Readers Digest

Jatinder Singh Shunty
began cremating COVID

victims in March 2020.

48 june 2021

Cover Story

photograph by bandeep singh months, the 31-year-old feels his work get their loved ones cremated.” In 2020,
has doubled. “Earlier, we used to only YWT would receive 25 to 30 calls in a
take bodies from hospitals. Now we are week. After 15 March this year, they
also getting calls from people’s homes. were fielding 25 to 30 calls every day.
All the villages here know about HFF. “After the second wave hit, there was
They rely on us.” a day when we got 120 calls,” informs
Zafar. “In all of 2020, we conducted
Wanting to protect his family, Bilal the last rites of 900 people. This year,
has been living in a boarding house we have already touched 1,000. What’s
for over a year. He sometimes sees worrying is that it’s only May.”
his wife and children from a distance.
“I don’t mind hardship as nothing Speaking on the phone from Delhi,
matches the contentment I feel. If I Jatinder Singh Shunty shares simi-
die for this cause, I’ll consider myself lar figures. Of the 3,500-odd bodies
a martyr.” Thankfully, Bilal says, he his Shaheed Bhagat Singh Sewa Dal
has tested negative for COVID all (SBSSD) has cremated since 23 March
of 29 times. He then discloses a 2020, around 2,200 were bodies they
figure he holds close to his heart. cremated between 1 April and 16 May
“We’ve buried only 150 Muslims. The this year alone. As Shunty saw the sec-
others all belonged to different faiths. ond wave peak, he decided to sleep in
We stay true to our name. We put his car: “I would spend all day packing
humanity first.” bodies, sanitizing them, lighting pyres.
In the event I’d picked up the infection,
Much like Bilal, Syed Jalaluddin I didn’t want to give it to my family.”
Zafar has helped give 1,900 COVID pa- Shunty remembers his phone ringing
tients a respectful farewell. What irks through the night. “I’d get calls from
Zafar, a Hyderabad-based publisher, NRIs, wanting me to arrange funer-
is the lack of official help. Despite hav- als for their loved ones. I’d sometimes
ing worked since 2020, his organiza- show them the last rites on a video
tion, Youth Welfare Telangana (YWT), call,” says the Padma Shri recipient.
is yet to receive any government sup-
port. “We have faced problems on Not one to give in to despair, Shunty
all fronts,” he says. “The government prefers silver linings. “I started SBSSD
didn’t give us vehicles. Hospitals would with one old car I’d bought in 1995.
first not give us the bodies. Graveyards Today, we have a fleet of 25 vehicles
wouldn’t allow COVID patients to be that have all been donated to us.
buried, and the rates charged by cre- Someone gives diesel, another petrol.
matoriums continues to be exorbitant.” People in India all have a big heart.
In some cases, adds Zafar, a single cre- Why worry?”
mation can cost as much as `20,000.
“We use donations to help poor people — REPORTING BY SHREEVATSA NEVATIA, ISHANI NANDI,
NAOREM ANUJA AND BHAVYA DORE

readersdigest.in 49

“Scotch and toilet water?”

LIFE’S he asked the shop announced, “I love leo cullum/cartooncollections.com
owner, “do you have living on a planet
Like That today’s newspaper?” with wind!”
—Bill Spencer
On a trip to a rural Irish “Yes, I do,” answered
village, a friend of the man. “It’ll be here After our Siamese kitten
mine stopped off at tomorrow.” ran up our expensive
the only shop in town —H.H. via rd.com curtains, snagging them,
to buy a newspaper. my wife took him to the
However, all it had My wife often surprises veterinarian to have
was the previous day’s me with her unusual him neutered, hoping it
edition. “Excuse me,” perspective on life, would calm him down.
but never more so
than when she walked A few weeks later, my
outside one breezy sister-in-law brought her
afternoon, threw new boyfriend over to
open her arms, and meet us. Before entering

50 june 2021

Reader’s Digest

A friend is someone you can text “Do I look sister asked, “Whatever
good in yellow?” and three dots appear and happened to the
disappear twice before you get back “No.” element of surprise?”
—James Metz
— @bessbell
My daughter turned five
the house, she offered doesn’t taste good. today. She’s currently
him this bit of advice: — @BraveTart having a meltdown be-
cause, according to her,
“Whatever you I was visiting my sister she “still looks four.”
do, don’t touch in Tennessee when we — @AOTAKEO
the curtains.” noticed a sign placed
—James Bell by Civil War re-enac- Reader’s Digest will pay
tors that announced, for your funny anecdote
Update: My husband “Civil War Battle or photo in any of our
is mad because I didn’t 6 November, 10 a.m.” humour sections. Post it
warn him the cake I to the editorial address, or
My disappointed email: [email protected]
PUT IN THE TRASH CAN

THANKS, KIDS …

We love our mothers, and they love us back but

let’s not forget just how much Mum has had to

put up with over the years.

sergeyryzhov/getty images Ê No one makes more Ê Scene: Family at the put it where it belonged.
observations than a dining room table He put it in my purse.
child sharing a stall Daughter: Mom, is there
with his mother in a any more open wine? — @mommajessiec
public restroom. Me: In the wine fridge.
Daughter: There’s a Five-year-old: Just
— @Lhlodder wine fridge? one more question!
Son: That’s what she What are the lines on
Ê While I was applying calls the fridge. your forehead?
face cream, my husband Me: ...
asked our daughter —Kathy Nieman Five-year-old: Now
what I was doing. She they look angry.
yelled back, “She’s ap- Ê My four-year-old threw
plying Oil of Delay.” a wrapper on the floor. I — @PaigeKellerman
told him to pick it up and
—MJ Robarts

readersdigest.in 51

Reader’s Digest
52 june 2021

HEALTH

WHY
AM I SO

TIRED?
If you feel
pooped all day, Carol Heffernan, a 43-year-old marketing
writer from Wisconsin, Canada, regularly felt
the solution worn out from her busy life of working,
isn’t always shuttling her two kids to elementary school
more sleep and play dates, and taking care of housework.
But when COVID-19 hit last March and
BY Vanessa Milne the kids were suddenly at home all day,
learning remotely, she noticed that her run-
ILLUSTRATIONS BY of-the-mill weariness quickly turned into
full-on exhaustion.
Chanelle Nibbelink
“All the extra responsibility and the mental
load—it just added up,” she says. “I felt grumpy
and tired—and it wasn’t due to lack of sleep.”

readersdigest.in 53

Reader’s Digest

Heffernan didn’t have any time in the exercise regimen—working out for
day to exercise off her stress. She was 20 minutes, three times a week—
short on energy, and she started boosted their energy levels by 20 per
becoming short with her kids. “After I cent in six weeks. “When we don’t work
put them to bed at 8 p.m., I would just out regularly, our muscles can become
crash on the couch,” she says. weakened, so when we do use these
muscle groups in everyday activity,
If there’s one thing many of us have we’re more tired,” explains Dr Yufang
in common, it’s that we’re tired. In fact, Lin, an integrative-medicine physician
lethargy is so pervasive that it’s one of at the Cleveland Clinic’s Center for
the issues people ask their doctors Integrative and Lifestyle Medicine.
about the most. Doctors even have a
name for it: ‘tired all the time’, or TATT Exercise also works its magic at the
for short. The solution isn’t always as cellular level: the mitochondria—the
simple as getting more sleep; nearly a parts of your cells that provide energy
quarter of people who get seven or to your muscles—actually grow more
more hours of rest a night report they powerful and numerous after aerobic
still wake up feeling tired most days exercise, providing a continuous
of the week. source of increased energy.

Here are eight reasons your BECAUSE YOU’RE PUSHING
energy is low—and what you can do to YOURSELF TOO HARD
bring it back:

BECAUSE YOU’RE People who feel overcommitted—
SPENDING TOO MUCH whether from volunteering for one too
TIME ON THE COUCH many causes or shouldering too much
at work or at home—often try to
When you’re feeling sluggish, it can be squeeze in more tasks so they can get
tempting to plop down and binge- everything on their to-do list crossed off.
watch TV. But doing something active But it might be wiser to take a break.
will actually give you more energy, not
consume the little that you have. In “When it comes to optimizing energy
fact, researchers at the University of over the long haul, it’s about getting
Georgia found that just 10 minutes of into a rhythm of periods of exertion
low- or moderate-intensity exercise and rest,” says Dane Jensen, CEO of
gave study participants a noticeable Third Factor, an organization that helps
energy boost. companies’ employees perform better
under pressure. “In fact, to stay ener-
Starting a regular exercise routine is gized over the course of the day, you
even more beneficial. In another recent need a 15- to 20-minute break every
study, people who committed to an 90 minutes.”

54 june 2021

Health

Not all downtime is equal: a 2016 BECAUSE YOU’RE ANXIOUS
study looked at office workers in South
Korea and found that those who looked Anxiety is draining. When you’re
at their smartphones during breaks distressed, your body is on high alert
were significantly less recharged than and produces adrenalin. Your muscles
those who went for a walk or chatted might tighten up, and your brain
with friends. shifts into overdrive to try to work
through all possible scenarios. That all
Jensen suggests choosing breaks takes energy—and will leave you
that balance out what’s taxing you. If feeling tired.
you’ve been working at a computer,
take a walk outside. If you’ve been And right now, the pile-up of global
doing spring cleaning, sit down and crises—political instability and the
call a friend. pandemic being the most notable—is
having a measurable effect on many
THE PILE-UP OF people’s mental health. One study pub-
GLOBAL CRISES IS lished in the British Journal of Psychol-
HAVING AN EFFECT ogy found that participants who
ON PEOPLE’S MENTAL watched a negative news bulletin were
more likely than those who watched a
HEALTH—AND neutral or positive one to feel anxious
ENERGY LEVELS. or sad—and to then feel worse about
their personal problems, too.
For more inspiration, Jensen
suggests considering four categories of One antidote to all the bad news is
breaks, based on how they can benefit cultivating your friendships. Scientists
you: physical (walking or stretching); have long known that socializing
cognitive (crossword puzzles or decreases the risk of developing
Sudoku); emotional (phoning a loved mental-health issues like depression,
one); and spiritual (walking in the and avoiding loneliness also lowers
woods or practising a religion). stress-hormone levels in your body.
One study from researchers at Arizona
“It’s just not enough to say, okay, I’m State University found that university
going to take a break every once in a students who had spent more time
while,” he explains. “You want to do it socializing had lower cortisol levels the
intentionally and spend that time on next day—and they slept better, as well.
something that’s actually going to
give you energy.” Dr Vincent Agyapong, director of the
Division of Community Psychiatry at
the University of Alberta, says that his
research has demonstrated that nur-
turing relationships is a mood booster.

readersdigest.in 55

Reader’s Digest

“Maintaining social contacts is one of anaemia can also occur during preg-
the ways to maintain your mental nancy or stem from gastrointestinal
health,” he says. “It doesn’t necessarily problems such as ulcers or Crohn’s dis-
have to be face to face—it can be via ease. These and other less common vita-
social media, telephone call or video min and mineral deficiencies can all be
conference.” identified with a blood test and treated
with supplements and a change in diet.
All that said, if you think you might
have clinical levels of anxiety—for However, Lin warns that supple-
example, if you’re having panic attacks ments and drinks that are advertised as
or completely avoiding doing everyday
tasks—speak to your health-care pro- IF YOU’RE DRAGGING
vider about talk therapy or medication. YOURSELF THROUGH
EVERYDAY TASKS, YOU
BECAUSE YOU’RE MIGHT HAVE SLIPPED
LOW ON VITAMINS
INTO DEPRESSION.
Fatigue is often connected to not hav-
ing enough of two key nutrients, says energy enhancers can be dangerous. “A
the Cleveland Clinic’s Lin: iron and lot of those ‘energy’ supplements are
B vitamins. When you don’t get enough laced with caffeine, ginseng or other
iron in your diet, it can lead to iron- stimulants at a high dose,” she says. Lin
deficiency anaemia, which means your also cautions that they can cause seri-
body doesn’t produce enough healthy ous side effects, like heart palpitations,
red blood cells. insomnia and anxiety.

“When there are not enough red BECAUSE YOU’RE
blood cells around, less oxygen gets DEPRESSED
carried to the cells to allow them to
generate energy, which causes fatigue,” If you’re feeling excessively fatigued—
says Lin. People with anaemia might dragging yourself through the normal
also experience shortness of breath, tasks of daily living, or are unable to
dizziness and cold hands and feet. complete them—it could be a sign that
you’ve slipped into depression.
Having a B-vitamin deficiency, espe-
cially B12, also affects energy levels, Some people are genetically predis-
since vitamin B12 is another key to cre- posed to the condition, and others
ating enough red blood cells. Since develop it as a result of difficult cir-
iron and vitamin B are commonly cumstances; rates of depression in the
absorbed from red meat and shellfish,
people who follow a vegetarian or
vegan diet are at more risk. But

56 june 2021

Health

the morning, can help suppress
melatonin, the chemical in your
body that makes you sleepy.

60-SECOND FIXES: 3. Take a few deep breaths
BOOST YOUR ENERGY When you’re stressed, it’s natural to
IN A MINUTE OR LESS breathe a little bit shallower, which
can decrease the amount of oxygen
1. Pour some peppermint tea that reaches your cells. To counteract
According to a study published in the that, try breathing in through your
North American Journal of Psychology, nose for four seconds, holding your
sniffing peppermint helped reduce fa- breath for four seconds, then slowly
tigue while driving. And researchers exhaling for four seconds.
have also found that those who drink
peppermint tea are more alert and 4. Chew a piece of sugar-free gum
complete mental tasks faster. Though it’s not exactly clear why,
numerous studies have shown that
2. Open the blinds chewing gum increases alertness. Even
Exposing yourself to natural sunlight, before science confirmed it, during the
especially right when you wake up in First World War, American soldiers
were issued gum to help them focus.

5. Sing along to a song
Listening to music can increase levels
of happy chemicals like serotonin and
oxytocin—and belting out lyrics makes
you breathe deeper and take in more
oxygen, boosting your energy.

United States, for example, tripled after pathological for a lot of people.”
the coronavirus arrived, rising from Other symptoms of depression
eight per cent to 28 per cent.
include loss of appetite and irritability.
“It’s expected that so much fear and If you’re feeling tired all the time and
uncertainty will increase people’s lev- suspect depression might be to blame,
els of stress, anxiety and depression,” ask your doctor for a mental-health
says Agyapong. “With how long the screening. Talk therapy can help, as
pandemic is going on, it’s becoming can antidepressants.

readersdigest.in 57

Reader’s Digest

BECAUSE YOU’RE EATING kinds of foods,” she explains. “And that
AN UNBALANCED DIET cycle can repeat indefinitely.”

We often think about how our diet Instead, reach for complex carbs—
affects our weight, but what you eat has like whole grains and non-starchy veg-
a large effect on your energy levels, too. etables—which are more slowly
When your body digests food, it turns digested than simple carbs, giving you
it into glucose, which is then sent by a steady stream of energy. To make
way of your blood to all of your muscles sure you’re getting enough nutrients to
and organs, including your brain. Our fuel your body, Harbstreet recom-
blood sugar naturally fluctuates during mends trying to get three food groups
this process, and when it’s low, we can at every meal and at least two at snacks.
feel sluggish.
BECAUSE YOU’RE
SLEEP APNOEA, A NOT BREATHING
CAUSE OF CHRONIC WELL AT NIGHT
FATIGUE, IS ON THE
RISE, LIKELY BECAUSE Before going to the effort of changing
OF GROWING RATES your lifestyle to deal with fatigue, it’s
important to make sure it’s not a symp-
OF OBESITY. tom of a more serious, undiagnosed
condition. If you’ve been unusually
A simple way to keep your blood tired for more than a month, ask your
sugar consistent is to eat regularly. “If doctor if an underlying problem could
you go more than several hours without be behind it.
a meal or snack, that’s probably too long
of a stretch,” says Cara Harbstreet, a One common culprit is sleep apnea,
Kansas City–based registered dietitian. a condition that causes breathing to
start and stop throughout the night.
Another common error, Harbstreet Sleep apnoea affects more than 20 per
says, is eating too many simple carbo- cent of Americans—and those num-
hydrates—juice, candy bars or white bers are on the rise, likely because of
bread. Those can lead to an increase in growing rates of obesity.
blood sugar, prompting your body to
produce insulin, which then makes Since sleep apnoea causes sufferers
your blood sugar drop. “You get an to rouse multiple times a night to keep
energy spike and then you come crash- breathing—often without knowing it—
ing down and eat more of the same they don’t get enough deep sleep. The
condition, which often comes with
daytime exhaustion and nighttime
snoring, can also lead to other issues,
including cardiovascular disease and

58 june 2021

Health

diabetes. If diagnosed, sleep apnoea treated by taking a medication that
can be treated with a machine that contains either natural or synthetic
pushes pressurized air into your nose thyroid chemicals
or mouth during the night to make sure
your airways stay open. A few weeks after her fatigue set in,
Heffernan knew she needed to do
BECAUSE YOUR THYROID something to feel better. Finally, one
IS STRAINED day she decided to drop everything
and go for a walk—something she
Another underlying problem to watch hadn’t done since the pandemic
out for is hypothyroidism, which began. “I just wanted to be by myself,”
affects about five per cent of the popu- she says. “I needed a break.” When she
lation and almost always includes returned, she felt recharged and
tiredness as a symptom. The condition decided to make a habit of it.
is caused when your thyroid, a
butterfly-shaped gland inside your Now, every afternoon, she leaves her
neck, produces too few hormones. kids and husband at home, puts on an
uplifting podcast and goes for a
“Thyroid hormones control your 45-minute stroll through her neigh-
metabolism, which is like the engine in bourhood. “The walks really feed me,
your car,” says Lin. “When your engine spiritually, emotionally and physi-
runs too low, the car drives too slowly.” cally,” she says. “I have something to
Along with fatigue, hypothyroidism look forward to every afternoon. I’m in
may also result in weight gain, a better mood. And after putting the
slow movement and speech, and sen- kids to bed, I have the energy to stay
sitivity to cold. The condition is most up, talk to my husband and have some
common in women over 60 and can be more time for myself.”

Hitting the Road

Most runners run not because
they want to live longer, but because they want

to live life to the fullest.

haruki murakami, author

There is an expression among even the most
advanced runners that getting your shoes on

is the hardest part of any workout.

kathrine switzer, iconic marathoner

readersdigest.in 59

Reader’s Digest
60 june 2021

MEMORY ROOM Reader’s Digest

My School
Desk—in a Bar

It was an unusual place to raise a child, but the characters this boy
met in his dad’s saloon gave him a master class in life

By Jeffrey Sabbag

Illustrations by Tim Bower readersdigest.in 61

Reader’s Digest

grew up in a bar. When most kids my
age were at the park playing ball or
riding bikes, I was watching old men
shoot pool and play shuffleboard. I
saw a barroom fight before I ever saw
a sporting event on TV. I don’t imag-
ine that Dr Spock’s book on child rear-
ing, which was so popular 50 years
ago, advised exposing children to
dimly lit drinking at an early age.
But lessons can be taught by unlikely
teachers in unusual environments.
All that is needed are instructors with
pure hearts. Clear eyes are optional.

62 june 2021

Memory Room

My parents owned a neighborhood My father spent his entire life
bar called the M Ninety-Seven, named serving drinks and bringing cheer to
for a nearby highway, on the corner an eclectic clientele. There were the
of State Fair and Hoover Avenues in white-collar executives who would
Detroit. Built in the ’30s, it had a long stop in to unwind from the day’s
wooden bar that was on the right as stress. They would bend elbows with
you walked in. It was curved at the the blue-collar and day labourers
end, with four-sided lamps, the kind on either side of them. It always
you might see in an old movie about surprised me that they were able to
18th-century London, hung low over the mingle. Of course, eight ounces of
bar every three or four feet. Customers draft—and/or any liquor splashed
sat on stools with burnt-orange vinyl over ice—have a way of helping two
seat backs or at one of six tables against parties find common ground. I would
the wall. Miller was always on tap. sit at the last table by the kitchen,
sipping Cokes and eating a bag of
Better Made potato chips with my
twin sister, watching it all.

It was the 1960s version of a reality
show. There was Cran, the school-
teacher, who always said he graded
his sleep-deprived students on an ‘S’
curve, handing out passing grades
even to those who nodded off because
he knew they were making up for the
sleep they lost in their troubled home
lives. If the students stayed awake,
they received a B. If they slept through
class, they got a C.

Then there was Big Bill, the tough-
talking policeman who stood six and
a half feet tall and weighed just shy of
the beer truck he drank daily. Bill was
not what you would call politically cor-
rect. In fact, his views on society could
be hard to listen to at times. But one
night, he showed that he was all talk.
While Bill was on patrol, a call came
over the radio about an apartment
fire just blocks from his location. He

readersdigest.in 63

Reader’s Digest

raced his scout car blessed them with 48 grandchildren
to the scene, beat- and, well, let’s just say several great-
ing even the fire grandchildren. Frank and Eleanor
crew. The build- raised their large brood on his meagre
ing was ablaze. He salary. But together these two people
ran up three flights scraped by in the little bungalow that
of stairs through had more bodies than doorknobs.
smoke and flames
to rescue two Frank often said, “I don’t have a pot
frightened chil- to pee in or a window to throw it out
dren. The burly cop of.” Still, no matter how much he had
carried them out in to drink, he never went to bed without
his arms like each saying a prayer for “the other guy.” He
was a carton of eggs. told me, and his wife confirmed this,
The man with an explo- that he never once asked the Lord for
sive mouth but a keg-sized anything for himself. A guy without
heart had saved the day. It is just a pot or a window, and with more
too bad that Bill wasn’t at the bar to mouths to feed than the Brady Bunch,
stop the man who ate a full ashtray of never thought to slip a request in to
cigarette butts to win a bet! have a C-note or two slide under the
front door to make things a bit easier
Without a doubt, the most memo- around the old bungalow. Instead,
rable guest of the establishment was through bloodshot eyes, Frank prayed
a man dubbed the Mayor of State Fair
Avenue. His parents had named him
Frank, but throughout the neighbour-
hood, everyone called him Mr Mayor.
He lived just a rolling beer bottle
from the back parking lot, and the
bar would light up when the Mayor
brought the room to session. He had
a smooth tongue, smooth enough to
talk my teetotaler grandmother into
hoisting a beer with him.

Frank was balding and bespecta-
cled and often wore a cardigan over
his slim frame. He was retired from
his tool-and-die job by the time I got
to know him. He and his lovely wife,
Eleanor, had nine children, who

64 june 2021

Memory Room

for someone else every night of his how people can talk one way and act
life. They could not bottle enough another, even risk their lives, as Big
Kessler whiskey to make him forgo his Bill the cop did, and how it benefits
nightly ritual. us all to pay little attention to what
people might sometimes say—and
Years passed, my father died, and absolute attention to what they do. A
the bar was sold. Like secondhand
smoke, the words and the ensemble I HAD A FRONT-ROW
from that bar stayed with me. SEAT TO THE

One day years later, I heard the GREATEST SHOW
sad news that the Mayor of State Fair ON EARTH.
Avenue had died. I knew that I had
to go to the funeral home to pay my man with few worldly goods showed
respects to the man who had always me how important it is to care more
put the other guy first. I was two about another’s burden than your
decades removed from the little boy own. The line of people waiting to pay
at the back table and now working for their respects was the proof.
the post office. The parking lot was
full, the streets were lined with cars I remembered all those old-timers
and the sidewalk was packed with who would flop down in a chair at my
people waiting to get in the front door. table to dole out wisdom above the
That Sunday afternoon, I couldn’t get din of the jukebox. They often told me
within two blocks of the funeral home. the same thing, that I would get a bet-
I stood in line smiling in the summer ter education in the bar than I would
sun and began reflecting on those ever gain from school.
long-ago smoky days when I had a
front-row seat, at the back table, to the These men were right. I certainly
greatest show on earth. have retained more of the wisdom that
they imparted to me in the barroom
I thought about Cran, the teacher, than I ever have from what I learnt in
who realized that tough circumstances a classroom.
can make it more beneficial to rest a
weary head on a book than to have
a nose planted inside it. I pondered

Party Foul

To the person who brought multigrain chips to the party—you could
have just said you didn’t want to come.

@ANNIEMUMARY

readersdigest.in 65

All I asked. She shrugged, analyzed one too many shutterstock
in a Day’s “It would be OK if patients could give:
people wouldn’t keep “Honey, normal is what
WORK asking for stuff.” people are before you
—Charles Finlon get to know them.”
Our teenage grand- —Mary-Anne Reed
daughter was thrilled We were dining with my
when she landed her husband’s colleague, a A customer called
first real job waiting therapist, who told us our Los Angeles travel
tables. But after one that her seven-year-old agency asking how
shift, the excitement daughter had recently much a round-trip
seemed to have waned. asked, “Mommy, what’s flight to Hawaii would
normal?” Our friend cost. Evidently, she
“How do you like gave a response that didn’t care for the price
being a waitress?” only a mother who’s I quoted her, because

66 june 2021

I can’t believe Zoom gives away Reader’s Digest
their best feature, limiting meetings
to 40 minutes, for free. THE OFFICE-
LINGO-TO-ENGLISH
—Daniel Jalkut, founder of redsweater.com DICTIONARY

the next thing she asked on the foot of a com- Ê keyboard plaque:
was, “How far is it if we plaining patron. The disgusting buildup
decide to drive?” —jeff_the_nurse of dirt and crud found
—Gloria Melville I work construction. on computer keyboards.
We had two new hires
At a mall in Brooklyn, who were friends. Ê mouse potato:
I watched as a gentle- Boss told one to take a The online, wired
man was approached coffee order and come generation’s answer
by a kiosk vendor. back. He took every- to the couch potato.
“Excuse me,” said one’s money and said
the vendor, “can I ask he needed his friend Ê stress puppy:
you a question?” to go with him because A person who seems to
it was a big order. They thrive on being stressed
The gentleman never came back. out and whiny.
smiled as he replied, —Dendad1218
“You just did,” and Ê tourist:
kept right on walking. I called my local sec- Someone who takes
—John Lewandowski ond-hand bookstore training classes just
to ask when it opens. to get a vacation from
Reddit.com contributors The owner said, “Usu- his or her job.
remember colleagues ally it’s 11, but I’m in
who got axed fast. the middle of a lovers’ Ê treeware:
Guy slept through two quarrel, so today it’s Hacker slang for printed
meetings on his first more like 12.” documentation.
day. The second meet- — @saratardif
ing, he started snoring. Ê uninstalled:
—xsited1 Reader’s Digest will pay A euphemism for
As a teenager, I for your funny anecdote being fired.
worked at a bowling or photo in any of our
alley. Within an hour humour sections. Post it —Berkeley.edu
of starting, a new girl to the editorial address, or
joebelanger/getty images was fired on the spot for email: [email protected]
dropping a ball

readersdigest.in 67

CLASSIC DRAMA IN REAL LIFE

UNDERWATER
NIGHTMARE

It seemed impossible that anyone could
be left alive. But an inner voice kept
telling Nico that there was hope

By Christopher Matthews

68 june 2021

Reader’s Digest

illustrations by Federico Gastaldi readersdigest.in 69

Reader’s Digest

he handsome 30-foot-long cabin cruiser
bobbed at anchor in the crystal-blue water of the
Adriatic, about 180 metres off the southern Italian
coast. “You’ll see, it’s an incredible sight,” Antonio
Giovine was telling his German friend Horst Hartmann.
The day before, Antonio had gone scuba diving off the
small coastal village of Polignano a Mare where they

Twere vacationing. In an underwater passage in the reef,
he had found a cave where fresh and saltwater mixed,
creating strange optical effects.
On board the boat with Antonio and bringing his underwater camera and
Horst was a group of relatives and a flashlight. It was 3:30 on a beautiful
friends, including Luciano, Antonio’s August afternoon.
brother and the owner of the boat.
Horst, a cheerful airport employee “Okay, let’s go!” Antonio shouted,
from Frankfurt, Germany, and Antonio, flipping backwards over the side. With
both 27 years old, had been friends Antonio in the lead, the four divers
for years and often spent holidays moved parallel to the reef for almost
together. Both shared a passion for half an hour, while Antonio searched
scuba diving. Antonio was self-taught, for a gap. He was about to give up
while Horst had completed a diploma when he found it and signalled the
course back home. others to follow. Now they’d been
underwater for 45 minutes. Horst and
Luciano and Antonio had double his friend were already using their
air tanks, holding around 100 minutes emergency air supplies.
of breathing time. Horst and a German
friend had only one tank, or 50 min- Antonio pointed to the tunnel as
utes’ worth of air. But since they would if to ask, “Are you going in?” Horst’s
dive no deeper than 30 feet, it was more friend shook his head and motioned
than enough to take a quick look at the he was going back to the boat. Luciano
cave and get back to the boat. Horst was would go with him. But Horst nodded
enthusiastically. Antonio hesitated, but

70 june 2021

Classic Drama In Real Life

decided there was no problem. The divers, one exhaling while the other
cave was only a few metres inside the breathes in. He must be out of air,
tunnel. It would take his friend little Antonio thought. He opened his mouth
time to reach it, shoot a couple of to release the hose, but Horst, in his
pictures and resurface. frenzy, knocked Antonio’s mask off. Un-
able to see or breathe, his lungs almost
Antonio remained below, and bursting, Antonio turned to his last
watched Horst approach the cave resort: sucking the air directly from his
entrance and switch on his flashlight. reserve tank.
Then, with a thumbs-up sign to his
friend, he slid into the inky darkness. On the verge of blacking out,
Antonio wriggled out of his backpack
As the minutes went by, Antonio harness and opened the tap on the
started to feel a hard ball of tension in tank. A jet of air geysered out. He tried
his stomach. Horst is sure taking his to inhale it but coughed on a mixture
time, he thought. What on earth is he of air and water. The regulator’s outlet
doing? Has he forgotten he is on reserve? valve must have gotten fouled.

Then: Something’s wrong!

HE HAD TAKEN A WRONG TURN AND
WAS TRAPPED. HE COULD ONLY WAIT FOR DEATH.

ANTONIO STARTED TO SCREAM.

Kicking out with his fins, Antonio Antonio pulled on his air hose,
started into the hole. Just then he and it came back. He inserted the
caught a glimmer of light ahead. It grew mouthpiece but immediately started
stronger. It was Horst. coughing again. He couldn’t last much
longer. Where is Horst? He prayed his
Thank God ... Antonio started friend had made a breath-held dash
to think but stopped in mid-thought. for the surface.
Horst was only three or four metres
away, but the flashlight beam Paddling through the muddy water,
was dancing erratically. There is his backpack clutched to his chest,
something wrong! Antonio found Horst’s flashlight, lying
on the bottom, and picked it up. Ahead
Before he knew it, the German was the tunnel floor sloped gently upwards.
on Antonio, grabbing for his air hose, It had to be the way out. His legs
trying to pry it from his mouth. Instinc- thrashing, Antonio made for the exit.
tively Antonio tried to pull away. Then Any moment he would see daylight.
he realized Horst wanted to share his
air. It’s called buddy-breathing—one The tunnel began climbing almost
mouthpiece is passed between two vertically. Antonio sucked hard on the

readersdigest.in 71

Reader’s Digest

mouthpiece, but there was nothing water and the lack of help. Too risky.
left. He dropped the useless tanks and Nico Fumai, chief frogman with
swam for the exit with his last strength.
the Bari Fire Brigade, was at home on
Antonio’s head broke the surface, his way to bed at 11:30 p.m. when the
and he gulped huge breaths of air phone rang. It was headquarters call-
into his burning lungs. But where was ing: “Did you hear what happened out
the bright blue summer sky? Looking at Polignano? “ the duty officer asked.
up, he saw only solid rock. The space
around his head was not much larger “Yes,” Nico answered, “I got it on the
than an upside-down washbasin. He’d radio link.”
taken a wrong turn and emerged in a
tiny air pocket in the reef. Without air “We need your help,” the officer
tanks, he was trapped. He could only told him.
wait for death. He started to scream
and went on screaming until he had “No problem,” he replied.
no voice left. He called his three other dive team
members. “Rendezvous tomorrow
As the minutes passed and An- morning at 5:30 am,” he told them.
tonio and Horst failed surface, At his kitchen table, Nico began
Luciano knew he had to get help. planning the next morning’s opera-
He swam back to the boat and used his tions. The muscular 45-year-old vet-
cell phone to call the nearest rescue eran diver knew that hasty preparation
squad, the fire brigade in Taranto, some could be fatal. He had had narrow
64 kilometres away . escapes from death in the past. Each
time, though, training and a cool head
Shortly after 6:30 p.m., Taranto’s had saved him.
head diver, 52-year-old Cataldo Pala- The thought that now entered Nico’s
dino, entered the tunnel. Twenty-five mind struck him with the force of a fall-
feet inside, his heart missed a beat as ing brick. Who said there’s a corpse in-
the beam of his flashlight caught a dark side the tunnel? That guy may be alive!
shape floating against the roof of the He called his team again. “Rendez-
passageway. It was Horst. He was dead. vous an hour earlier, at 4:30.”
By 6:41 on Sunday, Nico’s team was
Cataldo, used all his strength to push positioned outside the tunnel on board
and pull the body out of the tunnel. He a 20-foot inflatable dinghy. Nico was
knew two men had entered the reef, suited up and ready to dive. He had
and his years of experience told him connected two air hoses to his twin
the other diver, lost even further in the tanks, so two people could breathe off
maze, must be dead too. He considered them. His deputy would stay at the cave
going back in but decided against it be- entrance and pay out the lifeline tied to
cause of the incoming dark, the muddy his waist. As always before a dive, Nico
prayed. Then he went overboard.

72 june 2021

Antonio ‘dreamed’ he was drown- glinting on the tunnel floor. A diver’s
ing. Then he forced himself awake mask. I’m on the right track, Nico
to find he was gagging: his throat thought, pocketing the mask. Then he
was full of water. His head must have found Horst’s camera caught under a
slipped underwater when he dozed ledge. Getting closer.
off. He couldn’t feel his limbs anymore.
The cold was taking over his body. I’m The tunnel started climbing. He
dying, he thought. He was too tired to should be more than 18 metres into the
feel scared. Dying was like turning off a reef, he judged. The walls around him
computer, he decided. You switch it off, now widened, and he found himself in-
and the screen goes blank. No reason to side a narrow chamber. What his flash-
be frightened. light beam showed next stunned Nico.

Nico turned on his flashlight and Dangling between two massive
entered the tunnel. Three metres, four. rocks above him was a pair of pale legs
A fork ahead. He caught his breath. wearing black fins. And one of the legs
From a hole in the rock to the right, a was moving! When Nico reached out to
huge, shining black eye stared at him. touch it, a hand came down and closed
A conger eel. He tugged the rope twice around his left wrist.
to let his deputy know everything was
okay and, keeping his gaze fixed on the Nico knew the young man must be
eel, cautiously advanced down the first kept from panicking. Gently he passed
right fork. Ahead there was something the mouthpiece of his reserve regulator
up over his head, through the surface
of the water to where Antonio’s face

readersdigest.in 73

Reader’s Digest

must be. He heard him take a couple they had to move like Siamese twins.
of breaths before handing the air hose Finally, they came to the eel, which sur-
back down. Antonio is trying to buddy- veyed them from its den. Seconds later
breathe with me, Nico realized. How in- they were out in the blue-grey light of
credible that, after 17 hours in this hole, the open sea.
he is still lucid!
“He’s alive! He’s alive!” Nico
Nico had to show Antonio he could screamed as they broke the surface.
keep the hose. He took the mouthpiece “Get some warm clothes.” The frogmen
out of his own mouth and, holding this lifted Antonio’s limp body from the wa-
and the reserve, passed them both up. ter and radioed for an ambulance. As
This time Antonio kept one hose and they waited, the men rubbed and mas-
handed back the other. Pulling on An- saged Antonio. “You can’t die now,”
tonio’s arm, Nico coaxed him under- Nico told him. “You’ve got to live.”
water. Now he saw the young man‘s
face: pale, boyish features with a stub- At the closest hospital, Antonio was
bly beard and flowing, shoulder-length treated for exposure, exhaustion and
hair. Antonio shook his head, his eyes an oedema caused by near drown-
ing. Doctors said he would not have

ANTONIO HADN'T THE STRENGTH TO SWIM,
SO NICO PUSHED HIM ALONG, TOWARDS THE EXIT.

wide with terror, and retreated back to survived more than another hour in
the surface. Nico understood. Antonio the cave—hypothermia would have
wouldn’t submerge unless he could see stopped his heart. When Nico finally
where he was going. Luckily there was climbed back into his van to head
the mask he’d found. He handed it up. home, he doubled up, sobbing. He felt
Antonio put it on and returned under he had taken part in a miracle. Some-
the surface. how an unseen hand that had guided
Antonio to a tiny air pocket had guided
Nico slipped the guide rope into An- him there too. Where he should have
tonio’s hand and pushed him headfirst found death, he had met life.
into the tunnel. Antonio hadn’t enough
strength to swim, so Nico had to keep On 13 September 1992, Nico Fumai and
pushing him from behind, checking at his men were awarded the prestigious
the same time that he was still breath- international ‘Captain Courageous
ing. The guide rope stayed taut as, out- prize for bravery at sea. This article
side the tunnel, his deputy picked up originally appeared in the June 1994
the slack. They made agonizingly slow edition of Reader’s Digest.
progress. Linked to the same tanks,

74 june 2021

2021

2021

WINNERS

READER’S DIGEST | JUNE 2021 75

100% VOTED BY CONSUMERS

View all results at https://www.readersdigest.in/tb-winner/

ADVERTISING FEATURE

2021 Trusted Brand Special Supplement

CONGRATULATIONS

TO OUR WINNERS

READER’S DIGEST | JUNE 2021

76 100% VOTED BY CONSUMERS

View all results at https://www.readersdigest.in/tb-winner/

ADVERTISING FEATURE 2021

Trusted Brand Special Supplement

ADVERTISING FEATURE

Trusted Brand Special Supplement

2021

ADVERTISING FEATURE 2021

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.

ADVERTISING FEATURE

2021 Trusted Brand Special Supplement
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

READER’S DIGEST | JUNE 2021

80 100% VOTED BY CONSUMERS

View all results at https://www.readersdigest.in/tb-winner/





ADVERTISING FEATURE 2021

Trusted Brand Special Supplement

ALL BRANDS LISTED HERE ARE IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER

AUTOMOBILES

C AT E G O R Y BRAND

LUBRICANTS CASTROL
GULF OIL

HP
MAK BHARAT
PETROLEUM

SERVO

BHARAT PETROLEUM

HP

PETROL STATIONS INDIAN OIL
RELIANCE

SHELL

READER’S DIGEST | JUNE 2021 81

100% VOTED BY CONSUMERS

View all results at https://www.readersdigest.in/tb-winner/

ADVERTISING FEATURE

2021 Trusted Brand Special Supplement

SERVO: India’s Most Preferred
Lubricant Brand

SERVO is India’s biggest lubricant brand shops. ‘Gramin SERVO Stockists’ and tie-
with a turnover of nearly `8000 crores ups with leading e-commerce platforms
like Amazon & Flipkart have ensured that
and a market share in excess of 27% in the SERVO has a dominating presence—physi-
Finished Lubes segment. Launched in 1972, cal as well as online—in all cities, towns
SERVO boasts of 5300 lubricant and grease and the rural hinterland of India. SERVO
formulations and 1600 commercial grades plays a crucial role in powering India—sup-
of lubricants. It is no surprise that it has plying lubricants to meet the requirements
earned the coveted ‘Superbrand’ status. of core industrial sectors of India like rail-
ways, cement, coal, steel, power, marine,
SERVO serves as a one-stop shop for fertilizers and defence. SERVO lubricants
complete lubrication solutions in the auto- have serviced the requirements of these
motive, industrial and marine segments. It core sectors for five decades now.
has made inroads into the highly competi-
tive global markets, with a presence in Backed by a dedicated team of expert
over 30 countries across South-East Asia, technical service engineers offering on-site
Middle East, Africa and neighbouring lube-related consultancy and value-added
countries like Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri services, extensive knowledge of processes
Lanka. Formulated at IndianOil’s world- and the state-of-the-art infrastructure, the
class R&D Centre with its cutting-edge SERVO team is always ready to provide
technology, these high quality grades con- solutions for just about anything! „
form to global standards.

The SERVO range of lubricants is avail-
able across the country through various
retail channels including SERVOXPRESS
stations, IndianOil fuel stations, Bazaar
outlets and thousands of auto spare parts

READER’S DIGEST | JUNE 2021

82 100% VOTED BY CONSUMERS

View all results at https://www.readersdigest.in/tb-winner/







ADVERTISING FEATURE

Trusted Brand Special Supplement

2021

ALL BRANDS LISTED HERE ARE IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER

CONSUMER DURABLES

C AT E G O R Y BRAND

FANS BAJAJ
LIGHTING CROMPTON

W AT E R HAVELLS
PURIFIERS ORIENT

USHA
BAJAJ
CROMPTON
HAVELLS

PHILIPS
SYSKA

AQUAGUARD–EUREKA
FORBES

BLUE STAR

HAVELLS

KENT

PUREIT

READER’S DIGEST | JUNE 2021

86 100% VOTED BY CONSUMERS

View all results at https://www.readersdigest.in/tb-winner/

ADVERTISING FEATURE 2021

Trusted Brand Special Supplement

ALL BRANDS LISTED HERE ARE IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER

CONSUMER ELECTRONICS

C AT E G O R Y BRAND

COMPUTERS ACER
APPLE
DELL

HP
LENOVO

READER’S DIGEST | JUNE 2021 87

100% VOTED BY CONSUMERS

View all results at https://www.readersdigest.in/tb-winner/

ADVERTISING FEATURE

Trusted Brand Special Supplement

2021

ALL BRANDS LISTED HERE ARE IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER

FINANCIAL SERVICES

C AT E G O R Y BRAND

BANKS BANK OF BARODA
( N AT I O N A L I Z E D ) BANK OF INDIA

CENTRAL BANK OF INDIA
PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK

STATE BANK OF INDIA
AXIS BANK

BANKS HDFC BANK
( P R I V AT E ) ICICI BANK
IDBI BANK

KOTAK MAHINDRA

READER’S DIGEST | JUNE 2021

88 100% VOTED BY CONSUMERS 89

View all results at https://www.readersdigest.in/tb-winner/

ADVERTISING FEATURE 2021

Trusted Brand Special Supplement

ALL BRANDS LISTED HERE ARE IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER

FINANCIAL SERVICES

C AT E G O R Y BRAND

CREDIT CARDS AXIS
(INDIAN BANKS) HDFC
ICICI
INSURANCE K O TA K
(LIFE) SBI CARD
BAJAJ ALLIANZ

HDFC LIFE
ICICI PRUDENTIAL

LIC

SBI LIFE

AXIS

MUTUAL HDFC
FUNDS ICICI PRUDENTIAL

SBI

TATA

READER’S DIGEST | JUNE 2021 89

100% VOTED BY CONSUMERS

View all results at https://www.readersdigest.in/tb-winner/

ADVERTISING FEATURE

2021 Trusted Brand Special Supplement

SBI CARD: Riding High On
Innovation And Customer
Centricity; Making Life Simple!

Today, with a base of over 11 million terminals. Such initiatives make the
cards in force, SBI Card is India’s payment process simple, seamless, secure
largest pure play credit card player. and hygienic, as is the need of the hour.
Product portfolio, technology and
customer centricity are the main factors SBI Card is redefining the user
for the brand, ‘SBI Card’. experience, by innovating and using the
power of Artificial Intelligence, Machine
SBI Card, as an adaptive and agile Learning, Robotics Process Automation,
organization, has played a key role in the besides varied digital tools. Technology
transformation of credit cards as a has been meticulously deployed to
ubiquitous digital payment instrument. digitize the customer journey at every
SBI Card has ensured that all its step, for instance, VKYC for on-boarding,
customers have a contactless card. AskILA chatbot to address varied queries,
Customers can use SBI Card Pay to create highly rated mobile app, websites for
a virtual version of the physical credit self-servicing and cutting-edge IVR for
card on their mobile and simply use it to hassle free on-call resolutions.
‘tap and pay’ on NFC-enabled PoS
Accepting the Readers’ Digest award,
Mr Rama Mohan Rao Amara, MD & CEO,
SBI Card, said, “My thanks to the Reader’s
Digest audience for their continued trust.
Being conferred with the award for the
10th consecutive year is a validation of our
customer centric focus. We stay committed
and will continue to make focused efforts
to delight our valued customers”. „

READER’S DIGEST | JUNE 2021

90 100% VOTED BY CONSUMERS

View all results at https://www.readersdigest.in/tb-winner/



ADVERTISING FEATURE

Trusted Brand Special Supplement

2021

ALL BRANDS LISTED HERE ARE IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER

FOOD AND BEVERAGES

C AT E G O R Y BRAND

COOKING OILS FORTUNE
NUTRELA
PACKAGED JUICES PATA N J A L I
SAFFOLA
SUNDROP
FROOTI

MAAZA
PAPER BOAT

REAL

TROPICANA

READER’S DIGEST | JUNE 2021

92 100% VOTED BY CONSUMERS

View all results at https://www.readersdigest.in/tb-winner/

GET MORE RD

CONNECT WITH US BEYOND THESE PAGES

All new stories are
just a click away!

Never-before-seen web-exclusive articles,
classic stories from our archives, jokes,

quotes, and news—the RD website’s got it all.
Visit www.readersdigest.in today!

Want To Get Published?

Send us your original stories, funny anecdotes or
jokes and get a chance to be featured in one of these

monthly columns—Kindness of Strangers,
My Story, Life’s Like That, Humour in Uniform,

As Kids See It, Laughter the Best Medicine,
All in a Day’s Work or It Happens Only in India.

Do share the source, so we can verify the facts.
Mail us at [email protected] or upload them
on www.readersdigest.in/share-your-story

or www.readersdigest.in/share-your-joke.

Digital Edition

PEOPLEPOWER TO THE RD is now available as a digital edition!
Pay `100 for an issue and enjoy the maga-
MeMetatkhiengCiatiDziefnfeSraevnicoeurs
zine on your phone or tablet.
8 Reasons You’re The Ever Visit http://subscriptions.intoday.in/subscrip- We are Social!
So Tired and What Beloved
To Do About it Ruskin Bond tions/rd/digital-magazine-subscription.jsp Follow us on Facebook

He Robbed facebook.com/readersdi-
Banks—
gest.co.in
On a Bicycle!
Instagram
The COVID
Recovery Diet @readersdigestindia

Customer Services Twitter

Contact Customer Services for renewals, gifts, address @ReadersDigestIN
changes, payments, account information and all other
for updates on the
enquiries. Phone: 1800 1800 001 (BSNL customers buzz in our world.
can call toll-free on this number)

E-mail: [email protected]

SUBSCRIBE

Use the reply-paid card. Visit https://www.readersdigest.in or write to:
[email protected], or to Reader’s Digest, C-9, Sector 10, Noida,
UP–201301. Tel: 0120–2469900. For bulk subscriptions 0120–4807100, ext. 4361.