stories that are
dialogue—what these only hinted at here. If
people say to each they take the radical
other in both mundane step of hiring actual
and grand situations— writers for those up-
it is less than stirring. coming films, we will
Time and again, fine be in for something
truly special.

readersdigest.in 107

ME & MY SHELF

Avinuo Kire’s recently released
folk fantasy novel Where the
Cobbled Path Leads has been

described as “enchanting” and
“unputdownable”. Her previous two

short story collections received
similar acclaim. Living in Kohima,

Nagaland, the author also
teaches at a local college.

The Underground particularly its treatment of fairy tales, re-
Railroad main an enduring lesson in questioning
the usual traditional norms of patriarchy.
BY COLSON WHITEHEAD,
The Narrow Road to the
Fleet, `650 Deep North
A moving historical
novel on slavery in an- BY RICHARD FLANAGAN, Vintage, `399
tebellum south, this Flanagan tells a difficult story well—
book is a daringly imagined blend of one about human suffering, the horrors
history and creative imagination. of war, love that torments. His compas-
While the author envisions an actual sionate rendering also reveals startling
physical train in the novel, the same beauty in unexpected moments. I espe-
is also brilliantly emblematic of the cially adore how Flanagan tucks little
network of good, brave people—white bits of haiku within the prose narrative.
and black—who came together Ultimately, this book is a moving ode
against institutionalized slavery. to the resilience of the human spirit.

Sexing the Cherry A House for Mr. Biswas

BY JEANETTE WINTERSON, Vintage, `399 BY V.S. NAIPAUL, Picador, `650
This one has everything—a giantess Dog Almost every traditional Naga man’s
woman, dancing princesses who choose dream is to own a piece of land and better
their own happy ending, fluid time, space still, build a house on it. I grew up listening
and reality (time is compared to maps!). to male figures in my life talk of building
I read this book in college and its subver- houses and I never quite understood it.
sive take on conventional perceptions,

108 october 2022

Reader’s Digest

Then I read this darkly hilarious, poignant much—it was exactly what I needed.
novel. Mr Biswas’ quest to claim a space Goes to prove how it takes just the right
for himself in the world made me rethink book to reignite a spark.
the idea of a house and what it means.
Wuthering Heights
One Hundred Years of Solitude
BY EMILY BRONTE,
BY GABRIEL GARCIA MARQUEZ
Penguin, `199
Penguin India, `399 The restless romantic
“It was the butterflies. Meme saw in me keeps going back
them as if they had suddenly been to this classic: a tempes-
born out of the light and her heart tuous gothic romance
gave a turn.” This masterpiece was set in the Yorkshire moors of England.
my introduction to the world of Bronte’s only novel mesmerizes me with
magic realism. Yellow butterflies its sheer poetry, its unabashed portrayal
have never been the same since. of love as religion—transformative,
redeeming, transcending.
Beloved
Godaan BY PREMCHAND,
BY TONI MORRISON,
Indiana University Press, `1,750
Random House UK, `499 I read this in college and decided I never
A ghost story emerging wanted to read it again after I was done.
from fragments of memo- It was just too heartrending. This novel,
ries, this is a powerful, for me, is storytelling at its finest.
devastating commentary
on slavery. Morrison has stated that she Sky is My Father:
tried “to make the slave experience inti- A Naga Village
mate”. I remain struck by how profound Remembered
and humbling her book feels.
BY EASTERINE KIRE,
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
Speaking Tiger, `350
BY BETTY SMITH, Arrow, `599 Other than holding
A timeless coming-of-age novel filled the distinction of being
with heart and wisdom for both children the first novel written
and adults. Who can resist falling in love in English by a Naga, this book is an im-
with Francie Nolan, the book’s fierce portant addition to my bookshelf. It is
young protagonist, as she boldly tra- a beautiful and heartfelt reminder of
verses the rites of passage which come the possibilities contained within that
with adulthood? I remember revisiting old association between history and
this classic I loved in my younger days literature, particularly for traditionally
while in a reading rut. I enjoyed it as oral societies.

Book prices are subject to change. readersdigest.in 109

Reader’s Digest

BRAIN TEASERS

Save the Dates EMILY GOODMAN (SAVE THE DATES). MARCEL DANESI (ANALOGOUS).

medium Five of your friends (Liza,
Jigyasa, Madhuri, Neena and Sneha) are
all engaged. Each is getting married on
a Saturday in June. The problem? There
are only four Saturdays in June, so
you’re double-booked for one of them.
Based on the following clues, can
you determine which Saturday that
is, and which two brides-to-be set
the same date?

✦ Jigyasa will get married before
Neena but after Sneha.

✦ Madhuri is the only one getting
married on the second Saturday.

✦ Sneha and Jigyasa are both
bridesmaids in Liza wedding.

Analogous as is to
B C
easy

is to

A

110 october 2022

DARREN RIGBY (CIRCUIT BOARD). FRASER SIMPSON (SWEET MYSTERY). MARCEL DANESI (PYRAMID PLAY) ++ – – Circuit Board
+
difficult The plus and minus
–– 5 signs in the diagram represent
++ positive and negative terminals.
– 11 Connect each positive terminal
to a negative terminal by a wire
7 +–+ so no terminal is used twice, the
5– other squares all have wires in
them, and the squares with
numbers indicate the length of
the wire passing through that
square (not counting the
terminals). Note: you may not
connect adjacent terminals.

Pyramid Play

medium In total, how many
distinct triangles are in the
figure below? Note: Some of
the triangles are made up of
two or more smaller ones.

Sweet Mystery

medium Jasmine created nine numbered
bags, each containing a different quantity
of individually wrapped candies (none
of the bags is empty). The average number
of candies in bags one through eight is 10,
and the average number of candies in all
nine bags is 11.

1. How many candies are in the ninth bag?
2. What is the maximum number of candies
that could be in the first bag?

For answers, turn to page 112. readersdigest.in 111

Reader’s Digest

BRAIN TEASERS SUDOKU
ANSWERS

From pages 110 and 111 8 By Jeff Widderich 5
9
Save the Dates 19
75 8
Liza and Neena are both
getting married on the 4
last Saturday in June.

Analogous

A. The second figure 92 76
consists of the first 8
one overlaid with two
copies of it. 46 13
96
Circuit Board
3 92
++ – – 3 71 6
+
To Solve This Puzzle
–– 5
++
– 11

7 +–+
5–

Sweet Mystery Put a number from 1 to 9 in 824197653
each empty square so that: 967538421
1. 19 Candies ✦ every horizontal row and 315264897
2. 52 Candies vertical column contains all 183925764
nine numbers (1-9) without 759486132
Pyramid Play repeating any of them; 246713589
491652378
9 ✦ each of the outlined 3 x 3 678349215
boxes has all nine numbers, 532871946
none repeated.

112 october 2022

Reader’s Digest

WORD POWER 9. edelweiss n.
('ay-del-vyss)
Raise a glass for Oktoberfest—Munich’s a white blossom
famous beer festival is back on the calendar b high mountain
this fall after a two-year pandemic hiatus. c folk song

To celebrate, we have some fresh words 10. gesundheit inj.
on tap that came to English from German. (guh-'zunt-hyt)
Pour yourself a cold one, take the quiz, then a attention
hop over to the next page for the answers. b bless you
c good evening
BY Sarah Chassé
11. hinterland n.
1. angst n. 5. wunderkind n. ('hin-ter-land)
(ahnkst) ('vuhn-der-kint) a dreamworld
a iron cross a short-legged dog b motherland
b pork dumpling b almond candy c backcountry
c anxiety c gifted child
12. schadenfreude n.
2. zeitgeist n. 6. nosh v. ('shah-dun-froy-duh)
('zyt-gyst) (nahsh) a glee at another’s pain
a gas-powered airship a snack b accordion music
b mood of an era b flail c citrus-flavoured beer
c armed robbery c squeeze
13. plunder v.
3. verboten adj. 7. bildungsroman n. ('pluhn-der)
(ver-'boh-ten) ('bil-dunks-roh-mahn) a bury
a forbidden a coming-of-age tale b loot
b word-for-word b ladies’ man c mess up
c animated c team of oxen
14. autobahn n.
('ah-toh-bahn)
a vending machine
b black swan
c expressway

4. carabiner n. 8. kaput adj. 15. poltergeist n.
(kayr-uh-'bee-ner) (kuh-'put) ('pol-ter-gyst)
a angular font a tipsy a chicken stew
b metal safety clip b finished b mischievous ghost
c police sergeant c explosive c strict ruler

readersdigest.in 113

Reader’s Digest

Feasting at the Fest

Need something to nibble on while you drink your Oktoberfest
beers? Start with a pretzel, from the German brezel, which itself
descended from the Latin brachiatus (‘having branches like arms’).
Then grab a frankfurter (also called würstchen, or ‘little sausage’ in
German), a namesake of the city of Frankfurt. And for dessert, indulge in some
strudel, the fruit-filled, rolled-up pastry named for the German for ‘whirlpool’.

Word Power 6. nosh (a) snack apartment and moved BRIAN HAGIWARA/GETTY IMAGES
Stop noshing on those to the hinterland.
ANSWERS potato chips; you’ll
spoil your dinner! 12. schadenfreude
1. angst (c) anxiety (a) glee at another’s pain
Are you feeling any 7. bildungsroman Uma could barely contain
angst about turning (a) coming-of-age tale her schadenfreude
fifty this year? Mateo’s screenplay is when her cheating ex’s
a bildungsroman business failed.
2. zeitgeist loosely based on his
(b) mood of an era own childhood. 13. plunder (b) loot
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s After the king fled,
novels captured the 8. kaput (b) finished the royal palace was
zeitgeist of the I’m ordering a new laptop plundered by rebels.
roaring twenties. today—the battery in
my old one is kaput. 14. autobahn
3. verboten (a) (c) expressway
forbidden 9. edelweiss Purva cruised down the
Video recording is (a) white blossom autobahn in her convert-
strictly verboten A flower native to moun- ible, the wind in her hair.
during the concert. tain regions, the edelweiss
was immortalized in The 15. poltergeist
4. carabiner Sound of Music. (b) mischievous ghost
(b) metal safety clip A poltergeist is rumoured
Carabiners are com- 10. gesundheit to haunt the hotel; guests
monly used in rock (b) bless you report flickering lights
climbing to connect Is it odd that I always and floating objects.
ropes to other gear. say “Gesundheit!”
after my dog sneezes? Vocabulary Ratings
5. wunderkind
(c) gifted child 11. hinterland 9 & below: green with envy
By age 12, the tennis (c) backcountry 10–12: true-blue
wunderkind was beating The couple sold their city 13–15: gold standard
players twice his age.

114 october 2022

INDIA TODAY ARCHIVES; ALAMY (2) Reader’s Digest

QUOTABLE QUOTES

There is no crime in anyone’s blood, any more than
there is goodness in the blood of others.

Khushwant Singh, writer

The truth is that there is no terror
untempered by some great moral idea.

Jean-Luc Godard, filmmaker

Make no mistake: you need strong arms,
not smooth arms, on a sports field.

Sana Mir, former captain of the Pakistan national women’s cricket team

Non-violence is not a passive idea.
It is ethical activism at its political best.

Ela Bhatt, lawyer and activist

Khushwant Singh Jean-Luc Godard Sana Mir Ela Bhatt

readersdigest.in 115

Reader’s Digest

A Trusted Friend in a Complicated World

Don’t Touch That, It’s Poisonous by Ellice Weaver, exclusively for Reader’s Digest

116 october 2022