DECEMBER 2021 `100

A S ON O F
A SE
E T NE SS
SWE Y
ANoDf KiJ O Action
ndness in
s
ale
Moving T
INTERVIEW WITH
ABHIJIT BANERJEE

Food for Thought

from a Nobel Laureate
BREAKTHROUGH SCIENCE

Meet the Dogs that

Sniff Out Cancer
13 THINGS
The Dark Web
Demystified
HUMOUR
Bye Bye, 2021!
 Reader ’s Digest

CONTENTS

Features 78
technology and us
86
drama in real life

46
cover story
How to Avoid
Digital Immortality
Why organizing your
The Boys in
the Cave
For the soccer team
A SEASON OF online life is about more
than just cleaning up
trapped deep in a
Thailand cave, rescue
SWEETNESS your digital clutter. seemed impossible.
AND JOY by paul robert by matt gutman
If you need a little
extra warmth this
year, these wonderful
98
breakthrough science
stories will do the trick.
Does This Dog Know Whether You Have Cancer?
The canine nose is a marvel of nature. Science believes
62 that a computerized model will save millions of lives.
by adam piore
health
photograph by jason varney; hair+makeup: elizabeth jacobs

Get Your Best

Sleep Ever
The latest expert tips 98
for a good night’s rest.
by leah rumack
and mark witten

70
interview
All You Can Eat
Nobel Laureate
Abhijit Banerjee’s book
of recipes will change
your kitchen, and,
possibly, your life.
by shreevatsa nevatia

readersdigest.in 3
Reader ’s Digest

18
10 Over to You
Better Living news from the
world of medicine
Conversations 36 More Than
44 How to Jump-
Start Your Fitness,
18 Our Social Media Winter-Dry Skin Treating Epilepsy

photo: (top) shutterstock (bottom) illustration by serge bloch

Battlefield by lisa marie conklin with a Keto Diet,
by prasanto k. roy and Can A Pet’s
13 things
smile 40 The Dark Web Diabetes Be a Red
22 Bye Bye, 2021 Demystified Flag for Owners?
by patricia pearson by michelle crouch

it happens
only in india
26 Wanted: A Size-
Specific Spouse
40
and After-Life
Assurances
by naorem anuja

points to ponder
28 Dan Levy,
C. S. Lewis.
Judith Butler and
Swara Bhaskar

4 december 2021
 Reader ’s Digest

Culturescape studio
123 Sarah
interview with
namita gokhle Kaushik’s Dilli
by shreevatsa nevatia
110 Strength and
Sensibility me and my shelf
by shreevatsa nevatia 124 Shrayana
rd recommends
Bhattacharya’s
118 Films, Watchlist, Top-10 Reads
Books and Music
review Brain Games
122 Doing Justice 126 Brainteasers
by jai arjun singh 127 Sixy Sudoku
129
131
Word Power
Quiz
Humour
132 Quotable Quotes 14
Humour in Uniform

NOTE TO OUR
58
READERS Life’s Like That
From time to time, you will 84
see pages titled ‘An Impact
Feature’ or ‘Focus’ in Laughter,
Reader’s Digest. This is no The Best Medicine
different from an advertise-
108
ment and the magazine’s
editorial staff is not involved Laugh Lines
118 in its creation in any way.

On the Cover
victoriya89/getty images

cover Illustration by Nilanjan Das

A Season of Sweetness and Joy .................................................... 46

Interview: Food for Thought from a Nobel Laureate ................ 70
Science: Meet the Dogs That Sniff Out Cancer .......................... 98
13 Things: The Dark Web Demystified ....................................... 40
Humour: Bye Bye, 2021!................................................................ 22

6 december 2021
 VOL. 62 NO. 12
DECEMBER 2021
Editor-in-Chief Aroon Purie
Vice Chairperson Kalli Purie
Group Chief Executive Officer Dinesh Bhatia
Group Editorial Director Raj Chengappa
Chief Executive Officer Manoj Sharma
editor Kai Jabir Friese IMPACT (ADVERTISING)
group creative editor Nilanjan Das general manager Jiji K. Abraham
group photo editor Bandeep Singh national head (govt & psu) Suparna Kumar
general manager (north) Mayur Rastogi
senior associate editor Ishani Nandi mumbai: senior gm (west) Jitendra Lad
features editor Naorem Anuja bengaluru: gm Upendra Singh
consulting editor Shreevatsa Nevatia kolkata: deputy gm (east) Indranil Chatterjee
editorial coordinator Jacob K. Eapen
BUSINESS
art director Angshuman De group chief marketing officer Vivek Malhotra
associate art directors Chandramohan Jyoti, gm, marketing & circulation Ajay Mishra
Praveen Kumar Singh deputy gm, operations G. L. Ravik Kumar
agm, marketing Kunal Bag
chief of production Harish Aggarwal manager, marketing Anuj Kumar Jamdegni
assistant manager Narendra Singh Reader’s Digest in India is published by: Living Media India Limited (Regd.
Office: K9, Connaught Circus, New Delhi) under a licence granted by the
SALES AND OPERATIONS TMB Inc. (formerly RDA Inc.), proprietor of the Reader’s Digest trademark.
Published in 46 editions and 17 languages,
senior gm, national sales Deepak Bhatt Reader’s Digest is the world’s largest-selling magazine.
gm, operations Vipin Bagga It is also India’s largest-selling magazine in English.

TRUSTED MEDIA BRANDS, INC. (formerly RDA Inc.)

President and Chief Executive Officer Bonnie Kintzer

Editor-in-Chief, International Magazines Bonnie Munday
Founders: DeWitt Wallace, 1889–1981; Lila Acheson Wallace, 1889–1984

HOW TO REACH US

MAGAZINE SUBSCRIPTIONS/CUSTOMER CARE: Email subscription.rd@intoday.com Mail Subscriptions Reader’s Digest,

C-9, Sector 10, Noida, UP—201301. Tel: 0120-2469900 Toll-free No 1800 1800 001 (BSNL customers can call toll free on this
number) For bulk subscriptions 0120-4807100, Ext. 4361 For change of address, enclose the addressed portion of your
magazine wrapper. ADVERTISING ENQUIRIES: Phones Mumbai: 022-66063355 Chennai: 044-28478525 Bengaluru:
080-22212448 Delhi: 0120-4807100 Kolkata: 033-22825398 Fax: 022-66063226 Email rd4business@intoday.com
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Email editor.india@rd.com CORPORATE/EDITORIAL: Address Reader’s Digest, India Today
Group, 3rd Floor, Film City 8, Sector 16A, Noida, UP—201301; Phone: 0120-4807100. We edit and fact-check letters. Please
provide your telephone number and postal address in all cases.
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ReadersDigest.co.in Instagram: @readersdigestindia Twitter: @ReadersDigestIN
Website: https://www.readersdigest.in/

© 2016 Trusted Media Brands, Inc. (Reader’s Digest editorial material). © 2016 Living Media India Ltd. (Living Media editorial material). All rights reserved
throughout the world. Reproduction in any manner, in whole or part, in English or other languages, is prohibited. Printed and published by Manoj Sharma
on behalf of Living Media India Limited. Printed at Thomson Press India Limited, 18–35 Milestone, Delhi–Mathura Road, Faridabad–121007, (Haryana).
Published at F-26, First Floor, Connaught Place, New Delhi-110001. Editor: Kai Friese (responsible for selection of news).

8 december 2021
 people keep away from
OVER TO it. Modern meditation

YOU
experts focus on com-
fortable rather than
Notes on the conventional posture.
October issue Moreover, I was ad-
vised by an expert not
to judge any medita-
Gandhi and the World tion practice as good
or bad. Instead of fo-
When Bishop Frederick Bohn Fisher, who spent cussing on dissecting
10 years in Gandhi’s company, went back to the the process of medita-
US was questioned by his countrymen: Is Gandhi a tion, we should ob-
saint or a fool? Is he a fanatic or a statesman, does he serve whether it is
for one moment dream that he can buck a machine- making us less tense.
made civilization? That he can upset the world? If it does, it is working.
Dr Hetal Doshi,
Bishop replied, that it was exactly what Gandhi was
Ahmedabad
doing—upsetting a materialistic world enthroned
upon a preconceived right to rule by force of arms.
My Penniless Journey
He believed that war as a means of settling interna- During the pandemic,
tional disputes was useless. War doesn’t even help as a 16 year old, I sat
the victor—it makes him brutal. The only thing that confined at home, wit-
could bring peace was applying peaceful methods. nessing the suffering
Gandhiji epitomized post-war idealism and he came of the out-of-work mi-
at the exact moment when a war-torn, chaotic world grants and their fami-
was thirsty for a new way of life. He proved that a lies who were forced
moral force can defeat machine guns, and be turned to walk thousands of
into a weapon that was both spiritual and political. miles to return to their
—Janardan Sharma, Pushkar
native villages without
proper food, water or
Janardan Sharma gets this month’s ‘Write & Win’ prize of `1,000. —EDs monetary help, for
days on end. Some
How to Find Peace Anytime, Any Place even lost their lives on
Reading this article made even a cynic like me begin a the way home. I soon
meditation regimen. Though all the tips for beginners began to lose hope
were useful, I found the tip regarding posture particu- in human kindness.
larly helpful. The stereotypical image of people sitting However, after reading
cross-legged for meditation, I think, is why most the hospitality and

10 december 2021
Reader ’s Digest

kindness extended to Each One a Champion after birth and provide

Peter Mortimer who was Highlighting the grit prenatal care. Here’s
travelling such a great and determination of hoping the article will
distance by foot without our para-athletes— sensitize a more people
a cent in his pocket, re- who made history  to the hardships that
kindled my faith in peo- recently at the Tokyo people PwDs face.
ple. Perhaps all is not Olympics, Shail Desai’s  —Krishan Kalra,
lost in this world if it article was an inspira- Gurugram
is still home to such tional read. Each oneof
a compassionate lot. the medal winners—in Words of Wellness
Steve W. Frank, Chennai fact every participant— The article reveals the
deserves praise and joy and benefits that
While there is a feeling help in their pursuit of the habit of reading can
that the world has be- excellence. Having been bring to our lives. Read-
come wholly commer- associated with an NGO ing develops the mind,
cialized and people working with persons helps boost memory,
have become selfish, with disability (PwDs) imparts knowledge, en-
the kind hospitality for almost 10 years now, hances creative ability
extended to Peter Mor- I can safely assert that, and improves commu-
timer, a total stranger, by despite all government nication skills. Further,
the people he came schemes, these men reading to children in-
across during his penni- and women are still a troduces them to the
less 805 km-long jour- neglected lot. As against pleasure of reading early
ney, exposes this as a the 2011 census figure on and can help incul-
myth. The spontaneous of around 26.8 million cate a lifelong habit of
kindness exhibited by PwDs in the country, a reading. Furthermore,
most of them, supplying 2020 World Bank study reading to the elderly
food and shelter not puts the figure at an can help them over-
only to Peter but also to overwhelming 40 to come the loneliness
his canine companion, 80 million. Their access and boredom that
Sam, demonstrates that to healthcare, schools, many of them suffer.
a large number of fellow employment—espe- Beena Mathur,Pune   
humans definitely re- cially in the corporate
main compassionate sector—is full of obsta-
and love-filled. Thanks cles. As a matter of fact, Write in at editor.india@
for reminding us of this a number of disabilities rd.com. The best letters
discuss RD articles, offer
Peter and RD. are preventable if only criticism, share ideas.
Tharcius S. Fernando, our healthcare sector Do include your phone
Chennai could intervene soon number and postal address.

12 december 2021
 Reader ’s Digest

“I’ve seen a lot of survival training courses, but this is a tough one.”

“My first name is he assured me

Humour in John,” I explained, that the procedure

UNIFORM
“but I prefer to be wouldn’t hurt much
called by my middle and then asked what
name, Fred.” my husband did in
He replied, the service.
During ROTC, “We’ll keep that in “He’s a recruiter,”
I reported to Fort mind … John.” I said.
Bragg in North That summer “Hmm,” he said
Carolina for the I learnt to do every- wryly. “This might
summer training thing the Army way. hurt a little more
programme. Trai- —J. Fred Riley than I thought.”
nees were handed Source: GCFL.NET
ralph hagen/cartoonstock.com

piles of paperwork The technician

and ordered to fill taking my blood at
in the blanks, begin- the military medical
ning with our first clinic was very chip-
and last names. per, explaining, “I Reader’s Digest will pay
Before I could start, leave the service in for your funny anecdote
or photo in any of our hu-
I needed to clarify two months!” As he mour sections. Post it to the
something with the applied the tourni- editorial address, or email
sergeant in charge. quet around my arm, us at editor.india@rd.com
14 december 2021
 CONVERSATIONS

Our Social Media

Battlefield
With over 500 million users, it’s a frenetic arena: emergency help pleas
and political debates jostle for space with cat videos, fake news and
threats of violence. Can this digital Wild West be controlled, and
more importantly, should it be?

by Prasanto K. Roy

t the peak of the media to ask for help, over WhatsApp,

A second wave in
2021, hospi-
tals overwhelmed by
Facebook, Twitter and other platforms.
So amid that chaos of online oxy-
gen pleas, thousands of ‘respond-
critical Covid patients ers’ stepped in, tracking and verifying
began to run out of sources of oxygen, drugs, beds. They
oxygen. Twitter, Face- connected those asking for help to non-
book, Instagram—already flooded with profits, on-ground volunteers, suppli-
requests for ICU beds and drugs like ers, even those who had procured drugs
Remdesivir, now saw pleas for oxy- and cylinders to save a family member,
gen. On the May day weekend, Reuters but were too late, and made those
tracked 34,000 tweets about oxygen. available for others. Organizations like
Social media is a busy space in India, Khalsa Aid stepped in with oxygen con-
where almost all internet access is via centrator supplies, and saw their social
mobile phones. In fact, less than two media timelines flooded with requests.
per cent of India’s 1.19 billion telephone In one of India’s worst crises ever, so-
subscriptions are landlines. It’s increas- cial media saved lives. It was possibly its
ingly common for people to use social finest moment in a long time.

18 december 2021
 Reader ’s Digest

It doesn’t always work that well. In arrested for the lynching. No Muslims
April 2020, in Palghar, Maharashtra, ru- were involved.
mours circulated on WhatsApp about These weren’t the first lynch attacks
child abductors operating in the area fuelled by social-media rumours and
during the coronavirus lockdown. In fake news about child abductors in the
response, local residents created vigi- area. Those began in May 2017, with the
lante groups. On 16 April, two sadhus— killing of at least five men in Jharkhand.
ascetics who stayed in an ashram near A spate of lynching attacks followed in
Mumbai—were on their way to Surat to Tamil Nadu, and elsewhere.
attend a funeral, when a vigilante group These cases, and others, drove the
attacked and killed them and their government to change the law gov-
driver. Some policemen who intervened erning intermediaries (such as social
were also attacked and injured. media platforms)—so called because
photo: shutterstock

That wasn’t the end. Further ru- they carry messages from one person
mours began to circulate that the to another. Since they don’t influence
Hindu ascetics were killed by Muslims, the content of those messages, the
which threatened to trigger communal platform is not responsible for what
violence. Maharashtra’s home minister users say, as long it follows the law. A
released the names of over 100 people phone company, for example, also an

readersdigest.in 19
Reader ’s Digest

intermediary, is not held accountable anonymously, to protect their freedom

if two users plot a crime on the tele- of speech. One may fear being targeted
phone, but it must cooperate with law for expressing criticism, while another
enforcement, such as by assisting in may fear that her employer will be tar-
tracing them. geted for those statements (a common
It isn’t as simple with social media. pressure tactic on social media). The
A message can quickly reach thousands latest Data Protection Bill draft sug-
of users in minutes on WhatsApp, mak- gests mandating an easy process of
ing such platforms far more transmis- optional verification for platforms like
sive than phone calls. On the other Twitter. This is something civil society
hand, messaging platforms like Whats- organizations are protesting, as a slip-
App and Signal are encrypted, which pery slope towards mandatory verifica-
is one reason why so many—over tion and millions of identity documents
3.6 billion people worldwide landing up with social
in 2020— use social media ARGUABLY, media platforms.
freely. Break the encryption
A BIGGER An arguably bigger dan-
ger is the mass manipu-
and many would hesitate if
they knew that third parties DANGER IS THE lation of social media in
could snoop on their mes- MANIPULATION organized ways, to achieve
sages—the social media plat- OF SOCIAL ends that can range from
form itself, or state agencies. MEDIA IN gaming the stock market to
Traceability is an iffy, un- ORGANIZED gaming democracies.
certain proposition, a provi- WAYS, FROM The Cambridge Analy-
sion that can be abused or
even lead to wrongful arrests.
GAMING THE tica scandal demonstrated
this well. The political con-
A student sees something on STOCK MARKET sulting firm managed to
Instagram, cuts and pastes it TO GAMING acquire the personal data of
into WhatsApp, and it goes DEMOCRACIES. 8 7 m i l l i o n Fa c e b o o k
viral. If the police ask for that users via 2,70,000 users
message to be traced, and WhatsApp who used the app, and gave permis-
complies, they’d end up giving that sions to access information about their
students’ identity as the originator of friends network. The firm was able to
the message. analyze people’s political leanings from
If traceability is a dealbreaker for their actions online, and use ‘individual
encrypted messengers like WhatsApp, psychological targeting’ as a power-
is a user traceable on Twitter or Face- ful tool to influence poll outcomes. In
book? Not easily, unless she is verified. the 2016 Brexit referendum, it was able
Some opt to be verified, but many us- to persuade many voters to vote for
ers prefer to stay anonymous, and post leaving the European Union.

20 december 2021
 Conversations

Should the state have increased COVID lockdown, it remains a po-

access to citizens’ social media ac- tentially dangerous arena that needs
counts? Think of authoritarian nations, monitoring by parents, with boundaries
where such access not only curtails clearly spelt out. For instance, sexting by
freedom of speech, but can be danger- underage users, or stepping into physi-
ous for those citizens. In 2013, Report- cal meetings with people one meets on-
ers Without Borders published a list of line, should be a no-no. That applies to
five countries whose governments were older users too: women have encoun-
involved in active, intrusive surveillance tered violence from people they’ve met
of journalists and citizens, resulting in online, whether on Facebook, dating
grave violations of freedom of speech sites or even matrimonial sites.
and human rights: Bahrain, China, Iran, With all of these downsides, is the
Syria, and Vietnam. answer strict government regulation
While India isn’t on that list, its and control of social media? Yes, says
laws do give the government the China, and a small, but growing, num-
power to tap communica- ber of nations. No, say civil
tions without a court or- SOCIAL MEDIA society activists and organi-
der, for reasons of national GIVES EVERY zations in democracies like
security or public order.
CITIZEN A VOICE. India, the US and most of
There is also increasing
IT HAS A GREAT Europe. Overbearing gov-
targeting of social media
users, such as the journal-
DEAL TO BRING ernment control of social
media is a feature of au-
ist booked recently under TO THE TABLE IN thoritarian states. Democ-
serious terror charges for a A DEMOCRACY. racies tend to prefer light
three-word tweet: ‘Tripura BUT IT MUST regulation, and to protect
is Burning’, as well as 100 EVOLVE. fundamental rights and
other Twitter users who freedom of speech. Social
faced charges under the Unlawful media gives every citizen a voice. It lets
Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), of- their elected leaders interact directly
ten described as draconian. After inci- with citizens. Overall, social media has
dents of violence in the state, Tripura a great deal to bring to the table in a de-
police identified 78,000 Twitter han- mocracy. But laws must evolve to keep
dles, mostly from outside the state, for up with technology. India needs to look
posts reporting violence that differed to the world, exchange ideas and adopt
with its official versions. the best ones to allow this powerful tool
For those with children, social me- to strengthen its democracy.
dia is an additional frontier of worry.
While it helped children separated from Prasanto K Roy (@prasanto) is a public-
their friends for more than a year of the policy consultant and technology writer

readersdigest.in 21
 SMILE

Bye-Bye, 2021
By Patricia Pearson

wo years ago, before The Time of their friends, as one would expect

T of the Virus, my husband and I

spent a wonderful New Year’s
Eve ringing in 2020. We drank pro-
from young adults.
Celebrating the start of 2021 was
more like a hastily-assembled family
secco and played charades with good meeting of Neurotics Anonymous.
friends at their country house sur- How swiftly times had changed.
rounded by sparkling snow. Our two Although he would rather have
kids were off at parties with dozens been stuck in an elevator with bees,

22 december 2021 ILLUSTRATION BY Sam Island

 Reader ’s Digest

Geoffrey, our 20-year-old, came to guilty huff down the dark, empty road
stay for New Year’s Eve because he with our dog, who had doubtless just
had literally nothing else to do with- scarfed down the cat’s renal-support
out breaking the law. No gatherings kibble. At least she was happy.
allowed. Our 24-year-old daughter, Towards midnight, my son and
Clara, who hasn’t lived with us in I were reduced to watching, via
years, spent the evening in our guest livestream on my laptop, the midnight
room recovering from having wisdom countdown from New York’s Times
teeth yanked out of her head. While Square; my home in Canada is in the
one moped and the other moaned, same time zone. But the scene was
for my husband and me, the presence populated with ‘air dancer’ balloons
of two other humans in our quaran- rather than people. And then we
tined home several months into the finally noticed the ‘celebration’ was
pandemic was alarming, like we’d airing with a one-minute delay. Ten,
been invaded by bears. Nine, Eight … oh wait, never mind.
The only thing I could think to do We counted our blessings, though.
for the evening was contribute to the We were healthy, more or less. There
war effort, so to speak, by supporting was an uptick of hypochondria and
local restaurants, which were desper- germ phobia, with Clara having been
ate for takeaway orders. But Clara terrified of opening her mouth at the
could only imbibe baby food through dentist’s office, and Ambrose refusing
a straw; my husband, Ambrose, is a to leave the house due to the target
diabetic vegetarian who had just on his back; diabetes and high blood
gone off flour, potatoes and sugar; pressure were Covid-19’s favourite
and Geoffrey wasn’t focused on food vulnerabilities. Geoffrey, a robust
at all. He yearned for something un- young man, grew convinced that a
obtainable, like a girlfriend he might mole on his stomach was cancerous—
meet at a party, or, failing that … I it was not—and I actually have gener-
don’t know … a bowl of opium. alized anxiety disorder. So, maybe we
Everyone was miserable and short- weren’t mentally healthy. But we were
fused. Even I, a mother who prides together, and we were alive.
herself on being calm, burst out with It’s hard to imagine what the up-
an uncalled-for bellow: “Fine, I GIVE coming New Year’s Eve will be like,
UP! Fend for yourselves. I’ll support since we have all learned to lower our
local business by ordering triple expectations to almost nil. But maybe
amounts of steak-frites for myself”— that’s a good thing. There’s some-
after which, not knowing what else thing to be said for finding small,
to do, I marched in a confused and unexpected moments of joy when,

readersdigest.in 23
Reader ’s Digest

seemingly overnight, the story of your during meetings, but pets, children,
life changes. and neighbourhood noises crashed
One thing I observed is that people through their façades.
stopped trying to be glamorous. In other words, we all became
Women stopped wearing mascara, much more human. And the most
and what was the point of lipstick if celebrated moments of the pandemic
you wore a mask? Bra sales, surely, weren’t driven by celebrities, but by
dropped. I got so unused to wear- ordinary people all around the world
ing mine that I drove to the city for a just trying to see the funny side.
meeting and realized I’d forgotten to Like the popular young Vietnamese
choreographer promoting proper
handwashing through a dance chal-
THE BEST MOMENTS lenge on TikTok, and the bored BBC
HAVE BEEN Sports broadcaster. Unable to do the
ORDINARY PEOPLE play-by-play for real sports, he began
publicly broadcasting his dogs Mabel
SEEING THE FUNNY and Olive as they simultaneously ate
SIDE OF IT ALL. their bowls of food—providing co-
lourful commentary in the style of an
Olympics race. It all reminded me of
put it on. And then there was the day I something attributed to the ancient
went to the corner shop and suddenly poet Rumi: “If everything around you
noticed that all four of us standing in seems dark, look again. You may be
line for the cashier were wearing our the light.”
pyjama bottoms. I’m an old hand at anxiety, and
Many attempts to seem polished one thing I’ve learned is that the ca-
and ultra-successful at work were tastrophe never unfolds in the way
comically undermined by how few you think it will. If, as has been said,
of us understand technologies like anxiety is fear in search of a cause,
Zoom. A lawyer in Texas appeared be- we sure found cause these past two
fore a judge with a sad-faced-cat im- years. But we also found humour,
age over his own face, and he couldn’t and humanity.
figure out how to switch it off. The na- This December 31, as we ring in
tional political director for a US-based 2022, are we allowed to shout ‘Happy
advocacy group held a video meeting New Year!’ this time? I say let’s just
and accidentally turned into a potato do it. Let’s also knock back a drink
head. Working parents tried to pres- and—dare we?—maybe even hug
ent themselves formally to colleagues our friends.

24 december 2021
 It Happens

ONLY IN INDIA

“How much for one rose?”

Milking it troubled man and his decibel-defying music,

Babulal Jatav was at the claims of voodoo, the fireworks, dancing and a
end of his tether—his station-in-charge did marching brass band—
buffalo beauty wasn’t the next best thing: He you ask? Ranjit Kumar
holding up her end of dispensed some veteri- Parida, a poultry farmer
the bargain. Her ‘refusal’ nary advice, which we’re from Odisha, we hear,
to be milked drove Jatav happy to report worked isn’t a fan. Losing 63 of
to his wit’s end, and he like magic. Jatav now his chickens to wedding
sought recourse in law has firm grasp on his revelry—a vet confirmed
enforcement. Convin- cow and her udders. that the birds fell prey
ced that she was under source: indiatoday.in to fatal heart attacks—
a spell, Jatav lodged a Parida cited the heart-
complaint at the Naya- Wedding bells thumping music being
gaon police station, MP. Who doesn’t love a big, cranked out by a wed-
Rather than dismiss the fat Indian wedding— ding party crossing his
illustration by Raju Epuri
26 december 2021
 Reader ’s Digest

farm as the killer. The from our friends, and promises to be a fairly
wedding organizers re- the friendly neighbour- long wait.
fused to offer compen- hood doctor. source: dnaindia.com

sation, so Parida sought source: indiatoday.in

police action, but the After-life Assurance

cops played peacemaker, Size her up With elections in several
helping the warring Seeking a mate through Indian states around the
parties reach a happy, advertisements, isn’t corner, ‘tis the season
noiseless reconciliation. quite the ode to roma- for campaign promises!
source: ndtv.com nce but, the truth is, Voters know that politi-
few eyes would widen at cians during poll season
Don’t Stop Believing the patriarchal precision are afflicted with a dan-
UP priest Lekh Singh provided to guide an gerous disease of mak-
was distraught. He man’s search for a bride ing promises they rarely
hadn’t just let the Lord on matrimonial web- keep. But the hyperbole
down, he had broken sites. But, folks! Hear- meter shot through the
His arm while giving his teningly there is a bar on roof, when Aam Aadmi
idol of Laddu Gopal— how much is too much. Party (AAP) leader and
the childhood avatar of Listing oddly specific Delhi CM, Arvind Kejri-
Lord Krishna—a bath. physical measurements, wal claimed if we voted
Reduced to tears, this one ad on Betterhalf.ai for AAP, he would ensure
believer turned not to sought a bride who must that our life in this world
prayer, but the marvel be “5 foot 2 to 6 inches, and the next would
of modern medicine to 47 to 52 kgs, 32B to 32C, transform for the better.
heal the divine. Rushing size 12 to 16 (waist) and With life on the planet
to the district hospital, size 6 to 7 (feet)”, and being what it is, we un-
along with a few locals, must dress “80 per cent derstand the lure of a
Singh wailed at the hos- casual”. The groom-to- bright afterlife, but per-
pital staff insisting that be sought a meeting of haps the old prayer-and-
his idol needed emer- minds as well, identify- penance route to heaven
gency medical attention. ing his potential mate’s might be a surer bet.
The hospital, after some required political con- source: ndtv.com

protest, registered the victions. Nothing fancy, —COMPILED BY NAOREM ANUJA

patient under the name merely an ideological
‘Shri Krishna’ and ban- unicorn who is both Reader’s Digest will pay
daged the broken ap- “conservative” and for contributions to this
column. Post your sugges-
pendage. Guess the “liberal”. We wish the tions with the source to the
Almighty, just like us, discerning gentleman editorial address, or email:
gets by with a little help good luck through what editor.india@rd.com

readersdigest.in 27
 POINTS TO PONDER
From time to time I look up the meaning of the word ‘woke’. It means
‘alert to injustice in society, especially racism’. You’d imagine, then, that
it would be a nice thing to be ‘woke’. And yet, I find it is being
used as a word of abuse. ... What am I missing?
Harsha Bhogle, cricket commentator

Social media is a [virtual] public space like roads and

restaurants are, but the public decency and basic social
etiquette maintained offline are absent online. … but I feel

from left: alamy (2), hcmadras.tn.nic.in

strongly about not succumbing to online bullying or limiting
my presence online because of it. We cannot cede the virtual
public space to hate, bigotry and bullying.
Swara Bhasker, actor

Getting over a painful experience is much like crossing monkey bars.

You have to let go at some point in order to move forward.
C.S. Lewis, author

Harsha Bhogle Swara Bhasker C.S. Lewis

28 december 2021
 Reader ’s Digest

The first step towards nonviolence, which is surely an absolute

obligation we all bear, is to begin to think critically,
and to ask others to do the same.
from left: shutterstock, purushottam diwakar, shutterstock

Judith Butler, academic

To me, attacking someone over their religion is the most

pathetic thing that a human being can do. … People take out
their frustrations because they obviously have no
understanding of what we do as individuals. They have no
understanding of how much effort we put on the field. 
Virat Kohli, cricketer, on the online trolling of Mohammed Shammi
after India’s loss to Pakistan in the 2021 T20 world cup

I like to refer to my social circle as ‘boutique’. My friends are all unique

and high-quality and serve good food. But more than that, they teach me
things about the world and myself that I couldn’t learn anywhere else.
Dan Levy, actor

Judith Butler Virat Kohli Dan Levy

readersdigest.in 29
 Wellness from THEHEALTHY.COM

More Than
Winter-Dry
Skin
Eczema and psoriasis flare
up this time of year. Here’s
what you need to know

By Lisa Marie Conklin

with reporting by
Lambeth Hochwald and Jen Babakhan

or some people, freezing

F temperatures and harsh winds can

cause more than chapped lips and dry
skin. People with eczema or psoriasis—two
inflammatory skin conditions—are most
likely to experience flare-ups when the
weather turns cold and dry. Though these
skin conditions are often mistaken for each
other (both can include itching, rashes and
redness), there are differences in how they
affect the body and how they are treated.
There are several types of eczema, but the
most common is atopic dermatitis (AD), an

36 december 2021 Illustrations by James Steinberg

 The Healthy

allergic skin disease. The main symp- symptoms managed. The most impor-
tom is itching, which can be so intense tant step is moisturizing frequently.
that scratching leaves the skin vulner- Symptoms are usually treated with top-
able to infection. “Eczema is an inher- ical medications (including corticoste-
ited skin condition often associated roids), biologic agents (drugs created
with asthma or allergic rhinitis [hay in a lab to mimic naturally occurring
fever],” says Jeffrey Weinberg, MD, as- proteins and molecules), immuno-
sociate clinical professor of dermatol- suppressant drugs and phototherapy.
ogy with the Mount Sinai hospitals in Usually, the body grows new skin
New York City. cells and sheds them every 30 days.
Eczema often starts in early child- But for people with psoriasis, the im-
hood, and some people outgrow the mune system goes into overdrive and
symptoms as they age. In children the produces new skin cells every three
disease usually appears on the cheeks, to four days. Instead of shedding the
elbows, knees and scalp. In adults, ec- overproduced cells, the dead skin
zema typically shows up in the creases piles up as raised reddish patches
of the face and neck, behind the knees, with a thick, scaly, silvery-white layer.
and on the wrists and ankles. These patches—called plaques—
Besides itching, eczema symptoms can appear anywhere on the body
can include dry, red, scaly, or in- but most often occur on the elbows,
flamed skin; bleeding (from scratch- behind the knees, and on the scalp,
ing); swelling; crusted or oozing skin; lower back and buttocks. Psoriasis
and rough, leathery, scaly patches. can occur at any age, but it most com-
These symptoms can come and go, monly begins between the ages of 15
with periods of clear skin followed and 25.
by flare-ups when the skin becomes As with eczema, both environmen-
itchy and irritated again. tal factors and genetic predisposition
Anything that might rob the skin of play a role. While it may be difficult for
moisture can precipitate a flare-up, most people to tell the two conditions
including the cold, dry air of winter; apart, it’s actually fairly easy for der-
heating; and frequent bathing with- matologists: Psoriasis usually makes
out applying a moisturizer afterwards. the skin thicker and patchier than ec-
Skin that’s exposed to winter elements zema, and it doesn’t itch as intensely.
is particularly vulnerable, especially Winter is usually a bad time for
on the hands and face. And as people people with psoriasis, in part because
bundle up, wool and polyester cloth- of the cold, dry weather, but also be-
ing can also be irritants. cause of the relative lack of ultraviolet
There is no cure for eczema, but light, which can ease the condition in
flare-ups can be minimized and the warmer months. What’s more, just

readersdigest.in 37
 Reader ’s Digest

about anything that jolts the immune developing red, itchy skin patches,
system can bring about a painful she tried every topical medication
flare-up, including stress, colds, strep available, without success. Kerner had
throat or even an ear infection. heard about biologic medications, but
One in three people with psoriasis they were described as a last resort by
develop psoriatic arthritis, a disease her doctor.
that causes stiffness, swelling and She became more desperate as her
pain in the joints and surrounding condition worsened. “The patches
areas. The chronic inflammation in became more visible; they were on
psoriasis is also associated with other my arms and legs,” she says. “To cover
serious conditions such as cardio- them up I would wear long sleeves,
vascular disease and diabetes. turtlenecks, and pants—all the things
There are many treatment options you shouldn’t do with psoriasis
for psoriasis sufferers. Mild to moderate because it overheats the skin and
cases can be treated topically with a makes it worse.”
combination of steroids and emollients Finally Kerner consulted another
such as petroleum jelly mixed with doctor, who listened to her story and
salicylic acid, retinoids and vita- immediately said, “We’re going to put
you on a biologic.”
“PSORIASIS IS Kerner was so relieved she burst
into tears. “I began giving myself
NOT FATAL, BUT biologic injections every two weeks,
DEALING WITH IT and I felt like a new person,” she says.
IS MURDER.” As with eczema, psoriasis can make
people feel shunned because of their
skin’s appearance, even though the
min D. Phototherapy treatment can condition is not contagious. “There’s
help by exposing the skin to an artificial a huge social impact for psoriasis
source of UVB, a type of ultraviolet light. patients,” says Mark Lebwohl, MD,
Moderate to severe psoriasis usually a dermatologist with Mount Sinai in
requires systemic treatment with oral New York. “I’ve heard of hairdressers
medication (such as methotrexate and turning patients away, as well as
systemic retinoids) or biologics. blood banks not allowing people to
It was treatment with biologics donate. Sometimes it even results in
that finally helped Jennifer Kerner, job losses and absenteeism. Someone
37, a scientist and consultant with once said, ‘Psoriasis is not fatal, but
Booz Allen Hamilton in Washington, dealing with it is murder,’ and that’s
DC, control her psoriasis. Diagnosed a great description of it. It’s a truly
in high school after many years of devastating disease.”

38 december 2021
 The Healthy

LASIK are also at a higher risk. Some

lifestyle changes can minimize the
discomfort. First, take frequent
breaks from staring at computer and
phone screens, which cause tears
to work overtime, according to
Aditya Kanesa-thasan, MD, an
Coping with Dry Eye ophthalmologist at the Wills Eye
Hospital in Philadelphia.
Turn off fans or other direct air
By Beth Weinhouse to your face, as this can increase
the evaporative loss of tears as well,

D
ry eye—a condition that he says. The American Optometric
occurs when your eyes don’t Association (AOA) suggests using a
produce enough tears, the humidifier to keep the air moist, and
tears don’t work correctly, or they making sure to get a good night’s
evaporate too quickly—is much more sleep. Hydration can also play a role
than a nuisance. in keeping your eyes lubricated. The
“The burning can feel like sand AOA guidelines suggest aiming for
is in your eyes, and this can cause eight to ten glasses of water every day.
eye fatigue, light sensitivity and Over-the-counter lubricant eye
blurry vision,” says Angela Bevels, an drops can help ease symptoms. But
optometrist in Tucson, Arizona. when these remedies don’t provide
Anyone can develop the problem, relief or you find you’re using
but it’s more common in women drops more than six times a day,
and in people older than age 50. it’s time to see an eye doctor for
Sometimes dry eye is a temporary treatments that are available only by
condition caused by a variety of prescription or when administered in
irritants. But it can be chronic, a medical office.
t o o, w h e n c au s e d by i m mu n e “These include heat and com-
system diseases such as lupus and pression treatments of the eyelids to
rheumatoid arthritis. Skin issues on improve the tear film [the fluid layer
or around the eyelids and diseases that covers the eye], prescription
of the glands in the eyelids are also anti-inflammatory eye drops, and
common contributors. temporary plugs that can be placed in
People who wear contact lenses the eyelids to keep the tears around
or have had eye surgeries such as longer,” Dr. Kanesa-thasan says.

readersdigest.in 39
 13 THINGS
The Dark Web Demystified
By Michelle Crouch

The dark web is a collection of Because it’s anonymous and

1 Internet sites that you can’t find

with a regular search engine and
that people can visit anonymously.
2 encrypted, the dark web is
(perhaps unsurprisingly) a
hotbed of criminal activity. On dark
As opposed to the ‘surface web’ (the web marketplaces, there are listings
searchable part of the Internet that to buy drugs, firearms, porn, exotic
anyone can access), the dark web animals, credit card numbers and
is a subset of the ‘deep web’, which more—complete with photos, gush-
houses password-protected medical ing descriptions and user reviews.
and financial records, pages behind There are also hate sites, conspiracy
paywalls and cloud-based email theory forums and how-to tutorials
accounts such as Gmail. for every illegal activity imaginable.

40 december 2021 Illustration by Serge Bloch

 Reader ’s Digest

Although simply intermediary. Bitcoin cybersecurity firm

3 accessing the dark

web is perfectly
legal, it can be risky
was the original cur-
rency of choice, but
it has been losing favour
Gemini Advisory.
Criminals use stolen
data to make online
because the dark web because law enforce- purchases, or they
doesn’t have as many ment has been able imprint it on to a card
built-in protections as to trace some Bitcoin they can walk into a
the surface web does. transactions. Dark web business and use.
Surfing the dark web market administrators
can expose you to ma- are now experimenting An easy way to
licious software, hack-
ers, bots and scams.
with other currencies,
including Monero
and Litecoin.
8 keep your credit
cards off the dark
web: Make sure a web-
Since you can’t site address starts with

4 find the dark

web using a
regular browser such 6
The number of
dark web forum
users surged during
‘https’ (the ‘s’ stands
for ‘secure’) before you
enter your payment
as Chrome or Safari, the COVID-19 lockdown. information. You could
users have to download Criminals have taken ad- also use a mobile pay-
a special router to get vantage of our increased ment app that uses a
there. The most popu- time online, security technology that hides
lar is called Tor, short gaps created by remote your credit card num-
for The Onion Router. workforces and people’s ber when you pay.
It’s based on technol- anxiety during the crisis.
ogy developed by the Some companies
US Naval Research
Laboratory to protect
the communications 7
Even if you’ve
never been on the
dark web, there’s
9 will do a ‘dark
web sweep’ to
check whether your
of US agents operating a chance your credit information has been
under hostile regimes. card or bank informa- compromised. But
tion has. Both the num- there’s no reason to
Purchases on ber and volume of data pay for this service.

5 the dark web

are made with
cryptocurrency, which
breaches have escalated
in recent years, and at
least 115 million stolen
To see if your email
or phone number has
been included in a dark
allows people to trans- debit and credit cards web data dump, go to
fer money instantly and were posted to dark haveibeenpwnd.com.
anonymously anywhere web marketplaces in If you learn you’ve been
in the world without an 2020, according to part of a breach, change

readersdigest.in 41
 Reader ’s Digest

passwords and monitor hacked into your com- countries who want
financial accounts—or puter and recorded you access to unfiltered
consider a credit freeze. visiting an adult website or factual information.
or something else em- People under oppres-
There’s a barrassing, and threaten sive regimes can use it

10 reason why
experts say
you shouldn’t use the
to distribute the video to
your contacts unless you
pay a ransom. If this
to safely express views
that oppose their gov-
ernment and to access
same log-in credentials scam happens to you, organizations for sup-
for different websites. don’t pay a dime. Report port and resources.
Cybercriminals on the it to your city’s dedi- It’s also a place where
dark web buy huge cated cyber crime cell. anonymous sources
databases of username and whistleblowers
and password combina- Increasingly, can share secrets or tips
tions that come from
data breaches. Then
they use bots to plug
12 law enforce-
ment is using
the dark web to pin-
with journalists and law
enforcement without
compromising their
the credentials into point and break up identities. Many legiti-
bank portals and other illegal activity. In one mate organizations, in-
lucrative sites until they of the biggest busts cluding the New York
crack into an account. so far, 338 people were Times and Facebook,
arrested worldwide have versions of their
Fraudsters also in 2019 as part of a sites on the dark web.

11 use dark web

username/pass-
word lists for a common
takedown of a dark web
child pornography site. Protect Yourself
Learn more ways to
blackmail scam: They But The dark safeguard your identity
email you saying they
have your password and
share it as proof. Then
13 web isn’t all
bad. It can be
a lifeline for people
and maintain anony-
mity online in How to
Avoid Digital Immor-
they claim to have living in totalitarian tality on page 78.

Goodnight Twitter, Goodnight Facebook

My friend’s toddler babbled “Don’t forget to subscribe” as he was put to bed.
The kid watches so much YouTube, he thought it meant “goodbye”.
— @tomgara

42 december 2021
 The Benefits
of Emotional
Support Animals

For many people,

owning a dog or cat
can significantly alle-
viate depression,
news from the anxiety and loneliness,

WORLD OF
according to research
into the benefits of

MEDICINE
emotional support
animals. Although these
animals aren’t trained
to do anything that reg-
JUMP-START ular pets don’t do, they
hold special therapeutic
YOUR FITNESS significance for people
As a form of exercise that doesn’t who struggle with their
psychological health.
require leaving home, jumping rope has In an Ohio-based study,
been enjoying a surge in popularity among patients who adopted a
adults since the pandemic lockdowns be- dog or cat from a shelter
gan. Research has shown that jumping rope reported faring better,
on average, 12 months
strengthens the entire body by simulta- later. Depending upon
neously working muscles in the legs, arms, what the laws are where
and abdomen. It also boosts cardiovascular you live, you might be
fitness, which protects the heart, improves able to get your mental
health care provider
coordination and balance, which help to to certify your compa-
prevent falls and increases bone density, nion as an emotional
which wards off osteoporosis. Just remem- support animal. This
ber that landing puts a lot of force on your certification could
shutterstock

entitle you to privi-

legs, so if you give it a try, build up gradu- leges such as access
ally from shorter to longer sessions and to airplane cabins and
wear well-cushioned shoes to avoid injury. pet-free apartments.

44 december 2021
 Treating Epilepsy DIABETES
with a Keto Diet
IN DOGS: A
Although ketogenic POSSIBLE
diets are a weight-loss
fad, most dietitians
RED FLAG
wouldn’t recommend FOR OWNERS
them for that purpose.
However, keto diets When Swedish research-
have been used suc- ers compared pets’ veteri- Overcaffeinating
cessfully for over a nary records to their own- Could Raise
century to reduce ers’ medical records, they Glaucoma Risk
seizures in children. spotted a trend. In their
More recently, they’ve study, which followed If you have a family
shown themselves to 3,32,546 human–pet history of glaucoma, a
be effective for nearly pairs for up to six years, leading cause of vision
60 per cent of adults the owners of dogs with loss, then you may want
with drug-resistant diabetes were 38 per cent to go easy on caffeine,
epilepsy as well. Keto more likely to develop the suggests a study pub-
diets are heavy on condition themselves. The lished in Ophthalmol-
fats but low on carbo- same connection was not ogy. Among subjects
hydrates, which forces seen among cat owners. with a strong genetic
the body to use fat for Since dogs typically rely risk for glaucoma, a
(coffee cup) shutterstock; (dog) cynoclub/getty images

energy instead of its on their humans for exer- habit of drinking more
default source, the cise, insufficient physical than three cups of coffee
glucose that it breaks activity might be the main per day (or the equiva-
down from carbs. shared factor at play. In lent amount of caffeine
Researchers aren’t any case, if the vet diagno- from other sources such
sure why this meta- ses your pooch with dia- as tea or energy drinks)
bolic change reduces betes, it’s a good time to raised the likelihood of
seizures. If you’re examine your own life- developing the eye dis-
considering giving style and risk factors. ease. The explanation
the keto diet a try for probably lies with the
this reason, don’t go it fact that the caffeine
alone: You’ll need mon- drinkers also tended
itoring and coaching to have higher eye pres-
from medical profes- sure, which can lead to
sionals to implement it glaucoma by damaging
safely and effectively. the optic nerves.

readersdigest.in 45
Reader ’s Digest

46 december 2021
 COVER STORY

A Season of
Sweetness
& Joy
A wish list that found its way to ‘Santa’. An unlikely Christmas
far from home. A community that brightened a grief-stricken
home. If you need a little extra warmth this year,
these wonderful stories will do the trick.
he spot of red was what first

Toys to
the World
T caught Randy Heiss’s attention
on 16 December 2018. He was
hiking the remote expanse of land
behind his ranch in Patagonia, Arizona, a
town near the US–Mexico border, when
The man who found he spotted a balloon on the grass—or at
least the tattered remnants of one. Heiss
a child’s Christmas walked towards it with his dog, Feliz,
wish list that had thinking he should pick up the latex
photo: ©getty images

floated across the pieces and throw them away.

border decided That’s when he noticed the balloon’s
string was attached to a piece of paper.
to play Santa. “Dayami,” it read on one side, in a
By Amy Wang child’s writing. A hand-drawn bow
From the Washington Post accompanied the word.

readersdigest.in 47
Reader ’s Digest

Heiss flipped the paper over. It was

a numbered list, all in Spanish. “My
Spanish isn’t very good, but I could see
it was a Christmas list,” he said.
Heiss was charmed. He suspected
that a child had tried to send Santa
Claus a Christmas wish list by balloon,
something he used to do himself when
he was a kid. Nobody had ever re-
turned the letters Heiss had sent aloft,
but he wondered whether he couldn’t
find the girl who had sent this one. For years, the girl had
It would be difficult, but he had a few
clues. About 32 km to the southwest, been sending a letter
just across the border, was the city of
Nogales, Mexico, with a population of
to Santa by balloon.
about a quarter million.
“Based on the prevailing wind, I was
pretty sure that’s where it came from,” Heiss’s wife helped explain the situa-
he said. tion to Radio XENY host Cesar Barron,
Heiss brought the note home to who talked on the air about the quest
his wife, who is fluent in Spanish and to find Dayami and posted about it on
helped him translate the list. They de- the station’s Facebook page.
termined that Dayami, probably a girl, The next morning, Heiss awoke to
had asked for an Enchantimals doll another message from Radio XENY:
and dollhouse, clothes and art sup- They had located Dayami, an eight-
plies, among other things. year-old girl, and her family, who in-
Heiss then posted on Facebook deed lived in Nogales. Would they be
about his quest, attaching photos, willing to meet at the radio station?
hoping some of his friends in Nogales “It just changed my entire day,” Heiss
might know the girl’s family. said. Instead of going to his office, he
A few days passed with no leads; went shopping with his wife.
Heiss worried that time was running They bought just about everything
photo by yasu+junko

out before Christmas. On 19 Decem- on Dayami’s list except for the

ber 2018, he decided to send a private dollhouse (it was sold out). They
Facebook message to Radio XENY, an also bought a few other toys for good
AM radio station based in Nogales. measure, as they had learnt that
To his surprise, someone from the Dayami had a younger sister, four-year-
station called him back right away. old Ximena.

48 december 2021
 Cover Story

Then the Heisses drove for 45 minutes,

crossing the border into Nogales. They
arrived at the Radio XENY offices with
His First
presents by the armload—and finally
met two very excited little girls.
Christmas
Their parents explained to the Far from home, a new-
Heisses that Dayami had been writ- comer finds warmth and
ing a letter to Santa and sending it by
balloon for years, but this was the first joy among strangers.
time anyone had found the note. By Paul Robert
“Their eyes were wide open with
wonder,” Heiss said of the two sisters’ t was mid December 2015 when
reactions. “Like, ‘Oh my gosh, this
really did work!’”
Not wanting to spoil Santa Claus
for the girls—who still believe in him,
their parents said—Heiss and his wife
I 18-year-old Froghuddin Sayedy
turned a corner onto Roncalliplatz,
the square in front of Cologne
Cathedral. He stopped in amazement,
not because of the overwhelming
told them they were ‘Santa’s helpers’. sight of Germany’s largest cathedral;
“It was a beautiful, beautiful expe- he’d seen it before. It was because a
rience,” Heiss said. He paused. “Quite huge tree, maybe 25 metres high, had
healing for us,” he added. appeared. How could it have grown
Ten years ago, Heiss, 61, and his there so quickly? And why were there
wife lost their only child, a son. They lights on it, and decorations?
have no grandchildren. “Being around The Afghan refugee had no idea
children at Christmas has been what Christmas, Christmas trees or
absent in our lives,” he said. “It’s pretty much anything in this cold
been kind of a gaping hole in our country were. When he had crossed
Christmas experience.” the border in August, he spoke only
He has since reflected on what a Dari and Pashto (the official languages
miracle it was that he spotted the bal- of Afghanistan), plus some English. “I
loon at all, let alone that he was able to thought I might be somewhere in Rus-
locate Dayami and her family. sia,” he says. But on the way to a refugee
“We now have friends for life,” Heiss centre, he recognized the German flag;
said. “And, for a day, that border fence he’d seen it on troops in Afghanistan. It
with its concertina wire melted away.” was now the flag of his new home.
Sayedy grew up as the son of a fruit
Luis Velarde contributed to this report. grower in western Afghanistan. “I went
Washington Post (21 December 2018), Copyright to the village school until I was 12,” he
© 2018 by Washington Post, washingtonpost.com.
says. His education came to an abrupt

readersdigest.in 49
Reader ’s Digest

halt when the Taliban blew up his Campaign), which brings refugees
school (the kids weren’t in it at the into contact with Germans. “A young
time); Sayedy says they didn’t like that teacher, Julia, invited me for Christ-
it educated boys and girls together. mas dinner at her parents’ home,”
“After that, I worked in a shop.” he remembers. “I had no idea what
One day, Taliban fighters came to Christmas was.”
find recruits. “I have five sisters and On 26 December, Sayedy arrived
an older brother who is a doctor,” at the home in nearby Mönchengla-
he says. “They told my mother they dbach. “The whole family was there,”
needed doctors, and that they needed he recalls. “Julia stayed beside me, be-
me to learn how to make bombs.” cause she was the only one who spoke
The family decided the brothers had English. They were all very nice peo-
to run. The elder one headed north, ple. But I wondered, Why would they
to Kazakhstan, but Sayedy, a cousin, grow a tree in the living room? Then I
and five other teens aged 14 to 18 fled saw that it didn’t have roots. Julia ex-
Taliban enlistment by heading west, plained the tradition of bringing a cut
for Europe. “We heard we could get tree indoors for Christmas and deco-
an education there,” he says. rating it. She told me that Christmas
Sayedy’s group travelled through is similar to our Sugar Feast.” The fes-
Iran and Turkey, then north to Bul- tival marks the end of Ramadan, the
garia, through Serbia, Hungary and holy month of fasting. Muslims join
Austria, and finally into Germany. friends and relatives to eat, exchange
Along the way, they walked and hitch- gifts and donate to charity.
hiked, and for several hours, rode “Everything was strange for me,”
from Hungary to the German bor- says Sayedy. “I tried raclette for the
der with dozens of other refugees in first time. Everybody had a little pan
the back of a truck that had no light and they explained what to do with
or fresh air. “Close to the border the the food and the cheese. And then
driver opened the door and let us out.” we had stuffed goose and red cab-
The seven teenagers were sent to bage, which I had never had before.
various German cities for registration. I loved it all.”
“We all cried when they split us up,” From then on Sayedy gradu-
says Sayedy. He was moved between ally learnt Germany’s language and
refugee centres, eventually board- its ways. Sometimes he has been
ing a bus for Cologne, a city he had shocked, like the time he was in-
heard of. There, he looked for people troduced to the female director of a
who would help him learn German. refugee organization—and she held
He also filled out a form of the Aktion his arm. “I stiffened completely,”
Neue Nachbarn (New Neighbours he says. “In Afghanistan, you don’t

50 december 2021
 Cover Story

even look an unknown woman in the

eyes.” He called his brother in Kaza-
hkstan to tell him what happened.
“My brother explained that this didn’t
mean anything, that this was normal
in Germany.”
Now, Sayedy is a legal resident of
Germany and works as a sous-chef
in a Cologne restaurant specializing
in southern German dishes like white
sausage and schnitzel. “I’m the chef
when the chef is not there,” he says
with pride in his voice. He learnt to
cook through Über den Tellerrand, an
organization that brings immigrants
and native Germans together through
communal meals. “Next year I want
to go to Switzerland to learn more, Of the hundreds of
and one day I hope to be good
enough to work in a restaurant with a religions in the world,
Michelin star.”
Sayedy also volunteers as an in-
nobody knows which is
terpreter. “When I first arrived, Ger- the right one. You just
man volunteers helped me learn the
language. Now I can give something make sure that you
back. I speak Dari and Pashtun, and I are a good person.
understand Farsi and Urdu, so I help
new refugees from Afghanistan, Paki-
stan and Iran.” coronavirus restrictions, so I cooked
And, he loves Christmas. Every year several meals.” He’s hoping to host a
he invites his Afghan friends, includ- bigger group again this year.
ing those he arrived with, and his Sayedy understands the Christian
‘German family’—close friends he significance of Christmas. Of it, he
photo : ©getty images

has made over the past six years. He says, “Back in my home village, my
puts a Christmas tree in his flat and uncle always told me that there are
cooks stuffed goose with red cabbage hundreds of religions in the world,
for everyone, up to 30 people. and since nobody knows which is the
“Last year I could receive only right one, you must just make sure
six guests at a time, because of that you are a good person.”

readersdigest.in 51
Reader ’s Digest

52 december 2021
 A N G E L S )I N )AC T I O N

Up In
LIGHTS
A community puts on a dazzling display
of support for a grieving family

By Rebecca Meiser
Photographs by Joleen Zubek

or some, put ting up And why wouldn’t he be? It was

F
Christmas lights is yet a family affair. Starting in early
another holiday chore. But November, Anthony and his older
in the Pascucci household, sister, Connie Pascucci, had a tradition
it was always a big day of of visiting local stores to check out new
celebration. Every year on decorations and to dream up their
the day after Thanksgiving, Anthony vision for that year’s extravaganza.
Pascucci, the family patr iarch, Anthony’s son, Anthony Jr., and
woke up excited to string lights and daughter, Sara, shared the home,
decorate the lawn of his home in and they pitched in as well. Anthony
Bethpage, New York. Jr. helped with the wiring, while Sara

readersdigest.in 53
Reader ’s Digest

hung ornaments on the tree inside the Then Connie got a call: Someone
house, playing ‘White Christmas’ over she worked with had tested positive
and over to keep everyone in the spirit. for COVID-19. Though Connie didn’t
In 2020, as in every other year, have any symptoms, she decided to
Anthony Sr. strung colourful lights get tested right away. Her rapid test
all around their roof until it looked came back positive.
as if sparkles were dripping onto the Anthony Sr., Anthony Jr. and Sara
porch. On the front lawn, he inflated a decided they should all get tested
large white Frosty the Snowman and a too. When their results came back,
Rudolph with a glowing red nose. The they all learnt that they also had
whole place looked like a scene from COVID-19. Sadly, everyone agreed
a pop-up Christmas storybook. their Christmas celebration would
have to be canceled.
At first, ever yone’s symptoms
“Take your Christmas seemed manageable. But right after
the new year, on 4 January, Anthony
lights down! It’s Sr. started having trouble breathing.
Valentine’s Day!!!” the Anthony Jr. took him to the hospital,
unsigned letter read. where he was admitted.
Five days later, Connie began feeling
weak and wouldn’t eat. Sara called an
Anthony Sr., 60, had outdone him- ambulance for her, but Connie died be-
self, as if the brightness of the lights fore they got to the hospital. Less than
could counter some of the darkness of a week later, Anthony Sr. passed away.
the past year, with COVID-19. Sara says the next weeks were the
“It was just such a rough year that he worst of her life. She felt as if she was
tried his best to make it extra special,” in a fog. Grief left her doubled over
Sara says. in pain. On top of that, “we were still
When her 18-month-old son, Robbie, recovering from COVID-19 ourselves,”
saw the finished display, he ran around she says.
the yard, pointing and giggling. In addition to helping to plan fu-
On Christmas Eve, the whole house nerals for her father and her aunt,
twinkled with lights, and gifts were Sara had to figure out the mortgage,
piled under the tree. Everyone was transfer the utility bills, and tackle a
looking forward to platters of crispy seemingly endless list of difficult to-
fried calamari and overly stuffed dos. And perhaps hardest of all, she
clams—a typical Italian feast. But most had to try to explain to her young son
of all, they looked forward to enjoying the concept of death. It was almost too
another Christmas together as a family. much to take.

54 december 2021
 Cover Story

But when she pulled up to the Sara looked at the paper in shock.
house at the end of a long day, the Then she got angry. “We were already
twinkling Christmas lights brought dealing with so much,” she says.
her a spark of joy. “It made us happy Sara could have bottled up that an-
to see them,” she says. ger, but she decided to write about it
Making it even more poignant, the instead. “I wanted to remind people
lights were one of the last memen- that we all had a tough year. We all
tos Sara and Anthony Jr. had of their have been through so much and peo-
beloved family members when they ple should be a little more caring to-
were still alive and healthy. ward each other,” she says.
“I couldn’t bring myself to put them She logged on to a local Long Island
away,” Sara says. Taking the lights Moms Facebook group and shared
down felt like a final act of closure she the letter, adding a note of her own:
and her brother weren’t ready to take. “For anyone in the Bethpage area—if
So they kept them up. you know of a person who would do
One day in February, Sara received something so insensitive like this,
an envelope in the mail. It had no re- please pass along my message.” She
turn address. “I thought it contained ended the post with this: “Be kind to
my dad’s ID card,” she says. She had people because you never know what
been waiting to get a few of her dad’s they are going through.”
belongings back from the hospital. In- Others in the group rallied to Sara’s
stead, inside the envelope she found side. Her inbox quickly filled with
an anonymous typed note. messages of support. A local news sta-
“Take your Christmas lights down! tion learned what had happened and
It’s Valentine’s Day!!!” the unsigned ran a segment about it. People from
letter read. all around the area started sending

readersdigest.in 55
Reader ’s Digest

Sara letters and Facebook messages Sarah knew for a fact that the families
about how they’d lost relatives, too, inside these houses had already taken
and how it was especially tough to down their holiday lights.
lose loved ones around the holidays. The mystery had a sweet explana-
The prevailing sentiment from tion: Her neighbours had gotten to-
friends old and new: Keep the Christ- gether and decided, collectively, to
mas lights up. hang their lights back up and turn
“I know what it feels like to lose them back on in honour of Anthony
someone and not want to put their Sr. and Connie.
things away. It’s very hard,” one man “I couldn’t believe that someone
told her when he stopped by with would send her this letter,” neighbour
roses. Neighbours sent meals and Karen McGuggart told the Washington
cards in support. Someone even set Post. “Losing her wonderful dad, whom
up a GoFundMe page to help cover all the neighbours loved, and her beau-
the funeral expenses. tiful aunt, who was always smiling, is
“I wasn’t expecting that much sup- such a tragedy. We [were] heartbroken.”
port,” Sara says. “But having it helped When McGuggart’s children heard
us get through a rough time, just what had happened to Sara, they were
knowing that people could relate.” outraged. They went up to the attic to
And then something strange be- retrieve their box of Christmas lights,
gan to happen. Sara was driving back and then they—like dozens of others
from work one day when she noticed in their neighbourhood and surround-
that Christmas lights and decorations ing area—got out the ladder and set
were appearing—or reappearing—on about reinstalling their holiday lights
neighbours’ houses. In most cases, and decorations.

56 december 2021
 Cover Story

“To see the lights and the block Sara, her brother, and her son
lit up again,” Sara says, “it touched stood outside their house, drink-
my heart.” ing hot chocolate and waving to
the passing crowd. The icing on the
cake: It had snowed the night before,
One mean-spirited act was so all the lawns were covered with
a dusting of white powder. It was as
far outweighed by so many if all of the world were conspiring to
more acts of kindness. make sure Sara and her family had a
The neighbours’ shows of proper Christmas.
“We got a little bit of joy back that
support were an important night,” Sara says.
reminder that most people She never learnt the identity of the
have good hearts. Scrooge who sent the note. But for
the Pascucci family, that one mean-
spirited act was far outweighed by
The support didn’t stop there. When so many more acts of kindness.
the man formerly named Frank Pas- The shows of support by their neigh-
cuzzi—who legally changed his name bours were an important reminder
to Santa Claus—saw Sara’s story on that “the good does outweigh the bad
TV, he decided to take his Santa suit and most people have good hearts,”
out of seasonal retirement. He spends she says.
the holidays dressing up in Santa’s tra- A few weeks after the Valentine’s
ditional red-and-white suit and doing Day Christmas parade, Sara and
appearances for local organizations, Anthony Jr. decided they were ready
including the New York Yankees pro- to take down the lights. Sara said it
fessional baseball team. was hard to pack them away—“but
On Valentine’s Day, Claus rode not as hard as I think it would have
down Sara and Anthony Jr.’s street in been if we didn’t experience all that
a car parade he had helped organize, support and love.”
and which also featured Mrs. Claus As for this Christmas, Sara says,
and the Grinch. One of the first cars “We are not going to make it a sad
in line blasted ‘Frosty the Snowman’ holiday. We will keep the tradition
while some 60 others followed in ve- going. We’re definitely going to do
hicles decked out with flashing Christ- something big.”
mas lights. And if they make their display
“We wanted them to see that bright enough, she believes her dad
the community was behind them,” and aunt might even be able to see it
Claus says. from heaven.

readersdigest.in 57
Reader ’s Digest

LIFE’S
Like That

My sister sent me a
frantic text: “Help!
Any suggestions? I’m
almost ready to resort to
a hammer!” Attached was
a photo of a wine bottle
with a broken cork, a
piece of which was firmly
lodged in the neck of the
bottle. I texted back, “An
optimist would say that
the cork is half out.”
She quickly replied,
“That’s who the ham-
mer’s for!”
—Dale Hartley

On New Year’s Eve,

present says “From
my husband and I were midnight, she
Mom and Dad,” and
seeing the old year out blurted, “I’ll have dan reynolds/cartoonstock.com
you just know that Dad
with another couple. to tell you this qui-
has absolutely no idea
Jessica was a good friend ckly, because my
what’s inside.
but a bad gossip, and that New Year’s resolu-
— @iwanciw
night was no different, tion is to stop talk-
except that she kept ing about people.”
glancing at her watch. —Betty Rosian One of my boys had
The later it got, the faster a habit of never accept-
she talked. Finally, at Love it on Christmas ing blame for anything.
three minutes before day when a label on a I mean anything. Once,

58 december 2021
when he was a toddler, Before cell phones, THE
he had an accident in I was in Manhattan
SWEET
his pants. He pointed to visit my brother.
BIRD OF
to his brother and
shouted, “Mark did it!”
Stopping at a pay phone
to call him, I reached
YOUTH
—Betty Stutson into my wallet for a HAS
scrap of paper with his ARTHRITIS
A classmate was number on it. People on Reddit
recall the moment
examining my driver’s When I got to his
they realized, Hey,
licence. She seemed place, he greeted me
I’m no longer young!
surprised when she with “So, you lost your ÊWhen I went through
noticed that it indi- wallet.” A woman had the house yelling to the
cated that I was an just called him, saying kids, “When you leave a
organ donor. So she had found the room, turn the light OFF!”
much so that she wallet with his phone ÊWhen I dislocated
asked, “Which organ number inside. She my jaw yawning.
did you donate?” was sitting in a bar and ÊWhen sons of football
gave him the address.

donnichols/getty (switch), nattapol sritongcom/eyeem/getty (hand)

— @lexadelgay players I watched growing
I hurried over and up got drafted into the
(On the phone with found my hero. National Football League.
my mom) “May I buy you a ÊAs I left a bar and
Me: What’s your drink?” I asked. waited outside for my
secret to 55 years “Oh, that’s sweet, husband to come out,
of marriage? dear,” she said, handing I thought, We’re the
Mom: We never me my wallet. oldest people here by
10 years at least. Then, to
hated each other “But you don’t have
my relief, I saw an old guy
on the same day. enough money.” in the crowd. Then, to my
— @GingerHotDish —Michael Hauptman horror, I realized the old
in the New York Times guy was my husband.

My wife just came out of nowhere and

said, “You weren’t even listening, were Reader’s Digest will pay
for your funny anecdote
you?” Like, bro, that’s a really weird way or photo in any of our
humour sections. Post it
to start a conversation. to the editorial address, or
— @lewisraindrop 11 email: editor.india@rd.com

60 december 2021
 HEALTH

Get
Your
Best
Sleep
Ever
Your health
depends on
it. Here’s the
latest expert
advice and
tips for a good
night’s rest
BY Leah Rumack AND Mark Witten
EDITED BY Ishani Nandi

PHOTO GRAPH BY Vicky Lam

ILLUSTRATIONS BY Jeff Kulak

62 december 2021
 Reader ’s Digest

readersdigest.in 63
Reader ’s Digest

The bad news first: Indians STEP ONE

are sleeping less than they should.
A 2015 study conducted by a
consumer products firm revealed
Optimize
that nearly 93 per cent of us are Your
sleep-deprived. Chronic stress,
near-constant screen-time and a
Bedroom
more sedentary lifestyle—all of 1. The Pillow
which increased during the pan- That Adapts
demic—are some reasons. Avoid a sore neck in the
If you don’t get enough sleep, morning by investing in
countoured, wedge-shaped
(PREVIOUS SPREAD) OFF-FIGURE STYLING BY DEE CONNOLLY; EMBROIDERY ON MASK BY BRIANNA KINNAIRD

the negative effects on your health or memory foam pillows.

can be profound. Once you reach Adujstable pillows that have
your 50s, if you’re sleeping less removable foam cubes to
let you customize it to the
than the recommended seven perfect height and firmness
hours a night, your risk of devel- are another good option.
oping dementia jumps by 30 per
cent. That is, if you make it to that 2. The Sounds
point. Inadequate sleep also of Silence
From gentle waves and pat-
increases the risks of heart attack, tering raindrops to soothing
stroke, hypertension, obesity, dia- wind chimes or the rhythmic
betes and other health issues. beats of a turning fan, white-
noise machines play tracks
On the flip side, a restorative that are designed to mask
sleep is good medicine, a natural the low-frequency disrup-
elixir that far exceeds the benefits tions—like snoring, noisy
neighbours and distant
of any pill. And getting enough traffic—that are the most
keeps you mentally sharp during common sleep disturban-
the day, better able to deal with ces. If you prefer complete
silence to fall asleep instead,
life’s stresses and conflicts. try soft silicone or foam
The good news? We spoke ear plugs that drown out
to  the experts and did the unwelcome noise from
research to help you rest easier, your surroundings.
starting tonight.
64 december 2021
 Health

3. The Blanket That

Keeps You Cozy
Over the last few years,
weighted blankets have
1 moved from a niche product
used mostly in therapeutic
settings to a standard bed-
room item. They’re designed
to feel like a nice, firm hug,
2 one that’s been proven to
reduce anxiety, offer sensory
input through evenly applied
pressure and help you get
your Zs. A seven kilogram
blanket works best for one
person who weighs at least
45 kilograms.

4. The Mattress
That’s Always Cool
3 Waking up because you’re
too hot is a common com-
plaint, whether it’s due to
the weather, medication,
hormonal hot flashes or plain
old human biology. When we
sleep, our temperature drops
by a couple of degrees, and
we shed that heat into our
sleeping environment. To
turn down the temperature,
various mattress brands have
come out with cooling mat-
4 tres models, with features
such as breathable fabric,
support structures that
circulate, not trap heat or
a layer of cooling gel.

readersdigest.in 65
Reader ’s Digest

STEP TWO

will settle down and the quality of

Troubleshoot your sleep will improve.
Your Sleep Issue You don’t feel rested
We asked Dr Ram Randhawa of in the morning
UBC Hospital’s Leon Judah Black- If you’re sleeping between seven and
more Centre for Sleep Disorders nine hours a night and are still feel-
for some advice on what to do about ing exhausted and irritable, Rand-
the most common problems. hawa says you should be assessed
for sleep apnoea at a sleep-disorders
You can’t get to sleep, stay clinic. This condition, which affects
asleep or wake up too early around 34 million Indians, causes
These symptoms all fall under insom- people to stop breathing and wake
nia and are usually caused by stress, up for five to 15 seconds multiple
irregular sleep schedules or exces- times an hour through the night.
sive use of electronic devices in the Sleep apnoea is often treated with a
evening. Randhawa suggests three CPAP (continuous positive airway
basic strategies: pressure) machine, which helps you
1. Lower your arousal level breathe by keeping the airway open
before bed with relaxation tech- while you sleep. Shedding excess
niques or soothing rituals and rou- weight and avoiding alcohol before
tines, such as reading a book or lis- bed may also be effective for mild
tening to a meditation app. sleep apnoea.
2. Re-establish the bedroom
as a calm place to sleep by going You sleep too long
to bed only when you’re sleepy, get- According to Randhawa, oversleep-
ting out of bed when you can’t sleep ing can be a symptom of depression
and using the bedroom exclusively because the same brain systems
for your calming routines, sleep involved in causing mood disorders
and sex. Keep electronic devices can also disrupt your body’s regula-
out of the bedroom. tion of sleep. And since regularly
3. Although it may sound coun- sleeping too much—more than nine
ter-intuitive, spend less time in bed. hours a night—is linked to health
Go to bed later, which increases problems such as heart dis-
the pressure on your body ease, type 2 diabetes and
to sleep, and then wake obesity, he suggests
up earlier. You might get oversleepers speak
less sleep the first week, to their GP about
but Randhawa says this getting a mental-
health assessment.

66 december 2021
 Health

non-pharmaceutical antidotes.
For one, you can try writing down a list
of pressing problems and worries
before going to bed. Give yourself time
to reflect, process and work out next
steps or solutions. Then let those
worries go so you don’t ruminate
into the night.
Once you’ve thought things through,
to bring down your blood pressure and
heart rate, Dr Andrew Lim, a
neurologist at Sunnybrook Health
Sciences Centre in Toronto,
recommends trying a variety of
relaxation techniques and rituals.
Meditation, yoga, abdominal
breathing, soft music or taking a hot
bath can all help calm your nervous
STEP THREE system and switch off the body’s ‘fight
or flight’ response.
Learn How to Get If those strategies aren’t working,
Rest When Stressed cognitive behavioural therapy can
help with insomnia caused by stress.
Worries about work, health and For this treatment, a therapist will
finances, as well as stressful life events, help you recognize negative thoughts,
such as job loss, divorce, major illness feelings and behaviours that are
or the death of a loved one, are all contributing to insomnia, and, in six
common causes of insomnia. This to eight sessions, you’ll learn to
happens because, even if your body is reframe them in a way that is
ready for rest, stress causes your brain conducive to sleep.
to go on high alert. That, in turn, Lastly, try not to add to your stress
triggers the release of hormones like by worrying about a lack of sleep.
adrenalin and cortisol and increases “Paradoxically, sleep isn’t something
your blood pressure and heart rate. you can achieve with effort. The harder
“It doesn’t matter how tired you are,” you try to sleep, the more elusive it
says Randhawa. “If you are in a room becomes,” says Randhawa. “The best
with a tiger, you won’t fall asleep.” advice is to improve your stress
Thankfully, the physiology of how management and let your sleep
stress disrupts sleep points to effective, improve naturally.”

readersdigest.in 67
Reader ’s Digest

Harvard University study

found that irregular bedtimes
and wake-up times, and fluc-
tuating amounts of sleep,
increased the risks of obesity,
high cholesterol, high blood
pressure and high blood
sugar, among other health
problems. For each hour of
sleep variability, these health
risks rose by up to 27 per cent.
It also helps to know
whether you’re naturally an
early bird or a night owl—
tendencies called chrono-
types. Because chronotypes
are genetically influenced, it
can be hard for some people
to purposefully change them.
STEP FOUR About five to 10 per cent of people are
true early birds, and 15 per cent are true
Get on the Right night owls, with most people falling
Sleep Schedule into the intermediate range of sleeping
from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m.
The time that we fall asleep and wake up Naps can be either helpful or detri-
is regulated by something called a cir- mental to sleep, depending on the
cadian rhythm, or internal clock, that’s individual, duration and specific sleep
mainly set by visual cues of light and issue. If you don’t generally struggle
darkness. Circadian rhythms also affect with sleep, a short nap of less than
other biological processes, such as body 30 minutes, not too late in the day, can
temperature, metabolism, appetite and restore alertness without compromis-
hormone release—all of which adjust ing night-time sleep.
so that our bodies move into sleep. “For people with insomnia, our
The best sleep schedule is a consis- advice is usually not to nap,” says
tent one. If your natural sleep-wake Dr Najib Ayas, a physician at the Leon
rhythm gets thrown off by shift work, jet Judah Blackmore Centre for Sleep Dis-
lag or bedtimes that are all over the orders, explaining that it’ll reduce the
map, this can seriously disrupt sleep healthy pressure to sleep that builds up
and affect your overall health. A 2019 throughout the day.

68 december 2021
 Health

STEP FIVE

The calming effects of

Try These chamomile tea may be
due to an antioxidant
Sleep Aids called apigenin that
binds to brain receptors
that may reduce anxiety
and initiate sleep.

Artificial light at night sends the wrong signal

Sleep meditation apps, to your brain and disrupts sleep. A Sleep
like Calm or Headspace, offer Science study found that sleep masks were
guided meditations and an easy way to improve the quality of sleep
breathing exercises to help for patients hospitalized in a brightly lit
you fall asleep. And a recent coronary-care unit—so they’ll work for that
study showed that they really street lamp outside your window, too.
work if you stick with them—
people with insomnia who
(PILLS) ISTOCKPHOTO.COM/EHSTOCK; (TEA) ISTOCKPHOTO.COM/SVETLANA_ANGELUS;

used Calm for eight weeks

(MASK) ISTOCKPHOTO.COM/SANTJE09; (LIGHT-THERAPY BOX) COURTESY OF VERILUX

improved their sleep quality

and reduced their daytime
sleepiness and fatigue.

A Sleep and Biological

Rhythms study
reported that insomni-
acs slept better after
sitting in front of a
light-therapy box for
Your body naturally produces an hour each morning.
the sleep-inducing hormone As long as the device
melatonin in response to emits at least 10,000
darkness. But since people lux of light, it’ll trigger
can become melatonin defi- your body to release
cient, supplements may help. melatonin, the natural
There’s also emerging evi- sleepy-making hor-
dence that magnesium can mone, later that eve-
assist with sleep, as it relaxes ning at the ideal time
the muscles and has anti- to settle you into a
anxiety properties. good night’s rest.

readersdigest.in 69
Reader ’s Digest

photo: netflix

70 december 2021
 eat
INTERVIEW

ALL YOU CAN

Nobel laureate Abhijit

Banerjee’s book of recipes
will change your kitchen,
and, possibly, your life

by Shreevatsa Nevatia

O
n the day Abhijit Banerjee
spoke to us via Zoom last
month, he was thinking of
making himself an endive
salad with walnuts, some apple and a
little blue cheese. “The range of flavours
is stunning,” he claimed. “The apples
PHOTOGRAPH BY BANDEEP SINGH

are there for sharpness, the walnuts

for nuttiness and then I add a little
mustard for some bitter-sweetness. It
is just wonderful!”
There is something very tangible
about the Nobel laureate’s delight. It
makes it hard to not salivate. Cheyenne
Olivier only makes the envy worse

readersdigest.in 71
Reader ’s Digest

quite obviously a kind of collaboration

that often only results from a deep, last-
ing familiarity. An altogether unusual
cookbook, Cooking to Save Your Life
won’t actually save your life—it seems
a lot more interested in taste and relish
than calorie intake—but it could, sadly,
make impossible for its readers the ex-
cuse, ‘I cannot cook to save my life’.
While Banerjee’s prose and recipes are
both equally lucid, Olivier’s geometric
drawings make you hungry without
ever being intrusive. There’s comfort
here, but, also, sustenance.
Not only is Banerjee averse to the
‘hyperreal aesthetics’ of most cook-
books—recipes, he writes, are only
ideas, starting points—he sometimes
Illustrator Cheyenne Olivier believes food even gets frustrated with the cook-
recipes should be adapted to our daily lives books he does like: “They keep wanting
to refine things. There’s this idea that
when she reminds Banerjee that this one more step will make it better. The
French salad used to be a “staple” when attitude in our cookbook is very much
she worked with him in Boston. the opposite—let’s not try to go for per-
Olivier, an illustrator, has joined our fect. We have an hour-and-a-half to get
call from France. For three years, she food on the table with six guests about
pitched in as an au pair, helping Baner- to arrive. Our recipes, as a result, are
jee and his wife Esther Duflo look after not as elaborate.”
their two children. She remembers this When Banerjee’s guests do finally
time with much affection. “Abhijit could arrive, some are readily deployed,
never be a boss,” she smiles. “I started while others add to the smells of his
gradually in the kitchen. I’d chop some kitchen the sound of their chatter. Eat-
onions, maybe some cilantro, but I then ing together can foster community, but
started doing full dishes under Abhijit’s the social scientist’s book suggests that
supervision. I was soon proposing my cooking can, too. For Olivier, the myth
own things. For three years, we cooked of the solitary cook, “alone in his ideal
at least two meals, almost every day.” kitchen, facing his ingredients all by
Written by Banerjee and illustrated himself”, is one she and Banerjee tried
by Olivier, Cooking to Save Your Life is to break. “Most cookbooks assume

72 december 2021
 Interview

you’re going to be in this white cube life.” Banerjee adds that maybe only five
and everything will go perfectly. That of the recipes in the book are strictly
does not happen.” original: “Nothing is original. I think in
Olivier’s illustrations do, of course, most forms of art, you start by playing
define the book’s pleasing aesthetic, with a template.”
but they also serve a more crucial pur- Whether it’s sesame-crusted po-
pose. Since they are only approxima- tatoes or rosemary-soya lamb chops,
tions of Banerjee’s recipes, they help Cooking to Save Your Life consistently
remove a nagging pressure that several endeavours to ease the cook’s stress,
home and amateur cooks feel—that of making her time in the kitchen fun
always getting it right. “People often and, also, fruitful. Abhijit Banerjee—the
get lost when they try to exactly follow MIT economics professor—and Abhijit
a recipe. That leaves no room for play- Banerjee—the gourmet cook—we see,
fulness or creativity,” says Olivier. “Also, both have an interest in alleviation.
sometimes you don’t have an ingredi- Banerjee’s introductions to each of
ent or a gadget. That’s when you adapt his dishes and sections further make
the recipe to your own, very practical apparent an oft-forgotten truth—our
identities, no matter how disparate,
are almost always porous. Through the
Abhijit Banerjee prefers cooking his own
meals to ordering in or going out
book, ‘the themes of poverty and in-
equality, want and need, conservation
and climate change, power and gender,
self-expression and conformity keep
coming back’. Banerjee’s recipes are
together a manual—we learn what to
eat—but in their understanding of how
we came to eat what we do, as in their
soft prodding—why we must, perhaps,
eat differently—they are also a guide.

A COLOURFUL PALATE
Even as a child, Banerjee says, “the
kitchen is where things happened.” He
remembers popping peas when he was
six, taking apart cauliflowers, mixing
cake batter, licking it up when no one
was looking. “My mother was really
very busy. She worked, ran a house-
hold, and added to that, my parents

readersdigest.in 73
Reader ’s Digest

had a very active social life. This combi- vegetable dishes was really not good.”
nation meant that if I had to catch her, He missed the “stunning” quality of
it was in the kitchen. Our time there vegetables in Kolkata: “We were not
was our way of being together.” very rich. Oftentimes there was just 60
Olivier, on the other hand, grew up grams of fish to go around, so we had
without her mother. She says, “It was all these other vegetables—dal, ghonto,
my father who did all the ground zero chhechki, dalna—to fill up with. You got
cooking. As a result, I grew up thinking to your tiny piece of fish only after you’d
cooking was a shared activity. It was eaten all that great cooking.”
only later that I realised this was not Having started with “a completely
true for most households in France.” different vocabulary of eating”, Baner-
In Cooking to Save Your Life, Baner- jee often came away from his travels
jee recounts a family picnic he went with the same complaint: “My god, the
to as a young boy. While the women food was bad!” Strangely, Cooking to
prepared the khichuri, chutneys, frit- Save Your Life never reflects this early
ters and vegetables, a boisterous uncle distaste. Banerjee’s recipes for Spanish
took charge of the meat. Predictably, garlic soup, Moroccan zaalouk, and
perhaps, it arrived dry and, also, late. South Indian style stir-fried brussels
“Cooking maybe less of a gendered sprouts all seem evidence of a cosmo-
activity today than when I was grow- politanism that is expansive and inclu-
ing up, but we are still a long way away sive. Travel and migration, one feels,
from gender equity. I feel the day- inevitably widens horizons, and with
to-day boring cooking is still heavily it, our palate, too.
feminized, unlike the flourish, which a “But it can also contract it at the
lot of men take pride in. That’s a good same time,” counters Olivier. “You
starting point, yes, but who produces open up, but you also hang on to food
the ‘meal zero’ every day—that’s usu- that is for you the best representation
ally women.” of home.” In the years that she was in
Introducing his vegetable recipes, the US, Olivier says she would invari-
Banerjee writes, ‘Taming vegetables ably find herself making a French salad
tends to be classic women’s work— for lunch. “That’s my comfort food,
painstaking and life-sustaining, but and we’d cook Indian food three days
somehow invisible.’ Vegetables clearly a week because that’s Abhijit’s.” Days
matter to Banerjee. From stir-fried cab- before Massachusetts went into lock-
bage to begun poshto (aubergine with down last year, Olivier says she and
poppy-seed paste), he covers the gamut Banerjee stockpiled Indian ingredients
in his cookbook. in an effort to “have everything cov-
When Banerjee moved to the West, ered”. Banerjee, for one, never takes the
he first felt dismayed—“The quality of right ingredients for granted. He knows

74 december 2021
 Interview

Olivier’s geometric illustrations

in Cooking to Save Your Life
(left) are playful and evocative
but never intrusive.

how challenging it can be to get them. Banerjee daydreamed his way through
“But I do also feel that [migration] can prosody and physics lessons, thinking
make you more conservative. You de- of jhaal muri (spicy puffed rice), Olivier
fault to something that’s comforting, spent her days in school yearning for
not necessarily creative. You’re eating split-pea soup with garlicky croutons.
a lot of nostalgia.” “This is why we get along so much,”
says Banerjee. “You will find that same
NEITHER FISH NOR FOUL grammar of peas and garlic in a rich
‘I consider dal to be India’s greatest Bihar dal.”
contribution yet to human civilization,’ In an age where vegetarianism has,
Banerjee writes. ‘Ahead of chess and perhaps, more to do with environ-
zero.’ If it came to it, Olivier, we think, mental and social consciousness than
would back her collaborator’s dra- moral conscientiousness, the ques-
matic assertion. Author and illustrator tion almost asks itself: Did Olivier’s
both share an unmistakable, great love eating choices represent her taste or
for reputedly humble dal. Growing up her politics? “For me, ideology came
vegetarian, surrounded by friends later. I remember seeing some of my
who ate cold cuts with every meal, Ol- friends, who had once converted to
ivier found recourse in lentils. While vegetarianism, become altogether

readersdigest.in 75
Reader ’s Digest

obsessed with meats suddenly. I now better.” Banerjee believes this in many
think this happened because they ways is a “very good model for sustain-
were restricting themselves too much. able eating”.
It’s wonderful to want to be more en- Banerjee’s tone is never that of
vironmentally sustainable, but being a proselytizer. When he writes that
too ideological, I’ve seen, is not always we should ‘adopt the tricks used by
the best way forward.” cooks in billions of poor families to
Though Banerjee often ends up make a little bit of meat go further’,
saying a vehement ‘no’ when someone he seems to be picking persuasion
asks him if he is vegetarian, his cook- over prescription. Meat, he suggests,
book, oddly, has far more vegetarian doesn’t need to be the climax of our
recipes than meaty ones. “I guess part meals. “If you’ve already invested all
of the attempt in the book is to depo- your resources there, you might not
liticize the vegetarian-vegan conversa- have time or ingredients left for cooking
tion we have in the US, which is really, the vegetables. But if you choose to
in a sense, more confrontational than it rebalance how you cook, you’ll discover
needs to be,” he says. Banerjee does, of how good vegetables taste.”
course, concede that “everything is po- Banerjee’s planetary concerns can
litical”, but he is reluctant in endorsing also, at times, seem very personal.
the view that being vegetarian means Bluefish, for instance, often reminds
one is morally superior. “That may be him of the ilish maach (hilsa fish) he
true, but it’s not helpful.” Borrowing his would once eat back home, but as a re-
emphasis from the moral philosopher sult of “climate change and overfishing
Peter Singer, Banerjee supports a more for hundreds of years”, Banerjee fears
inclusive sense of eating—one that is that the fish will now migrate north
mindful of environmental damage, “and soon we won’t get fresh bluefish
animals, use of hormones—“but let’s in Boston”. Olivier, though, does find
not use it to beat people up too much”. a silver lining: “Maybe we will again
Vegetarianism, Banerjee stresses, is valorize the ingredients we have looked
not a size that fits all. “You are, say, in down on, again rediscover foods which
rural south Bengal and you are poor. we felt had no value.”
The easiest source of protein is often
just the little fish you catch in the rice A SPOONFUL OF SUGAR
field. You flavour the fish with some In the Kolkata neighbourhood of
greens you have picked, putting to- Banerjee’s childhood, cash-strapped
gether something from what’s available. mothers had a somewhat quiet way of
We’re not talking about eight ounces of showing affection. They ‘would skip
meat; just a small piece which makes the milk and sugar in their own tea
all the other ingredients, the gravy, taste to be able to make a few extra spoons

76 december 2021
 Interview

In 2019,
Banerjee
was awarded
the Nobel
Memorial Prize
in Economic
Sciences

of kheer, so that they could say to us capacity for feeling that the erudite
“Mishti-mukh kore jabi na?” (Won’t prize: ‘As anybody who has ever spent
you please sweeten your mouth be- time with actual poor people knows,
fore you go?) eating something special is a source of
Later, when the economist spent great excitement for them (as it is for
time in some of India’s poorest house- me).’ In Banerjee’s view, it isn’t hunger
holds,  he was extended a similar that unites us, “it is pleasure”. He says,
warmth. The tea he’d be served was “The theorising of poverty has been
usually soaked in sugar. ‘Adding extra deficient precisely because it hasn’t
sugar is one way for a household to made enough space for pleasure. We
honour their guest.’ Never discount- think of the poor as machines that
ing the kindness of these gestures, process calories to be productive. So,
Banerjee also sees in their excess a we then miss that people often don’t
defiance. ‘The unexpected ice cream behave in ways we know.”
for your children, the cake that you In the end, says Banerjee, it is also
should not have bought, the double pleasure that proves to be the unifying
dose of sugar in your guest’s tea—[all] theme of his and Olivier’s book: “Plea-
just to prove, mostly to yourself, that sure in the eye, in the tongue, pleasure
you can, that  you’re still able to be in friends, pleasure in company. Inter-
generous and free’. estingly, I have also found that all these
Banerjee often reminds us of the forms of pleasure are not unrelated.
poor in Cooking to Save Your Life, but They build on each other. Some of us
PHOTO: ALAMY

at no point does he mark them as an can afford more expensive ways of

‘other’ who could be either pitied or doing things, yes, but it’s pleasure that
dismissed. He finds in them the same remains a true universal.”

readersdigest.in 77
 TECHNOLOGY AND US

1000101110101
0111011100010
1010001011111
HOW TO AVOID
DIGITAL 010001
IMMORTALITY0
1011011010101
0111011011100
Now is the time to organize your online life

By Paul Robert

78 december 2021
 Reader ’s Digest

readersdigest.in 79
 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 10101
101 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 010
1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0
1110101110101110
Reader ’s Digest

1 0 1 0 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 101010
1101011101010 0 1 0 0 0 1 1 111
0 1 0 1 1 1 0 1
1010101000100101 0 1 0 1 010101
“DO YOU HAVE 1HER
010 0 1 0PASSWORD
1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0
FOR 1 FACEBOOK?”
0 1 0My 1 0 1 Louise,
1 0sister, 1 0 101
looked across
01 0 1 0 1 0 the
1 0table
1 0 1 0
from 1 0
1 0 1 0our
0 1 0behind 1 0 1 0 1 iPad,
1 0mother’s while I leafed through
1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 010 10
0 1notebook
1 0 1 0a 1tiny 1 0 of scribbled telephone
0 1 0 1 0 full
0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1010
0 1 0 numbers, 1 0 1 0 1 0 and
1 0 1 0 1 0addresses, 1 an occasional user ID
and password. “Nope,” 0 1 I0 1
said.0 1 0 1
“Nothing 0 1 0 1
here.”0 1 0 101010
01010101010101 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1010
0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1
0101010101010101 0 1 0 1 0 ID1 0 1
0 1user
1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0
my1laptop,
0 1
0 away and clicking ‘forgotten password?’
Only the day before, our nonagenar-
0 1 0had1passed from using Mom’s
1 0 1Miep,
1 0mother,
0 1 0ian 0 1 0101
1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0
1 0 through her email account, log in to1 0 1
1 0 1 0 1in0Purmer-
peacefully. Louise and I, still
0 1in0 her
1 0 1were 1 0apartment numb, This allowed us to reset the password
1 0 1
1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0
end, near Amsterdam, going
0 1steps—cards,
1 0 1the0 1next 0 1 0ar-1 0steps
0 1 0 1 0 1funeral through Facebook and go through the several

1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0
(‘are you sure?’, ‘are you really
1 0to1 0 1
0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 permanently delete her account.
rangements—and trying
0 1footprint.
0 1 0 1digital
to erase her sure?’ , ‘are you really, really sure?’)

0 1 0 1 0 1 0to 1my0 1 0

photo illustration, previous spread by marilee lamarque.

0101 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1
010101
She didn’t have a huge
0 1 0 1ence—insecure
online pres- It was an important
about the digital world, sister and me. “When I get home,
lesson
1 0 1 0 I’m1010
0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0
10101010101
Mom had really only
0 1 0with1 0
played Wordfeud going to make a list of all my accounts,”
1
us, read the news, checked local said Louise. “If something should
0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0
1 0 1pen to me now, my daughter wouldn’t1 0 hap-

1010101010101010
shops for their weekly offers and sent
emails to her friends and family. She be able to find them.”
had a Facebook account only to keep A couple of weeks later I decided to
up on family news. Her few online ac- streamline my own list of passwords,
tivities were recorded in the tiny note- which I keep organized in an online
all photos ©getty images

book that my late father had started vault accessed through an app on my
20 years ago. But Mom didn’t really phone that requires just one master
grasp the difference between a URL, a password. Though I have never had
user ID, and a password and the book- social media accounts, I had 140 on-
let was as enlightening as a collection line IDs—for retailers, the gym, web-
of hieroglyphs. hosting services, email accounts, my
We ended up logging in to Facebook bank, insurance companies, credit

80 december 2021
 Technology and Us

cards and more. Even though they’re In despair, she turned to Dona, who
all in one place, if my wife, who knows managed to unlock the laptop. “It
my master password, ever has to sort ended well, but it caused her a lot of
through the ‘vault’ it would be a hercu- stress on top of the grief,” he says. “And
lean task. Yet I am the exception to the then we still needed to handle his per-
rule: most people have not organized sonal accounts.”
their digital access information. On the laptop these were easy to
“It is sad, but hardly anyone thinks close and remove, but his iPhone,
about taking care of their digital foot- full of photos that his widow wanted
print,” says Wil-Jan Dona, 75, a re- to retrieve, presented an even bigger
tired telecom project manager who technical problem: Apple phones in
now volunteers for a Dutch organi- particular are all but impossible to ac-
zation called SeniorWeb, where he cess if you don’t have the password or
gives seminars on this subject. “Many the owner’s thumbprint.
older people have at least a Facebook “Only the police have the software
and a WhatsApp account, but when I tools to access some of these phones,
ask them what they do with their and they were willing to help,” says

THE MORE ACTIVE WE ARE ONLINE, THE

MORE THERE IS AT STAKE. THOSE WHO DON’T
PREPARE MAY BECOME VIRTUAL ‘GHOSTS’.

passwords, most often they reply: ‘I Dona. But that’s not something you
don’t know, my grandchild set it up.’” can count on.
It’s not an issue only for the elderly, The more active you are online, the
says Dona. “I had a middle-aged friend more there is at stake. How about the
who owned a small business. I’ll call photos you uploaded to Flickr? What
him John. He had ongoing projects if you leave behind years’ worth of
with clients when he was diagnosed activities, comments and tweets on
with cancer. It was aggressive and he social media? They will not disappear
died soon after.” After the funeral one with you, and if you don’t prepare—by
of John’s clients called his wife. “They making your passwords available to
were very understanding,” says Dona, your loved ones so that they can close
“but there were files on John’s laptop your account when you pass away—
that they urgently needed. His wife those posts will remain public. Many
didn’t have access. Then other clients of us will become digitally immortal,
started calling.” virtual ghosts. Only when your loved

readersdigest.in 81
 0101010101010101 101010101010101010
01Reader 01010101010
0 1 0’s1Digest 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 01010
1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0
10101010101010 0 1the0 1010 0 accounts run into
and1your
STEPS
0 1
1 0 1YOU CAN 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1
instance,0 1offers option
to register a ‘legacy con-
1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0
the dozens,1 0
you 1 may 101010
0con-
0 1 0 1NOW
1 0 1TAKE 0
0 1 0 1 0 1can manage your account manager
tact’, a trusted person who sider an online password
1 0 1 0 10
0 1you 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 like0
1 1
0 1are0gone. Other- Keeper or OneLogin. They 1 0 1 0 0
1Password,
1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1when 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 01010
There
1 0 1the 1010
0 treasure
was a time when 0 1 0 1 0 1
1 0 1 lete these accounts may be passwords
wise, the only way to de- generate complicated
chest of
0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1
for 0
each1 0
ac- 1 0101
0 1 0 1left0to1us0by1 0 1by
1 0 1memories 1
0submitting
0 1 0 1
to the com-
0 1 0 1 0
count you have and store
1 0in1an0 1 0 1 010101
1 0 1 0filled
0 1 0a shoebox 1 0with1 0 1 0and
our ancestors was simply 1 proof of identity, and line vault accessible only0 1 0 1 0 1
pany a death certificate them encrypted on-

0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 to1
1 you
0 All 0 1need 0 1to re-
0 1 0and1letters.
faded photos, 1 0 1 0
postcards 1
0 1 0But what we the authority to act on the 1 0member
demonstrating you have you.
0 1 0 1 0 101
1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0
(and
0 behalf. your virtual executor) is 0 1 0
1 0 1holder’s 1
share with
1 0can
1 0online
0 1 0leave 0 1 0account
1 0be1used 0 1 0 1for0 1
0 1 0An1 0 1
increasing0 1
number 0 1 0
of 0 1 one 1 0
master1 password
by anyone
1 0until
0 1 0gone, when101
1 0authorities
we are
1 0 1 is0 1 0 on 0 1 0 1
1
funeral homes and online
0 1 0 1 0 1 0
0 1 offer services in your devices.
0 1 0 1start-ups 1 0
the app that installed
0 1out0a1way0to1ex-
0 1 0 1figure 1 0 1 0 1 0 101010101
tend privacy legislation1 0 1 0field,
this
1 0 1
ranging 0
0 1 0 deleting accounts to the 3. Stop
0 1afterlife.
0 1digital 1
from0
0 1 0 1to our 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 identity
0 1 0 1 010101
theft
1 0 1 0scenario
1 0worst-case
0 1 0 The 0 1
preservation0
1 0 1 0 1‘shoebox’ with photos,
of a digital It’s worth emphasizing:
0 1 01
is that your photos (in- 1 0other 0
1 such 1 0 1 0 0 1
To1protect 0 1
yourself 0 1 0
against 1
0 1 0of your-
1 0 1photos
0 1 0 cluding 1 0and
1 0 1 0tweets identity theft, don’t use
1 0 1 010
0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0
1 0 1commercial 01010101
0 1 0 1 0or1political
self) may end up in personal memorabilia. simple passwords.
have no idea0
1 1
“You
0 1 0 1010
0
1 0 1If0you1don’t 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 how many
0 1
1 0 1messages, 0 1 0iden-
1or0your 2. Keep a list people
0
still
1
use
0
passwords
1 0 101010
tity used for fraudulent
1 0your1 0 1online 1 0 1 0 1
have too 0 1
many 0 1 0
like
0 accounts, make a who suggests that if you1
12345,” says Dona,
0 1 0At1the0least,
1 0 1emails. 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 101010
friends0 1 0to1be0con-
and loved ones 1
list of 0 1
your 0
IDs 1
and 0
1 0 1 0words and tell your execu- passwords,1use
pass- don’t want complicated
0 1 0will1continue 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0
0 ones, “Hackers can easily break 0 1 0 1
sentences. 0 1 0 10
0 1 0with
1 0 1fronted 10 0and
1 0like1 0 1tor, 1 0your 1 loved 010
things
0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1
unexpected birthday1 0 1where
10
0 1 0 1and0‘friend’
1 0 1reminders 1 0 1way to help they haven’t figured out 1 0 1 0 1
to find
0simplest it. “That is simple passwords, but

1
the
0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 10
1a0sentence.”
1 0 1you0can 1 0 1that:
1 0mitigate
suggestions. Here’s0 1
how 0 those who stay behind,” how to hack
0
a1smile, 1 010101
says Dona. “Make a clear 1 0He
0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0
adds1 0
with
1and write it down in a “I’ve used ‘Ireallydislike-0 1 0 1 0
0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0list 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0as a1pass-
1. Appoint 0 a
1 0 1executor
0 1 0digital 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0
notebook. 1 0
Don’t leave all mymotherinlaw’
your passwords on your
1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0word.” This0
1 0 1 1
is made 0 101010
even
0 1 0Give1 a0 1 0friend
trusted 0
1 0 or1 0 1 like me, and your work,
computer.” But if you are safer by adding a number.
0 1 0 1 010
0
0 1 your fi-1 0 1 0 1 0
“But 1use0 a1 0 1
different one
0 1 0accounts 1 0 1 0 1 0your1hobbies,
relative access to your
1 0 1and0instructions for each account, and
1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0101
1 0 1 0 1with0friends
0 done nances, 0
and 1 0
your 1 0
contacts1 0 1
1 are all online once per year.” 0
update them at least
10
0 1 0 for what 0 1want
1you 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 10101
with them. Facebook, for
1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0
010101010101010 1010101010101010101
1 0 12021
0 1 0821 0december 010101010
0101010101010 0101010
 Technology and Us

ones close your accounts will your old (In fact, the United States is one of the
0 posts be deleted. few countries to have introduced a law
0 “You have to decide what you want to exclusively address the handling of
to do with your digital footprint. It is digital legacies.) But technological
0 no different from making sure that the developments force us to think about
right thing happens with your money,” what will happen to ‘us’ if we don’t
says Dona. take steps to choose for ourselves. For
1 Even that is nobody’s favourite activ- example, it’s now possible to bring
1 ity: Many do not even have a registered loved ones ‘back to life’ with apps that
will and testament. Because these are animate photos. In years to come, who
1 not centrally registered, figures are knows what it will be possible to do
0
0 TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS FORCE US
0 TO THINK ABOUT WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO
0 ‘US’ IF WE DON’T CHOOSE FOR OURSELVES.
1
scarce, but in Germany, for instance, with our images and our voices?
01 a 2018 survey by Deutsche Bank es- I, for one, wouldn’t want my virtual
01 timated that less than 40 per cent of
adults have a last will. That means
persona to survive. Two days before
she died, Mom wisely told my daugh-
0 that most people leave decisions about ter: “Don’t worry. It will be hard for
1 their heritage to local legislation.
Our digital footprint is even further
you for a while, but after that there’ll
just be happy memories.” That’s all I
01 from our minds, and there is little leg- need and all I hope to leave: A photo-
01 islation in this field to help our heirs. graph and happy memories.

0
10 A Bug’s Life (and Death)
10 The white marble tomb of Giuliano de’Medici in Florence, Italy,
had gotten progressively darker and dirtier over the last 600 years, in
10 part because cleaning it was a tricky business. After all, inside lies the body of a
01 duke. On top sits a major sculpture by Michelangelo called Night and Day. But
a team of biologists and art historians have discovered a surprising cleaning
01 agent: bacteria. It turns out that a bacterium named Serratia ficaria SH7 loves
01 to eat the soot and other material (including the remains that have
01 seeped out of Giuliano’s tomb).

readersdigest.in 83
010
 LAUGHTER
The best Medicine

Hanukkah Explained Life When You Call and says, “Oatmeal

Ê Every year I spell Ha- Your Mother fine.” A year later, it’s
nukkah differently and — @OhNoSheTwitnt a third monk’s turn.
it’s correct every time. “I quit,” he says.
— @hobo_splendido There is an order of The abbot is
Ê Imagine if ur cell monks that is sworn to shocked. “Why?”
phone battery was on silence. But each year, The third monk re-
10 per cent and it lasted one monk is allowed plies, “I can’t stand the
for 8 days. Now you un- to say two words. The constant bickering.”
derstand Chanukah. day arrives and a —Submitted by
— @holyghostnyc monk stands up and Ernest Freeman
Ê Christmas movies re- says, “Oatmeal lumpy.”
booted as Hanukkah The abbot then de- [At my funeral]
movies: Home Shalom; clares the session over. “He died doing what
A Christmas Carole The following year, an- he loved … saying
King; It’s a Wonderful other monk stands ‘Cars have to stop for

Cartoon by D. T. Walsh
84 december 2021
 Reader ’s Digest

pedestrians,’ as he Do caterpillars know they’re going to turn

stepped bravely into
into butterflies or do they just wake up one
the crosswalk.”
— @panmidwest day like Whoa … I am stunning!
— @hollyshortall
Rim Shots
Ê Just so everyone’s
clear, I’m going to put My New Year’s Risotto: phone and shouts,
my glasses on. figure out autocorrect. “No, I didn’t!”
Ê A generous army — @meganamram — bouldertherapist.com
general walked into Three patients are
a bar and ordered sitting in a psychia- “It’s sad when the only
everyone around. trist’s waiting room. man who can tell me
Ê I lost my job as The first patient asks ‘I know what you
a stage designer. I the second, “Why are want’ is my barista.”
left without making you here?” — @ReaL
a scene. He answers, “I’m overheardla
Ê Fran and her friends Napoleon, so the doc
named their band Du- told me to come in.”
vet. It’s a cover band. “How do you know
Reader’s Digest will pay
Ê Dave lost his wife’s you’re Napoleon?” for your funny anecdote
audiobook and now “God told me I was.” or photo in any of our
he’ll never hear the The third patient humour sections. Post it
to the editorial address, or
end of it. puts down his cell email: editor.india@rd.com
courtesy carroll county veterinary clinic

PET PEEVES
A vet in Westminster, Maryland, shares her unique animal adages with passersby.

readersdigest.in 85
 DRAMA IN REAL LIFE
THE BOYS

Titan, 11 Dom, 13 Mark, 13 Mix, 13 Pong, 13 Bew, 14 Adul, 14

86 december 2021
 Reader ’s Digest

IN THE CAVE For the soccer team

trapped deep in a Thailand cave,
rescue seemed impossible
by Matt Gutman
from the book the boys in the cave

Tern, 14 Nick, 15 Note, 15 Tee, 15 Night, 17 Coach Ek, 25

readersdigest.in 87
S
from the heat and—especially appeal-
ing to Ek—the cell signals upon which
the boys were hooked. So at noon the
group headed there. It was the first time
for Peerapat Sompiangjai, nicknamed,
as many Thais are, with a shorter name:
‘Night’. He planned to be home by
5 p.m. for his 17th-birthday celebration.
Entering the cave they passed a sign

PHOTOS, PREVIOUS SPREAD:(CAVE) ©PONGMANAT TASIRI/EPA-EFE/SHUTTERSTOCK. (BOYS) ALL COURTESY OF FACEBOOK

that read, in Thai and English, “DAN-
GER!! FROM JULY TO NOVEMBER THE
CAVE CAN FLOOD” . Coach Ek, who
led the way, wasn’t worried; it was
still June and the monsoon rains that
would flood the cave’s channels hadn’t

S aturday, 23 June 2018. The 32-de- THE BOYS HUDDLED

gree-Celsius air in Mae Sai, Thai-
land’s northernmost town, was like a TOGETHER ON THE
hot damp towel wrapped around the SANDBAR TO SLEEP,
Moo Pa (Wild Boars) soccer team, but THEIR SOBS ECHOING
they cycled to the pitch anyway—they
always did. OFF THE WALLS.

THIS PAGE: ©THIERRY FALISE/LIGHTROCKET VIA GETTY IMAGES

If head coach Nopparat Khantha-
vong was the team’s general, assistant started yet. Behind him were Night;
coach Ekapol Chantawong—‘Ek’—was 15-year-olds Note, Nick and Tee; Bew,
his friendly lieutenant. With his smi- Adul, and Tern, all age 14; and 13-year-
ling eyes and chirpy voice, at age 25 he olds Dom, Pong, Mark and Mix. Gig-
was more like a big brother to the kids. gling among them was the littlest guy,
Having spent much of his childhood ironically nicknamed Titan, age 11.
in a monastery, as many underprivi- With Ek, they were 13 in all.
leged boys in Southeast Asia do, Ek had The mouth of the cave was large
learnt Buddhist discipline, meditation enough to fit the Taj Mahal. Mud stains
and kindness. some six metres up showed the high-
Ek often took his players to Tham water mark of previous years’ floods.
Luang cave at the base of Doi Nang About 1.6 kilometres in they turned left
Non mountain after practice. A half- at a T-junction. They wanted to reach
hour bike ride away, it was a refuge Pattaya Beach—a sandbar named

88 december 2021
 Reader ’s Digest

T-JUNCTION

Entrance
Dive base

PATTAYA BEACH Distance:

2.3 kilometres
Boys found
DIVES
WADING
DRY

Bird’s-eye view of the cave tunnel

after a Thai resort town—more than depth and current defeated him. He
half a kilometre further in. The boys, yanked twice. Night felt a surge of
marching fast, encountered small panic as he helped haul in his coach.
passages they had to stoop down and It was now about 5 p.m. The scared
squeeze through. Titan, who was also boys hadn’t eaten in hours. Worried
experiencing the cave for the first time, they would panic, Ek told them some-
found himself afraid of the dark and thing he didn’t believe himself—that
the creepy shadows cast by their flash- the water would probably recede by
lights. But he didn’t dare tell anyone. morning. “You’ll see,” he said. “Why
There wasn’t much to see at Pattaya don’t we find a place to sleep?”
Beach, but the Wild Boars were happy They retreated to the high sandbar
to have an adventure to celebrate of Pattaya Beach, which typically re-
MAP COURTESY OF MATT GUTMAN/HARPER COLLINS

Night’s birthday. Coach Ek checked his mained above water during the floods.
watch; they’d been in the cave about Ek gathered the boys for their usual
an hour. They headed back. Buddhist prayers, chants he hoped
But before they reached the T-junc- would soothe them, before they
tion, instead of the stagnant water they clumped together for sleep. But the
had crossed on the way in, they found boys’ sobs echoed off the walls.
deep, fast-moving water. Ek pulled a
rope from his bag, tied it around his The Rains Arrive Early

T
waist and instructed three of the big- hough the Wild Boars didn’t
ger boys: “If I yank twice, pull me back. know it, the monsoon rains had
If I don’t, you can come too.” arrived early. And parents grew
Ek dove down, but the darkness, alarmed when their sons didn’t return

readersdigest.in 89
Reader ’s Digest

home. At 10 p.m., a local team of res- pushed further into the cave system
cuers was called in and a few parents by rising water. In what would later be
made their way through the deepen- called Chamber Nine, about 2.3 kilo-
ing mud to the cave entrance, near metres from the entrance, the muddy
where the boys’ bikes stood parked. ground slanted sharply up toward the
The ranger wouldn’t allow them to go cave wall. A flatter area served as liv-
in, so they shouted into the entrance: ing and sleeping quarters. Whenever
“Night!” a boy started to cry, the others would
“Bew!” hold him and try to cheer him up.
“Titan!” They were cold, hungry and scared,
The only answer came from the cave: and Ek helped them stay calm with
echoes bouncing the names back. regular prayer and meditation. They
had no food but the stream below
THE RESCUE DIVERS gave them water. Tee held his mouth

FIGURED THAT, open under a stalactite and swallowed

drop after drop until he felt full.
SADLY, WHEREVER This was only the start of a more
THESE BOYS WERE, than two-week ordeal.

THEY WEREN’T ALIVE. Where Were the Boys?

D
ays went by and still nobody
At 7 a.m. on Sunday, 24 June, rescu- knew where the boys were, or if
ers entered the cave. Vern Unsworth, a any had survived starvation, hy-
63-year-old local Brit who came to the pothermia, or drowning. Thai SEALs—
cave after receiving many phone calls the navy’s elite force—had failed to find
overnight, knew this place better than them. A thousand troops and helpers
anyone. Over several expeditions, he gathered outside the cave, and the
and his friend Rob Harper had created world watched news reports, hoping
a new, extended survey of the cave sys- for a miracle. But as waters rose, the
tem, replacing one from the 1980s. military suspended rescue attempts.
At the T-junction, Unsworth stopped On 28 June, the fifth day after the boys
in his tracks. The bowl that he’d seen entered the cave, an expert in water
so many times was now completely management, 32-year-old Thanet
under water. He’d been told there was Natisri, began an operation to divert
water, but didn’t expect this much. water on the mountain above the cave
There was nothing he could do so he with pipes and pumps so that it didn’t
returned to the mouth of the cave. seep into the cave. It made the differ-
That second night, the boys were ence; the tunnel became navigable.

90 december 2021
 Drama in Real Life

On day 10, Monday, 2 July, a pair boys were, they weren’t alive.
of the world’s best cave divers who Stanton made a mental note to tell
had flown to Thailand would attempt Volanthen they need to turn around
to find the boys. Vern Unsworth had soon. Then he surfaced, took off his
drawn a map of where he thought the mask and sniffed. Along the way,
boys could be, and the newly arrived when the men had noticed air spaces
Brits—Rick Stanton, 57, and John above, they would bob up and take
Volanthen, 48—committed it to mem- a sniff, their noses supplying infor-
ory. Then, for three hours they finned mation their eyes couldn’t. This time,
against the current, breathing heavily there was the distinct smell of either
into their regulators and carefully un- human excrement—or decaying bod-
spooling a thin guide line behind them. ies. “Hey, John,” he said in the dark.
Basic diving protocol, the line was their “We’ve got something.”
link to the outside world. They were Then, voices. As they drifted toward
farther into the cave than any of the the sound, they saw a beam of light
rescuers before them could get. flick on and scan the water.
Stanton checked his air gauge; he
had consumed about a third of his “When Will You Be Back?”

M
supply, which meant they had to turn oments earlier, Coach Ek had
back soon. Cave divers use a third of a heard something: men’s voices.
tank on the journey in and a third on The boys stopped cold as Ek
the journey out, and reserve a third asked everyone to hush. Silence. Then
in case of trouble, like getting lost or the voices again.
stuck. Death can result from equip- The boys were unsure if what they
ment failure, flash floods, slamming were hearing was real. They so zeal-
headfirst into rock—and panicking. ously conserved their flashlight batter-
They passed Pattaya Beach, which ies that they’d mostly been in complete
water had swallowed up. Unsworth’s darkness. They knew by their digital
guess had been that the boys had taken watches that ten days had gone by.
refuge a few hundred yards beyond in Oxygen was dwindling, and sleep came
a room that offered high ground. fitfully; they longed for food, their par-
Stanton and Volanthen were vet- ents, their beds.
erans of multiple cave rescues; some Too tired to move, Ek whispered to
were successful, but more often they 13-year-old Mix to go to the water’s
found corpses. To their knowledge no- edge with a flashlight to check it out.
body with zero provisions had survived “Hurry. If it’s a rescuer they might pass
this deep into a cave for this long. They us.” Now the boys saw two creatures
figured that, sadly, wherever these that looked like spacemen with hoses

readersdigest.in 91
Reader ’s Digest

attached to their mouths, and helmets lifting their soccer jerseys to reveal
bristling with lights. The semi-sub- bony ribs. The divers hadn’t expected
merged figures were talking. Mix froze to find them alive and had no food for
with fear. them. Stanton took stock of the group.
Adul, 14, took the flashlight from The little ones and the coach seemed
Mix, and called out in Thai, “Officer! lethargic and frail, but some of the big-
Officer, hello! Over here!” The voices ger boys looked surprisingly energetic.
didn’t answer. As the men prepared to leave, each
Adul, stupefied that they had been boy came over and wrapped skinny
found, was doubly confused when he arms around them. In a country where
realized the men were speaking Eng- physical contact among strangers
lish. He crept to the water’s edge. He is unusual, where hands pressed to-
could speak some English, but right gether in front of one’s face takes the
now could only muster a “Hello!” place of a handshake, the embraces
The divers first surfaced about showed the enormity of the boys’ relief
45 metres away. By 20 or so metres out, and gratitude.
their headlights illuminated a couple
of the Boars. “How many are you?” As news spread that the Boars had
shouted Volanthen. “13!” came the been found, cheers rang out at the
reply. “Brilliant,” said Volanthen. They camps of soldiers and volunteers that
were all alive. He added, “Many peo- had sprung up around Mae Sai. In the
ple are coming”—though that promise park ranger hut the boys’ parents high-
would later dog Stanton and Volanthen fived and hugged.
with the sting of guilt. The more they The next day, seven Thai SEALs
came to understand the boys’ predica- made the perilous journey, bringing
ment, the less optimistic they felt. space blankets, medical supplies, and
“I am so happy,” Adul told them. energy gels to the boys; four of the men
“We are happy, too,” replied Volanthen. stayed behind with them. A day later,
They went onto the sloping mud bank Volanthen and Stanton delivered mili-
and stayed about 20 minutes. Stanton tary ration packs. It was the first food
inspected their living quarters, the the boys had seen in 12 days.
ten-foot-long ‘escape tunnel’ they had With food in their bellies, the boys’
been digging, and the sleeping area vigour returned. To pass the time, they
they had leveled out. When one boy played checkers with the SEALs using
asked with a hint of desperation when clods of dirt and rocks as pieces.
they’d be back, the men responded, An American military pararescue
“We hope tomorrow.” team, called in from their base in
“We are hungry,” said the boys, Okinawa, Japan, was placed in charge

92 december 2021
 This photo
captures the
moment when
cave divers
discovered that
the group
was alive.

of rescue-plan logistics. One option— Britain: Jason Mallinson and Chris

leaving the boys in the cave for months, Jewell. On Friday, 6 July, the pair de-
until after the monsoon season—was livered food and wet suits to the boys.
dismissed when an oxygen reading in Hours later they arrived back at camp
the boys’ chamber showed just 15.5 with notes from the boys to their fami-
per cent; it meant there was no way the lies, possibly their last communication.
boys could survive that long. Eleven-year-old Titan had written,
Volanthen and Stanton knew that “Mom, Dad, Don’t worry, I’m OK,
only a handful of cave divers in the please tell Yod to prepare to take me to
world could survive the round-trip eat fried chicken. Love you.”
journey as they had; they suspected
bringing the boys out could be impos- A High-Risk Mission

B
sible. A plan was then decided: the efore the rescue could begin,
Boars would be sedated. Otherwise, hundreds of air tanks had to be
if a boy panicked, he and his rescu- hauled to points along the extrac-
ers could die. The linchpins of this tion route. Flexible plastic stretchers
effort would be two Australian divers called Skeds, which wrap around a
who were also doctors, veterinarian casualty like a taco, were dropped off
PHOTO:©AP/SHUTTERSTOCK

Craig Challen and anaesthesiologist in Chamber Three; the boys would be

Richard Harris. In all, about a dozen put on them for the last treacherous
divers, working in shifts over three stretch before the cave entrance.
days, would be needed to swim the On 6 July, Saman Gunan, a square-
13 out: four on each of the first two jawed ex-Thai SEAL, was ferrying air
days, and five on day three. tanks in the sump between Chambers
Two of the lead divers flew in from Three and Four, his last dive of the

readersdigest.in 93
Reader ’s Digest

day. His dive buddy turned around to Without fanfare, at 10 a.m. on Sun-
find him unconscious. He couldn’t be day, 8 July, the lead divers—Challen,
saved. No one knows exactly why, but Harris, Stanton, Volanthen, Mallinson
he had run out of air. Gunan’s death and Jewell—slipped into the water at
unnerved everyone. Chamber Three, spaced a few minutes
On Saturday, 7 July, the day be- apart. Harris would stay in Chamber
fore the rescue was to start—and two Nine all day. Mallinson had volun-
weeks since the boys had entered the teered to be the first to lead a boy out.
cave—Harris and Challen made their When they reached Chamber Nine,
way to Chamber Nine to examine the Note was readied for the trip. Harris
boys and calculate how much seda- administered the shots, and after Note
tive each one would need. Some had

DR HARRIS CRADLED
symptoms of chest infection, but they
and their coach seemed relatively
healthy, if rail thin. The doctors also THE UNCONSCIOUS
brought letters from the boys’ fami-
BOY’S HEAD, THINKING:
THIS IS GOING
lies. “Dad and mom are waiting to
arrange your birthday party,” Night’s
parents wrote. “Please get out soon, REALLY BADLY.
and stay healthy.”
Harris would administer a sedative
so each boy would be calm before lost consciousness, Harris and Mallin-
setting off. Then at dive time they son zip-tied his limbs to prevent them
would get two injections: ketamine from getting injured or entangled, and
to knock them out and atropine to strapped on a positive-pressure face
dry up their mouths and lungs so mask. It would feed air continuously
they wouldn’t choke on saliva. It was to ensure the boy kept breathing while
likely that each boy would wake up comatose. Harris tested the mask seal
a few times during the three-hour by dunking the boy’s head into the
extraction as the medication wore off, water. But Note had stopped breath-
and would need to be re-sedated by ing. Then, an eternal 30 seconds later,
their diver. So each diver was given a bubbles flowed from the side of his
crash course on how to administer a mask, indicating exhalations.
new shot of anaesthetic. With an oxygen tank now secured
Despite the meticulous planning, around Note’s waist, Mallinson gripped
the rescuers knew that some casualties the two straps on the back of the boy’s
were likely. There were just too many inflatable vest and started kicking, fol-
things that could go wrong. lowing the guide line. The first section

94 december 2021
 Drama in Real Life

was the longest—a 20-minute, 320-me- Eight just after Stanton, he saw that
tre swim. Toward the end was a choke Night was blue and cold, barely breath-
point; Mallinson had to contort Note’s ing. Harris lay cheek-to-sand and cra-
body to get him through it. dled the boy’s head, trying to keep his
Note’s head, facing down, inevitably airway open. This is going really badly,
struck unseen rocks. His bare feet dan- he thought. But then Night began to
gled low and scraped the sharp rocks take sporadic breaths and soon his
and gravel on the tunnel floor. But breathing stabilized—in fact, he was
Mallinson’s mission wasn’t necessarily coming to. Harris knocked him out
to bring the boy out uninjured; it was with another ketamine jab, and Stan-
to bring him out alive. His sole focus ton resumed their journey.
was the mask’s seal. If it became dis- Ahead, Mallinson, the first diver,
lodged, Note could drown. was leaving Chamber Seven when he
Soon after the two emerged in felt Note twitch—he was coming to.
Chamber Eight, Volanthen, who had In neck-deep water, he pinned Note
been behind them, arrived with Tern. against a wall while trying to get the
They were followed 20 minutes later ketamine from his bag, but when he
by Jewell with Nick. Then one by one found it, the syringes popped out,
each diver and boy entered the sump slowly floating away. Mallinson man-
at Chamber Seven and kept going. aged to grab one, and injected Note.
The last and most challenging choke
“There’s Nothing We Can Do!” point was a narrow vertical squeeze

B
ack at Chamber Nine, Harris from Chamber Four to Chamber
dosed the day’s last boy, Night, Three. Visibility was poor, and feeling
with ketamine. For a few mo- their way was even more difficult when
ments he stopped breathing—then holding both the line and a boy.
came a slow breath. Stanton nosed Mallinson had memorized the
into the canal with the boy, watch- squeeze. He pulled Note upright, stuffed
ing carefully for the bubbles that him through the narrow opening and
indicated breathing. Some 50 metres slid in behind, careful not to let go
out, he shouted back to the doctor: of the boy. It was one of the darkest
“He doesn’t seem to be breathing parts of the dive, and Mallinson hoped
much!” Night was taking maybe three his banged-up ward was still alive.
breaths a minute. When they arrived at Chamber
Harris shouted back, “There’s noth- Three, the second-last one before the
ing we can do, keep going!” entrance, Note was unresponsive.
With four boys on their way out, Har- A Thai doctor stationed there assessed
ris now set off. Arriving in Chamber his vitals.

readersdigest.in 95
Reader ’s Digest

“ He’s a l i v e ! ” c a m e t h e c a l l . dive, when they’d try to bring four

There was a burst of cheers from more boys to safety. Nobody could
surrounding rescue-team members. stop yet—there were dozens of empty
Now some 1,000 metres more had tanks to refill and replace, ropes to be
to be covered to get Note out. First tensioned, and much more.
he was strapped into a Sked, which
was harnessed to a newly built rope- An Unlikely Feat

T
and-pulley system that would enable he human shuttle continued
the boys to be lifted over a series of for two more days. On the second
boulders. After that, the Sked was day, Nick, Adul, Bew, and Dom
carried by another team for more were brought out without a single
than 60 metres around stalagmites
and boulders. Then, Thai SEALs
maneuvered the stretcher via another AS RESCUE TEAMS
rope system down a 45-degree slope EMERGED FROM THE
to a pararescuer, who carried the boy CAVE TO HUGE CROWDS,
to Chamber Two.
On the final stretch, another Thai CHEERING AND SHOUTS
SEAL team hauled Note through OF “HEROES!” AND
365 metres of chest-high water, and “THANK YOU!” DROWNED
then ran him to the cave entrance.
There, Note was exposed to his OUT THE RAIN.
first rays of natural light in more than
two weeks. incident or scare. Harris told a rescue
As the boys—first Note, then planner, “Man, this has never been
Tern, Nick, and Night—emerged, done before. We’re actually succee-
ambulances moved them away from ding at mission impossible.”
the Tham Luang cave and they were But they all knew they couldn’t be
helicoptered to a hospital in Chiang complacent. There was a new threat:
Rai. At that point, even their parents The forecast was for more rain on
weren’t aware of the rescue. But it the third and final day, possibly five
wasn’t long before the news leaked: centimetres. The rescue would be
Four of the boys were out, and they suspended if there was too much;
were all alive. it could overwhelm the pumps that
While the world was learning about were continuously extracting water.
the divers’ incredible feat, Mallinson But if that happened there was no
and the rest of the exhausted team telling how long they’d have to leave
were busy preparing for the next day’s the remaining boys, Ek, and the four

96 december 2021
 Drama in Real Life

Thai SEALs in Chamber Nine. Ek’s small temple dormitor y to

Next morning—Tuesday, 10 July— celebrate Titan’s 12 th birthday. It
there was a break in the rain. It was was nearly 9 p.m. when the boys
now or never. They started an hour cheerily bid Ek goodbye and
ahead of schedule. When the divers pointed their bikes downhill
passed the T-junction they were toward home—betraying not a
relieved to see no clear water in the speck of fear. They were, after all,
current—Thanet’s diversion system the Moo Pa.
outside was still working. excerpted from the book the boys in the cave by matt
gutman, copyright © 2018 by matt gutman. reprinted
Later that day, the last boy, Pong, with permission of harpercollins publishers.
was carried from the cave and taken
to hospital, where he, his teammates, In 2019, the King of Thailand granted
and their coach would remain under royal honours on 75 Thai and more
observation for a week. Then, the four than 100 foreign rescuers who took
SEALs made their way out. part in this remarkable feat—includ-
As the rescue teams emerged from ing people from Belgium, the United
Tham Luang cave to huge crowds, Kingdom, Laos, Canada, Denmark,
cheering and shouts of “Heroes!” and Finland, China, Germany, Japan,
“Thank you!” drowned out the rain. Singapore, Ukraine, and the United
The boys’ parents cried tears of joy. States. The King honoured SEAL
It was over. Saman Gunan with a posthu-
Just hours later, the monsoon rains mous promotion and sponsored
totally sealed off Tham Luang cave. his funeral.
O nly the divers and doctors British divers John Volanthen, Rick
really understood how unlikely Stanton, Chris Jewell, and Jason Mal-
this rescue was. They had done linson received gallantry medals from
something unprecedented: extracted Queen Elizabeth II. Vern Unsworth
13 unconscious human beings was appointed an MBE (Member of
through more than two kilometres the Order of the British Empire) for his
of jagged, flooded tunnels without role in the rescue. Craig Challen and
a fatality. Military and civilian, Thai Richard Harris were jointly named
and international,the rescue teams 2019 Australian of the Year.
had achieved the impossible. The A Hollywood film called Thirteen
mission had met its objective: The Lives (directed by Ron Howard and
Wild Boars were going home. s t a r r i n g C o l i n Fa r re l l a s Jo h n
Volanthen and Viggo Mortensen as
Several weeks later, the boys Rick Stanton) is set to be released in
rode their bikes up the hill to Coach spring 2022.

readersdigest.in 97
Reader ’s Digest

98 december 2021
 BREAKTHROUGH SCIENCE

Does This

DOGKnow Whether
You Have
CANCER?
The canine nose is a marvel of nature. Science believes
that a computerized model will save millions of lives

By Adam Piore
Photographs by Jason Varney

readersdigest.in 99
Reader ’s Digest

Osa, an athletic 28-kilo

German shepherd with a long, fluffy
tail and a fondness for red bandannas,
seems an unlikely superhero.
She chews on the couch when she’s editing and other recent breakthrough
bored and isn’t above making a scene treatments, oncologists’ inability to
to get attention. On a recent day detect some cancers in their early
when her foster mother and trainer stages remains one of the field’s most
Anne marie DeAngelo stepped out- intractable—and fatal—shortcom-
side their New Jersey home while ings. One disheartening case in point:
chatting with a visitor, Osa bounded of the estimated 21,410 new cases in
up and barked for attention; when India diagnosed this year with ovar-
that failed, she leapt on to the patio ian cancer—a disease that is treatable
table, stuck her snout in DeAngelo’s when found early—more than 13,700
face and began whining. are likely to die from it.
“You are unbelievable,” DeAngelo Osa might soon help improve those
growled before cracking a smile. odds. She is part of an ambitious ef-
But if Osa wants to play the diva, fort launched five years ago at the
hair+makeup: elizabeth jacobs

she’s entitled. After all, how many six- University of Pennsylvania that aims
year-old pooches do you know who to reverse-engineer one of the most
have mastered the art of sniffing out powerful scent-detection machines
cancerous tumours and are involved ever discovered—the canine nose.
in a research project that has the Osa is able to distinguish between
potential to revolutionize oncology? blood samples taken from cancer pa-
Despite the remarkable success tients and their healthy peers simply
of immunotherapy, CRISPR gene by sniffing them. In fact, she’s one of

100 december 2021

Annemarie
DeAngelo
with her star
pupil, Osa

readersdigest.in 101
Reader ’s Digest

eight cancer-detection dogs trained

by DeAngelo and her colleagues at
the Penn Vet Working Dog Center, a
non-profit X-Men academy of sorts
that breeds and trains ‘detection dogs’.
The ultimate goal is to develop an
‘electronic sniffer’ that can approxi-
mate the cancer-sniffing superpowers
of Osa and her pals. Such a machine
could then be deployed to thousands
of doctors’ offices and medical diag-
nostic facilities around the nation.
And cancer is only one possible
target. This type of system could lead
to similar devices for different health
issues, such as bacterial infections, di-
abetes and epilepsy. Some dog train-
ers have even begun setting their sights
on COVID-19. “It’s basically the exact
same approach,” says Cynthia Otto, the
founding director of the centre.

It all starts with that wondrous inven- For Osa, here with DeAngelo
tion of nature: the canine nose. Our and Cynthia Otto, cancer
own schnoz doesn’t even come close. research not all work.
The average human is equipped
with five million olfactory receptors, more neural real estate to processing
tiny proteins capable of detecting and interpreting these signals than
individual odour molecules. These humans do. Compared with a paltry daniel peterschmidt/science friday

receptors are clustered in a small 5 per cent for humans, 35 per cent of
area in the back of the human nasal a dog’s brain is dedicated to smelling.
cavity, meaning a scent must waft in Add it all up, and the dog nose is up
and up the nostrils. In dogs, the in- to a million times more sensitive than
ternal surface area devoted to smell the human nose.
extends from the nostrils to the back “Sniffing is how dogs see the world,”
of the throat and comprises an esti- explains Marc Bekoff, professor
mated 300 million olfactory recep- emeritus of ecology and evolution-
tors—60 times more than humans. ary biology at the University of Colo-
Dogs also devote considerably rado, Boulder. “That’s how they pick

102 december 2021

 Breakthrough Science

up information about who has been The patient, a 44-year-old woman,

there, are they happy, are they sad, told Williams that her border collie-
is the female in heat, are they feel- Doberman mix named Baby Boo had
ing well or not. Their nose leads the become fixated on a curious mole on
way—dogs sniff first and ask ques- the woman’s left thigh, sniffing it of-
tions later.” ten. The ritual continued every day
Humans have always appreciated for several months, with Baby Boo
the potential of the canine snout. In nuzzling the woman’s leg through
the Middle Ages, authorities in France her trousers. Baby Boo finally tried
and Scotland relied on dogs and their to bite the lesion off, at which point
sniffing abilities to hunt down outlaws. the woman visited her doctor. When
Search-and-rescue dogs emerged in doctors excised the mole, they found
the 18 th century when the monks of it was malignant melanoma.
the Great St. Bernard Hospice in the “Something about that lesion
Swiss Alps discovered that the canines fascinated the dog,” Williams recalls.
they’d been breeding could lead them “And it literally saved this woman’s life.”
to avalanche victims buried beneath
the snow. A DOG’S NOSE IS UP
Despite this history, science hadn’t TO A MILLION TIMES
considered whether dogs could de-
tect cancer until the late 1980s, after MORE SENSITIVE
30-year-old medical resident Hywel THAN A HUMAN NOSE.
Williams stumbled on scientific gold.
Upon arriving at King’s College
Hospital in London to begin his train- Williams and a colleague published
ing as a dermatologist, Williams was their findings in the Lancet, a well-
tasked with reviewing every case of respected medical journal. Suddenly,
melanoma seen at the hospital over dog lovers around the world were
the previous 20 years. It was an eye- reaching out to Williams and shar-
glazing assignment, recalls Williams. ing similar experiences. There was
But one afternoon, he came across the 66-year-old man who developed
a four-word notation in a file that a patch of eczema on the outer side
caught his attention. It read simply: of his left thigh—a lesion that be-
“Dog sniffed at lesion.” What did that came the obsession of his Labrador
mean? Was it possible the dog in the retriever until he went to the doctor.
file actually smelled cancer? It was found to be basal cell carci-
“So I rang the lady in the file up,” noma. There was George the schnau-
Williams recalls. “And we had the zer, trained by a Florida dermatologist.
most fascinating conversation!” George “went crazy” when he sniffed

readersdigest.in 103
Reader ’s Digest

DeAngelo and Otto were moved to tears when the dogs learnt to detect traces
of ovarian cancer on the scent wheel.

out a suspicious mole on the leg of a and quickly advanced to basic odour
patient. It turned out to be malignant. detection skill training.
Over the years since, a growing During these sessions, the dogs
body of evidence has emerged sug- are introduced to a universal detec-
gesting that dogs can sniff out blad- tor calibrant, a potent, distinct odour
der cancer, prostate cancer, diabetes developed by a veterinary scientist
and even malaria, among other con- to train dogs. The trainer places the
ditions. But not just any chihuahua, calibrant—a powder contained within
corgi or beagle can do the job. a Mylar bag with a tiny hole to let the
odour out—on the floor or on a wall
or holds it in hand. As soon as the dog courtesy penn vet working dog center
Like most of the dogs, Osa arrived at
the Penn Vet Working Dog Center sniffs at the odour to investigate it, the
from a breeder at two months of age. trainer ‘marks’ the smell by making a
“We look at their genetics,” says De- noise with a clicker or simply saying
Angelo. “We look at their work abil- ‘yes’, and then rewards the dog with a
ity. They have to come from working treat. This process is repeated until
lines, not show or pet lines, but one the dog learns that when it finds this
that has that hunt/prey drive.” Osa odour, it gets rewarded.
began taking obedience and agility Next, the trainer begins offering
training (walking a plank, climbing the dog choices—for instance, plac-
a ladder, gliding over a rubble pile) ing two distinct odours in identical

104 december 2021

 Breakthrough Science

containers, only one of which pro-

duces a click and a treat when sniffed.
Once that is mastered, the trainer be-
gins withholding the treat until the
dog freezes in front of the container
of choice and stares.
As the dogs undergo this founda-
tional training, the trainers evaluate
their skill sets and temperaments
and use the data to choose a particu-
lar area of specialization. Dogs that
demonstrate a passion for running
on rubble enter search-and-rescue Training a dog like Osa to sniff out cancer
training. Those that don’t enjoy rub- can take a year to 18 months.
ble but have strong noses might be-
come narcotics or bomb dogs. Dogs spreadsheets and find the one num-
who think that lightly “biting people ber that’s out of place. They really like
is a fun game,” DeAngelo jokes, end having things very neat and controlled.
up as police dogs. They’re the detail dogs.”
Penn’s medical-detection dogs are While Osa had all the qualities
the ones with quirky personalities that make up a great sniffer dog, that
and narrow focuses. Otto calls them didn’t guarantee that she’d be able to
the centre’s “sensitive souls.” They master the most essential task of all.
dislike noisy, crowded environments, To find out if she could, DeAngelo and
such as airports or disaster recovery her team put Osa in front of a scent
sites. Osa is very suspicious of people wheel, a stationary metal contraption
she doesn’t know—so much so that with multiple arms, each one of which
nobody is allowed to approach De- is large enough to hold two separate
Angelo’s house unannounced (to do containers—one containing plasma
daniel peterschmidt/science friday

so results in loud barking and pande- from a woman with metastatic ovarian
monium). Upon entering the home, cancer and the other plasma from a
visitor, host and dog must all proceed healthy volunteer. When Osa stopped
immediately outside to play ball to set in front of the correct sample, pointed
Osa at ease before any business can her nose at it and froze, DeAngelo and
be conducted. But with these neurotic her colleagues hugged and cried.
traits also comes an uncommon focus. “You don’t know if it’s going to work,
“I often refer to our medical- so you train it, and you train it,” she
detection dogs as the CPAs,” Otto says. says. “You’re actually now going to
“They would love to just look at the put the real cancer in the wheel, in

readersdigest.in 105
Reader ’s Digest

the plasma, and see if the dogs can two separate samples consisting
identify it and ignore the other sam- of many odorants mixed together
ples. And it worked! The very first and make sure the machine can
time! It was very emotional.” distinguish between the two. Then
And yet that’s only half the chal- they remove individual odorants
lenge. To transform Osa’s remarkable from each sample, training the
abilities into something replicable— machine to distinguish increasingly
an electronic nose—researchers subtle differences that are more and
have to figure out what it is precisely more difficult to detect. The goal is
that Osa and her friends are reacting to eventually place a vial of plasma
to. DeAngelo says the blood samples inside a microwave-sized electronic
she has trained her dogs with contain sniffer that can analyze its odorants
hundreds of different organic com- and provide a reading of healthy,
pounds, any one of which could be benign or malignant within minutes.
capturing the dog’s attention. And that Another version might handle up
to 10 samples at a time.
While most people would likely
MEDICAL-DETECTION prefer to have what ails them
DOGS ARE THE sniffed out by a sympathetic (if wet)
ONES WITH QUIRKY nose rather than a cold machine,
that’s not in the cards, according
PERSONALITIES. to Bruce Kimball, a chemist at the
Monell Chemical Senses Center in
Philadelphia. “The sheer numbers of
is why the Penn team includes not just dogs and handlers that would have to
the physicists and engineers design- be deployed” to the various hospitals,
ing the instrumentation for their elec- labs and medical facilities around
tronic nose but also chemists to help the country “is not practical,” he says.
figure out what exactly that electronic An electronic nose prototype has daniel peterschmidt/science friday

nose needs to be calibrated to smell. been built, and it’s successful in

The group has been breaking the can- sniffing out cancer 90 to 95 per cent of
cer samples down into progressively the time. As impressive as that sounds,
smaller constituent parts and present- researchers say there’s still more work
ing them to the dogs to winnow down to be done. Right now, they have a
which of the hundreds of potential good idea of what compounds or
aromatic chemical compounds (odor- chemicals create the odour, but the
ants) grab their attention. team wants more specificity. One
A similar approach is used to train objective is to be able to distinguish
the device. The engineers start with between early- and late-stage cancer.

106 december 2021

 Breakthrough Science

It’s a family affair! DeAngelo’s dogs, Grizzly (left) and Prior, also work at the centre.

“It would be incredible to identify Of course, neither Osa nor any of her
people at an early stage and really furry friends have much idea what
have an impact on saving lives,” says the fuss is all about.
Otto. “The dogs have been able to “To them, it’s just a game,” says
detect that.” With that ability, a blood DeAngelo. “Osa just knows that,
test could be sent to a central lab— I was trained and when I find this
or, ideally, performed in a doctor’s odour and I indicate on it, then I
office—and rolled in as part of one’s get rewarded.”
annual checkup, making some Osa prefers that reward to be a
hidden cancers a thing of the past. piece of cheese. It’s a small price
If it all works as DeAngelo and Otto to pay. After all, Osa’s nose is
hope—and Otto is confident that a potentially revolutionizing how and
working device is “on the horizon”— when we detect countless types
it will be one of the most important of cancer and saving thousands of
victories in the war against cancer yet. lives along the way.

readersdigest.in 107
 Reader ’s Digest

LAUGH LINES
The tenth Fast and Furious
movie should be called The first rule of Don’t Fight
Fast 10: Your Seatbelts. Club is let’s talk about it.
— @sophiekeen — @iamspacegirl

Don’t call me Jurassic Park is

‘honey’ and
expect it to
Cinem-ha! a movie about
how just
soften the because some-
fact that you thing is great
SHRUNK THE KIDS. it doesn’t mean
— @BrotiGupta you should
bring it back,
and it has
three sequels.
— @meakoopa

My question is
did Disney come The mayor of Jaws
up with the is still the mayor in
movie and then Jaws 2. It is so
the name, or did important to vote in
victoriya 89 /getty images

someone just your local elections.

think of the pun — @adamgoodell
‘Aristocats’ and
design the
entire movie
around it?
— @memantula

108 december 2021

Reader ’s Digest

CULTURESCAPE
Books, Arts and Entertainment

STRENGTH AND
SENSIBILITY
In her new novel, The Blind Matriarch, author and co-director of the
Jaipur Literature Festival, Namita Gokhale speaks of the resilience
women and families have shown during the pandemic and the
renewed importance of pluck and perseverance

by Shreevatsa Nevatia

You started writing your first novel, Your new novel, is set during the
Paro: Dreams of Passion, 40 years pandemic. How do you think COVID
ago. Since then you’ve published 20 has changed our relationship with
books. What makes you so prolific? mortality, with ageing?
I don’t think of myself as prolific. I’m The first lockdown, as experienced by
one of those people who operates on many people, was a softer run. I think
nervous energy. I’m also very good at most of us are aware, in some part of
doing nothing. So, I’m not always able our consciousness, that we are mortal,
photo: mayank austen soofi

to reach that perfect balance of doing though we try not to remember it. But
as much as I should be doing and not during that the second wave, mortality
more. If I do, however, compress a lot of assumed a different dimension alto-
pointless activity into my day, then I of- gether. And there’s just a rippled mirror
ten seem to operate better. If I don’t, if I of that showing through in the book.
try to do what other people call ‘relax-
ation’, then I fall into one of my favou- Your writing has always been
rite hobbies, which is hypochondria. informed by a sense of the erotic.

110 december 2021

readersdigest.in 111
Reader ’s Digest

Did COVID suck it out of this book? quietly but persistently. It happens
Maybe I’m just getting older, but I in every sphere of life—as things get
don’t think that is the story. In fact, easier, resilience decreases because
when I finished writing it, I was won- the guard is not up for whatever
dering what happened to the sex lives reason. There are many young women
of my characters. Khushwant Singh who have a lot of spirit, and who have
had said I write about, love, lust and all the most inspiring ideas about
death, but here, it was mostly about equality, equity and gender parity,
just death and survival. I observed only but they may not have been tested in
later that this novel was the way that Matangi-
about a different plane Ma’s generation was.
of human interaction. Their strength came
When I reread it, I said, from a different source.
“Who on earth will read It didn’t come from
this book?” Because no- ideas; it came from a
body seemed to be doing stubborn refusal. They
anything except cooking would not be ground
ladoos or something like into nothingness.
that. But apparently peo-
ple have enjoyed reading Reading your book, one
about old women cook- sees that the family unit
ing ladoos. can be a source of both
comfort and violence.
In Matangi-Ma, your
“THE SCOPE TO BE Isn’t it, at times, risky
protagonist, we find to throw in your lot with
a woman whose spirit ABSURD, TO BE this unpredictable struc-
even blindness can’t FANTASTIC, IS SO ture of togetherness?
break. Is her resilience MUCH MORE Not in India, I don’t
hers alone or do you WHEN ONE IS think. Because we don’t
think it’s something have a social security
all women inherit? ROOTED IN FACT.” network. In a society
It is the resilience of where there is a social
a generation, which I’m not sure if security network, it’s easier to look to
some of our subsequent generations individuation and personal growth.
have to the same degree. Her strength But as many people discovered during
is the strength of the downtrodden. the pandemic, the Indian family can be
The more the Indian woman of that a last resort of safety and security. And
generation was repressed, suppressed I’m fascinated by the Indian family as
and troubled, the more she rebelled, an emblem of so many other things

112 december 2021

 Culturescape

about India—it can be cruel, it can be You also recently released a play,
dysfunctional, but it can also provide Betrayed by Hope. Is it meant for
great solace and strength. the shelf or the stage?
I had read and reviewed two books on
Matangi-Ma loves Kyunki Saas Bhi Michael Madhusudan Dutta—his let-
Kabhi Bahu Thi, but is disappointed ters and a biography. Something about
when “Tulsi … went back to being it all reached out to me. He shared a
Smriti Irani.” Given all our troubles, birthday with me. He loved cognac, as I
is fiction a better home than fact? used to. He was a doomed, Promethean
Not at all. Because fact has the scope to figure. I felt his pain. The structure of
do anything. In fiction, you have to at the play leapt out of the structure of the
least sound realistic. There are all kinds letters. I felt they automatically divided
of constraints when you write fiction, themselves into five distinct acts. So, I
whereas fact can go almost anywhere don’t know whether it is meant to be
at any time. And the scope to be ab- staged, but a radio play of the script has
surd, to be fantastic, is so much more just been made by Storytel.
when one is rooted in fact.
Finally, for writers who work in
You have, of course, authored books isolation, is there something
like The Book of Shiva and In Search beyond recognition and a sense
of Sita. Seeing how mythology gets of community that events like the
taken literally these days, would you Jaipur Literature Festival afford?
advise steering clear of gods? I have benefited hugely as a writer from
I have taken on some difficult and my interactions with other writers at
contentious issues. When I first wrote the Jaipur Lit Fest. Because I’m always
In Search of Sita, a lot of people said, backstage, attending to things—some-
“Oh, you’re going to get into trouble body has lost a laptop or their phone,
for this one.” But both the right and someone needs the loo—I’m not al-
left endorsed it in different ways. And ways able to talk about things literary
then when I was doing Finding Radha, with the stellar people I encounter
which is actually quite a subversive there. But I think the idea of the writer
book, I didn’t get into any controversy. I as an isolated, lonely person is true
think it’s not for me to advise anybody. when they are writing, but in the time
But I think in myth, if a controversy between writing, on those monotonous
comes off, it leads to a resolution and days when people are pushing their
to a deeper understanding. Hindu myth books, it’s a joy to interact with like-
can absorb so much, so, so, much, and minded people who share the same
give so many new dimensions to every interests, to learn from them, to argue
interpretation of anything. and disagree. I think it works.

readersdigest.in 113
 RD RECOMMENDS

Films A still from the film Encounter

ENGLISH: Streaming Kapil Dev lifted the triangles. The trailer

on Amazon Prime Video World Cup trophy in of ATRANGI RE (stream-
from 10 December, 1983. Slated to arrive in ing on Disney + Hotstar
ENCOUNTER belongs theatres on 24 Decem- from 24 December)
to several genres all ber, Kabir Khan’s 83 suggests the director’s
at once—family melo- recreates India’s dream new offering will again
drama, road thriller, run for those of us who be a variation on that
science fiction. A deco- missed it. Ranveer Singh very theme. Sara Ali
rated marine, Malik plays Kapil paaji. Khan has affection for
Khan (Riz Ahmed), One quick look a subdued Dhanush
puts everything on the at Aanand L. Rai’s film- and an extravagant
line when he kidnaps ography—Tanu Weds Akshay Kumar.
his two young sons from Manu Returns, Raan-
his estranged wife. Khan jhanaa, Zero—and his TELUGU: Few South
is convinced that alien obvious predilection Indian films have been
bugs are seizing control reveals itself: love anticipated quite so
of people. Is he being
paranoid or prescient?

HINDI: Much has hap-

pened to Indian cricket
in the past four decades.
We play as favourites
now, not underdogs. But
ask any cricket historian
worth his salt and he
will tell you that victory
tasted sweetest when Akshay Kumar, Sara Ali Khan and Dhanush in Atrangi Re

118 december 2021

 Reader ’s Digest

keenly as PUSHPA:
THE RISE (PART 1).
The film’s cast boasts
of several heavyweights—
Allu Arjun, Fahadh Faasil,
Rashmika Mandanna,
Prakash Raj. Set in Andhra
Pradesh’s hills, the action
thriller tells the story of a
red sanders heist and that
of a complex power nexus.
This film is assured packed
theatres when it releases
on 17 December.
Allu Arjun in Pushpa: The Rise (Part 1)

#WATCHLIST: At the end of its

0N OUR RADAR first season, Aarya
(Sushmita Sen) and her
children flee the coun-
Aarya Season 2: Not try, the mob still hot
only was this show on their trail. Releasing
one of Disney+ Hot- on 10 December, the
star’s most watched new season sees its
offerings last year, it protagonist return to
also got global rec- India with a manifesto
ognition by way of Poster for Voir Season 1
of pure vengeance.
an International Club, asks film buffs
Emmy nomination. Voir Season 1: Coming to examine cinematic
to Netflix on 6 Decem- moments that left
ber, the first season of them challenged and
this documentary series changed. In the vi-
promises to be a treat sual essays that result
for cinephiles the world from this experiment,
over. David Fincher, di- we find insights on
rector of cult films such craft but we also
A still from Aarya as Zodiac and Fight find catharsis.

readersdigest.in 119
Reader ’s Digest

Books
Under Something of a Cloud: The Best Travel
Writing of Dom Moraes, Speaking Tiger
There is something reputation—he was
unputdownable about one of our best. Scope Out
Dom Moraes’ poems. While Moraes’ ac- Adam (Vintage):
No anthology of mod- count of a childhood Winner of last year’s
ern poetry ever feels trip to Sri Lanka is JCB Prize for Literature,
complete without them. surprisingly vivid, his S. Hareesh returns with
But his non-fic- recounting of a collection of nine
tion—autobiog- a trip to the short stories, each of
raphies like My Sikkim–Tibet which is a lesson in
Son’s Father and border is both how ordinary people
Never at Home— dark and comic. are capable of extraor-
is proof enough Reading about dinary desire.
that his prose Moraes’ encoun-
was as compel- ter with the Dani Not Just Cricket:
ling and illumi- tribe in Indone- A Reporter’s Journey
native as his sia and then through Modern India
famous verse. This dacoits in Chambal, (Context): Pradeep
anthology of Moraes’ we do, of course, see Magazine is one of our
travel writing further his wit, but also his finest and most sea-
cements the author’s unfailing empathy. soned cricket journal-
ists. In this memoir, he
explains how sport
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE ...
informs society.
Whole Numbers and Half Truths: What Data
Can and Cannot Tell Us About Modern India
The Shadow on the Wall
by Rukmini S. (Context): Rukmini S. is
(Aleph): A collection of
something of a pioneer. One of the few
Ruskin’s most spooky
journalists in India almost wholly com-
and frightening writing,
mitted to making sense of often impenetrable data,
this collection contains
she has in recent years adroitly navigated the maze
many, many classics—
of numbers to arrive at theses that are as convincing
A Face in the Dark,
as they are revealing. In this book, she asks ques-
The Chakrata Cat, The
tions we should all know the answers to—How
Doppelganger.
does data work? Could it really help better India?

120 december 2021

 RD Recommends

Music
TUNE IN
Song: ‘Norwegian Wood
(This Bird Has Flown)’
Artists: Parekh & Singh
Album: Songs Inspired by the
Film The Beatles and India

Directed by journalist Ajoy Bose,

the documentary The Beatles and Kolkata pop music duo, Parekh & Singh
India tells the story of how John, Paul,
George and Ringo came to embrace it is Parekh & Singh, the Kolkata
all things Indian—sitar, yoga, Rishi- dream pop duo, who stand out.
kesh. Though we might have some Their cover of ‘Norwegian Wood’
time to wait until the film arrives on is as seamless as it is faithful. Helped,
our shores, Bose and his team have in of course, by the fact that George Har-
the meantime released a soundtrack rison had played a bit of sitar on this
whose songs reverse the trajectory of track, Parekh & Singh don’t overtly
influence. It wasn’t just the Beatles pander to the Beatles and India brief.
who’d absorbed Indian music and Their somewhat languorous adapta-
mysticism; Indians, too, have soaked tion is defined by the same ease we
themselves silly in Fab Four delights. have all come to associate with the
Of all the Indian artists who’ve ren- song. The Liverpool lads, we feel,
dered Beatles classics for this album, would approve.

LISTEN pian novel THE

AUDIOBOOK: Home- HANDMAID’S TALE is
land is proof that pitch perfect.
actress Claire Danes
takes very well to PODCAST: If life has
thrillers. It’s no sur- given you lemons, onade. A SLIGHT
prise then that cognitive scientist CHANGE OF PLANS is
her narration Maya Shankar for those who have ar-
of Margaret At- can teach you rived at a crossroads
wood’s dysto- how to make lem- and need a map.

—COMPILED BY SHREEVATSA NEVATIA

readersdigest.in 121
Reader ’s Digest

REVIEW

Doing
Justice
Jai Bhim’s portrayal
of casteism is both
deft and potent

Suriya Sivakumar as Chandru in Jai Bhim

By Jai Arjun Singh

Two stories converge in have no support, no vot- the ‘white saviour’ trope,
Jai Bhim (streaming on ing rights or land or any where caste tyranny is
Amazon Prime Video), real proof of existence battled by an upper-
the latest in a line of (though they are em- caste hero. But it is
Tamil films that deal ployed for menial work founded on the idea that
unsparingly with caste such as catching snakes). societal change can hap-
atrocities. (Others in- When Chandru takes on pen only if everyone is
clude Karnan and Man- Sengani’s case and tries willing to make sacri-
dela.) In the first thread, to find out what hap- fices—from the consci-
a man from the Irula pened to her husband, entious privileged to
tribe is falsely implicated the film becomes more poor victims who might
in a theft case and tor- of an audience-pleaser, be offered sops to keep
tured by the police while with such touches as a silent. And ultimately,
his wife Sengani (Lijo- Greek chorus-like char- its most potent images
mol Jose) seeks justice. acter who makes procla- are not the triumphal
In the second, lawyer mations like, “That’s why ones but those that
Chandru (Suriya) works Chandru is such a bril- depict how embedded
pro bono to help the op- liant lawyer!” However, it caste discrimination
pressed while also being is still a subdued thriller– is: like the scene where
aware of the complex re- courtroom drama. a cop screams “You
lationship between the TJ Gnanavel’s Jai dare TOUCH me?!”
law and its enforcers. Bhim—along with in genuine outrage
The early scenes show recent films like Article when a man he has
the bleak and total help- 15—has been accused been beating grabs his
lessness of those who of endorsing a version of leg, in a bid for mercy.

122 december 2021

 Culturescape

STUDIO

Dilli of places that the pan- absence of passers-by

By Sarah Kaushik demic had emptied of and worshippers. We
Digital Media people. At first glance, have to move our gaze
Collage, 2021 the photos seem upwards to make a
haunted. The malls, human connection.
12 X 24 inches
staircases and rooms The three people
we see are all occupied in the frame do, of
ONE OFTEN THINKS by our absence. We course, belong to
that poetry, like any aren’t here because we another age but there
other art form, requires were dying elsewhere. is something familiar
human subjects to be Collagist Sarah about their impove-
image courtesy artspeaks india

truly evocative. A new Kaushik, for one, rishment. Migrant

virtual exhibition of accomplishes some- workers had looked as
photography, however, thing novel in her forlorn when leaving
belies that assumption. work Dilli. Though the us, but unlike Kaushik,
Poetry of Lived Spaces, vintage photo of Jama we never did give them
A Brush with the Lens Masjid is unmistakably a magic mattress. The
(live on www.artspeaks. the protagonist of this fault is not in our stars:
com until 22 March, piece, it is made stark It is in ourselves.
2022) collects photos by the conspicuous — BY SHREEVATSA NEVATIA

readersdigest.in 123
 ME & MY SHELF

In her recent book, Desperately

Seeking Shah Rukh: India’s Lonely
Young Women and the Search for
Intimacy and Independence,
Harvard-trained economist
Shrayana Bhattacharya uses the
lens of fandom to show how India
neglects women and their desires.

Wages Of Love: The and ‘free’ sexual and romantic prac-

Uncollected Writings tices. The result is this dazzling book.
of Kamala Das BY
SURESH KOHLI (EDITOR), The Odd Woman and the City:
HarperCollins, `299 A Memoir BY VIVIAN GORNICK,
A compilation of Das’s Farrar, Straus and Giroux, `999
poetry, non-fiction and Gornick is the first lady of the con-
fiction, this is one of my prized posses- temporary memoir. In this book, she
sions. The book has a tender introduc- wanders about New York in her 60s.
tion by Kohli, where he confesses his Full of gorgeous meditations on age-
own infatuation with the writer. Das ing, friendship, womanhood, loneli-
was a pioneer of what was once called ness and keeping oneself company, it
‘confessional writing’ in India. Her po- offers a masterclass in writing about
etry and style perplexed and seduced the self and the city.
so many readers.
A Space within the Struggle:
Future Sex: A New Kind of Free Women’s Participation in
photo: sukruti anah staneley

Love BY EMILY WITT, Faber & Faber,`299 People’s Movements

One of the finest and funniest narra- BY ILINA SEN (EDITOR), Zubaan, `325
tive non-fiction books I’ve read. Witt, This collection of essays sheds light
in her early 30s, is trying to recover on less visible and more practical as-
from a break-up and finds herself pects of women’s struggles and move-
contemplating the future shape of her ments. The writing is remarkable in its
sex life. She decides to travel to the US diversity of voices and experiences.
West Coast to investigate alternative Capturing the battles fought by brick

124 december 2021

 Reader ’s Digest

workers, landless labourers, fish-work- Poor Economics: Rethinking

ers and environmental activists, this is Poverty & the Ways to End it
a must read for anyone trying to un- BY ABHIJIT BANERJEE & ESTHER DUFLO,
derstand the history and intricacies Penguin, `499
of grassroots women’s movements. Nobel laureates Banerjee and Duflo
help the reader understand the every-
The Pursuit of Love day economic lives and trade-offs
BY NANCY MITFORD, made by marginalized communities
Hamish Hamilton, `499 and vulnerable workers. Drawing on
Nobody writes wicked extensive studies, what emerges is a
delightful romances lens that redefined development eco-
better than Mitford. The nomics and how we understand the
characters are deliciously complex and challenges of poverty and inequality.
stylish. Set during the London Blitz, it
is a powerful illustration of how the Seeing Like a State: How Certain
anxieties of geo-political shifts creep Schemes to Improve the Human
into our intimate relationships. Condition Have Failed BY JAMES C.
SCOTT, Yale University Press, `1,559
Self-Portrait BY CELIA PAUL, As long as governments deploy
Jonathan Cape, `1,199 technology-enabled, top-down pro-
An acclaimed British artist, Paul stud- grammes, Scott’s pathbreaking work
ied at the Slade School and was Lucian of anthropology will stay relevant. He
Freud’s lover for 10 years. In this stun- reviews a subset of large government
ning memoir, Paul tries to recover her- schemes and tries to explain why and
self and her work from the shadow of how these failed. It changed the way I
Freud. “I am my own subject”, she says. see governance, public administration
A wonderful ode to the hard work of and the development agenda.
art and womanhood.
The Art of Loving
Sense and Solidarity: Jholawala BY ERICH FROMM,
Economics for Everyone Thorsons, `499 Full of
BY JEAN DRÈZE, Permanent Black, `495 warmth and wisdom,
Every student of social science should this is essential reading
read this collection of essays. In its to be a better human be-
beautiful introduction, economist– ing. Fromm frames 'love' as an art, one
activist Drèze outlines how the study of that requires practice and generosity.
economics must be empathetic yet rig- In our current crisis of cynicism and
orous. It is a call to action to make re- hate, his treatise for a more loving so-
search accessible and people-centric. ciety is one we can all benefit from.

Book prices are subject to change. readersdigest.in 125

 BRAIN GAMES
7 Pages to sharpen Your Mind

Tents & Trees

How to play: 
At this camping site each tent is 
adjacent to its own tree, either
horizontally or vertically. Tents 
are not adjacent to each other, 
not even diagonally. The num-
bers outside the grid indicate 
how many tents are in that row 
or column. Locate all tents.

Example
 
 

 
             

Numbers 
How to play: Example:
Enter the numbers
1–9 into the grid,  
so that any two
numbers connected
with a line will
have a difference  
of at least 3. Two
numbers are given.

126 december 2021

 Reader ’s Digest

SIXY SUDOKU

1  
How to play:
  2
Insert the
numbers 1 to
   6 just once in

  each a) row,  
b) column,
  c) bold out-
lined area
 and d) white 
or grey
 rectangle.
 

3  
Example
  4
   

  
  

5 Beware!
 The bold  6
outlined
  areas are no

 longer 2x3! 


 
For answers, turn to page 128.
Visit www.sixysudoku.com for books and a free app Puzzles © PZZL.com

readersdigest.in 127
Reader ’s Digest

BRAIN TEASERS SOLUTIONS From pages 126 and 127

Tents & Trees Numbers

  

  

  

SIXY SUDOKU SOLUTIONS

1       2       3      
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 

4       5       6      
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 

128 december 2021

 Brain Games

9. compote n.
WORD POWER (‘kam-poht)
a fruit cooked in syrup
b vanilla buttercream
c graham cracker crumble
What’s sweeter than sharing holiday
treats with family and friends? To cele- 10. pâtissier n.
brate the season, we’ve whipped up a (pah-tiss-’yay)
batch of tasty terms related to baking. a piping bag
b pastry chef
Will you take the cake or eat humble
c baking competition
pie? Once you’ve savoured this quiz,
turn the page for the answers. 11. dredge v. (drej)
a coat by sprinkling
b flavour with tea
By Sarah Chassé c whisk by hand

1. meringue n. 5. unleavened adj. 12. zest n. (zest)

(muh-’rang) (un-’leh-vind) a cranberry relish
a lemon custard a made without yeast b cracked peppercorn
b whipped topping b preservative-free c citrus peel
c spicy eggnog c unsweetened
13. tandoor n.
2. sieve v. (siv) 6. cardamom n. (tahn-’door)
a halve (‘kar-duh-mum) a savoury dumpling
b mix a almond paste b clay oven
c sift b flower garnish c golden fig
c gingery spice
3. bain-marie n. 14. minced adj.
(ban muh-’ree) 7. infuse v. (in-’fyooz) (minsed)
a water bath a light on fire a kneaded
b wedding cake b steep in liquid b drizzled
c steamed bun c heat gradually c chopped

4. galette n. 8. profiterole n. 15. ganache n.

(guh-’let) (proh-’fih-tuh-roll) (gah-’nahsh)
a rolled cookie a candied pecan a soggy crust
b flat pastry b plum pudding b cherry liqueur
c filled Danish c mini cream puff c chocolate frosting

readersdigest.in 129
 Reader ’s Digest

Baker’s Math
With a dozen eggs or a dozen roses, you know how many
items to expect: 12. So why does a ‘baker’s dozen’ mean 13?
In medieval England, there were strict laws about the prices
bakers could charge for bread by weight. Rather than risking
shorting customers and facing a flogging, careful bakers began including an extra
loaf with orders of 12—sometimes bumping up the total to 14, just to be safe.

Word Power 6. cardamom 11. dredge

ANSWERS (c) gingery spice (a) coat by sprinkling
For this recipe, we’ll Sebastian dredged the
need cardamom and fish fillets with bread
1. meringue
shredded coconut. crumbs before popping
(b) whipped topping
A classic meringue has them into the oven.
just two ingredients: 7. infuse
egg whites and sugar. (b) steep in liquid
12. zest (c) citrus peel
To make oatmeal cook-
I add orange zest to my
2. sieve (c) sift ies extra fancy, add rai-
muffin mix for extra zip.
“Don’t forget to sieve sins infused with rum.
the flour—we don’t 13. tandoor (b) clay oven
want lumpy batter,” 8. profiterole
Anika cooks her
Dad said. (c) mini cream puff
Christmas goose
My grandmother
in her tandoor.
3. bain-marie always made beauti-
(a) water bath fully decorated bon-
To avoid a cracked 14. minced (c) chopped
bons and profiteroles.
cheesecake, try baking Should we add some
it in a bain-marie. minced walnuts to this
9. compote
scone recipe?
(a) fruit cooked in syrup
4. galette (b) flat pastry Would you like some
I hope Miriam brings 15. ganache
raspberry compote
her apple-topped (c) chocolate frosting
on top of your
galette to the Christ- Pour ganache over the
ice cream?
mas party! cooled cake, making sure
to spread it evenly.
5. unleavened 10. pâtissier
(a) made without yeast (b) pastry chef
Unleavened bread is After coming in second Vocabulary Ratings
shutterstock

flat and comes in many on The Great British 9 & below: pat on
varieties, including Baking Show, Omar be- the back
matzo, tortillas came a famous pâtissier 10–12: above the norm
and crepes. and cookbook author. 13–15: high mark

130 december 2021

 Brain Games

QUIZ

BY Beth Shillibeer

1. What was the first Christmas carol 8. Which people likely explored Antarc-
performed in space in 1965? tica long before British and Russian
explorers claimed to be the first?
2. Governments around the world have
offered such prizes as a $1.4-million 9. Which population segment is pro-
Hong Kong apartment and a cow as jected to increase eightfold by 2050?
incentives to do what?
10. Vishwaraj Jadeja hopes to become
3. Which Fauvist painted Le Bateau, India’s first Winter Olympic medallist in
before it was accidentally displayed what sport?
upside down for 47 days?
11. A small swatch of the Wright Broth-
4. What South American country starts ers’ first airplane wing took another his-
celebrating Christmas on December toric flight in 2021. Where did it go?
with El Día de las Velitas?
12. The birthday of which
5. What colour were the earliest famous scientist is often cele-
cultivated carrots? brated on 25 December,
despite his real birthday
6. What sparkling adorn- being 4 January?
ment are some scientists
trying to ban, due to its 13. Who was the first
harmful effects on the envi- and only English pope?
ronment and human skin? 15. The French gov-
ernment is proposing 14. Who wrote 96 books
7. Scuba diver Hiroyuki Ara- to give residents an and died while working
kawa developed a friendship e-bike voucher worth on his 97th, all in an effort
with what during his work at 2,500 euros in to “spread sweetness
the Shinto shrine in Japan? exchange for what? and light”?
PHOTO: © GETTY IMAGES

Breakspear). 14. P.G. Wodehouse. 15. Trading in old, inefficient cars.

skating. 11. Mars (on NASA helicopter Ingenuity). 12. Isaac Newton. 13. Adrian IV (Nicholas
5. Purple. 6. Glitter. 7. A fish (Asian sheepshead wrasse). 8. The Maori. 9. Centenarians. 10. Speed
Answers: 1.Jingle Bells 2. Get vaccinated against COVID-19. 3. Henri Matisse. 4. Colombia.

readersdigest.in 131
Reader ’s Digest

QUOTABLE QUOTES

If you haven’t got any charity in your heart, you

have the worst kind of heart trouble.
Bob Hope, comedian

Man, sometimes it takes you a long

time to sound like yourself.
Miles Davis, musician

… Societies are built as much on what people choose

to forget as what they remember.
Nayantara Sahgal, writer

ALAMY (2); SHUTTERSTOCK

Listen to your body. I listen to mine and every
day it tells me not to do Zumba.
Amy Schumer, comedian

Bob Hope Miles Davis Nayantara Sahgal Amy Schumer

132 december 2021