Reader’s Digest has been the world’s biggest-selling magazine for nearly nine decades. It is also India’s largest-selling magazine in English. Beneath the fun and excitement of its pages, the Digest is, above all else, a serious magazine that never loses sight of the fact that, each day, all of us confront a tough, challenging world. To the millions who read the Digest, it is not a luxury—it is a necessity. Deep within its widely varied package of humour, real-life dramas and helpful information, there is in every issue of the Digest a subtle power that guides people in every aspect of their lives.
Reader’s Digest India
OVER TO YOU • NOTES ON THE January ISSUE
Humour in UNIFORM
Beginning Again • In the face of life-altering change, only hope—comforting, terrifying, necessary—can show us the way to starting afresh
My War on Insomnia
NOTES FROM THE FIELD • How two young friends are riding the digital boom to help Indian farmers succeed
It Happens ONLY IN INDIA
POINTS TO PONDER
All in a Day’s WORK
YOUR TRUE STORIES IN 100 Words
What Do Your Stomach Pains Mean? • Where—and how much—it hurts offer clues to what the problem might be
Ways to Build Resilience
How to Feel Happy • A simple smile can be the first step
NEWS FROM THE WORLD OF MEDICINE
WE FOUND A FIX • 5 TRICKS TO Improve Your Life*
I SURVIVED! • WHEN FACED WITH CERTAIN DEATH, YOU NEED BRAVERY, DETERMINATION—AND PLENTY OF LUCK. THE STORIES OF FOUR PEOPLE WHO LIVED TO TELL
LOVE YOUR HEART • What every woman should know about cardiovascular health
LIFE’S Like That
Calling Uncle Bakhshy • A loving father’s remarkable journey from hapless parent to caregiver and advocate after his daughter’s heartbreaking diagnosis
WORLD GONE MAD! • We certainly live in strange times. Rather than despair, let’s focus on stories that are so crazy we have no choice but to shake our heads and laugh
WHAT CIGARETTE ADS DIDN'T SHOW • The idyllic scenes that sold smoking were nothing like the terrible reality of cancer
JERRY’S DIRT • When it came to selecting his final resting place, my father-in-law knew to scout the land he loved, with help from his entire family
LEAVING NO STONE UNTURNED • After two career-defining performances with Pagglait and Meenakshi Sundareshwar, Sanya Malhotra speaks of how a spate of digital releases has turned her fortunes
LAUGHTER THE BEST Medicine
Films
#WATCHLIST: 0N OUR RADAR
Books
STUDIO • Black Grave 2
It’s (Not) Rocket Science • Rocket Boys makes accessible the complex story of India’s scientific pursuits
ME & MY SHELF • Conservationist and founding director of the Mussoorie Mountain Festival, Stephen Alter is the author of more than 20 non-fiction, fiction and children’s titles. His latest novel, Birdwatching, is a tale of intrigue and mystery set against the 1962 Sino-Indian war.
BRAIN TEASERS
SIXY SUDOKU
WORD POWER • Many English words include accents—think blasé, jalapeño and château—which clue you in to pronunciation and differentiate between terms (like resume vs. résumé). Many have French roots, but we’ve featured other etymologies too. When you’re ready, turn the page and, voilà—the answers.
QUOTABLE QUOTES
A Trusted Friend in a Complicated World