ThinkerViews – Views And Reviews Personal views and reviews for books, magazines, tv serials, movies, websites, technical stuff and more.
Now a days the words like, Consumerism or Shopaholic comes our way more often then they were. Marketing is a good thing and it is the right of the product manufacturer or service provider to convince people regarding the benefit or qualities of the same. However we all know that based on the human psychology we all sometimes buy what more than we need actually. The personal experience of Mr. Sivananda which he explores in the editorial shows that the central theme of Reader’s Digest India – March 2012 issue is Human Buyology! He explains how he gotta buy a gift for lovely father when he got his initial earning and how his father advised him the golden words when accepting the gifts. I like the say “Before you buy anything, ask yourself whether we can live without it”.
Off the mark here I would like to add that in the changing economic conditions we see that there are the grown up countries like USA which are hit the most. Why? Actually they are having the best resource, one of the best management teams, the innovators, and so on? Well, one thing is it is a major economy so the effects are major too. Second important aspect is the people there are living in happy-go-lucky lifestyle in way to earn and spend, without caring much to save (which is true for a majority of people). So when the economy is down there, the effects are shown immediately. In this same issue of RD, I found a good example, that how may things you own? May be a thousand or thousands! but how many of them are used by you on the regular course? Probably a tiny portion. It says it all.
One thing I want to mention here is the stuff about saving. I am glad to say that several countries like India have the family bonds are much stronger and following the instructions by parent is warmly done by the children rather than just a duty. The tradition of saving money is carried forward this way since ages and it is really good. The kids are having the habit to save a portion of his/her fortune since the early age really plays a vital role. I saw a lot of families where parents implant such qualities in kids so smoothly and intelligently that it remains with them throughout the life and they have a buffer in some unexpected situations. The great economist Chanakya said – always save one third of your income towards the security, very true.
The react section have response letters from various people (most of them are doctors) in reply to the “Is this any way to lose weight?” article published in one of the previous issues. In response to manners and etiquette article one Dr. said a nice thing, that I will start it with myself. Very genuine and right approach. It made him win the best letter prize too 🙂
| Book | Author | Publisher | Binding |
| The Intelligent Investor | Benjamin Graham | Barnes | Paperback |
| Beating The Street | Peter Lynch | Simon & Schuster | Paperback |
| Stocks To Riches | Parag Parikh | Tata McGrow-Hill | Paperback |
In the GreenHeart section, Bittu Sahgal discusses “How to Save Kashmir”. This is not regarding terrorism by the misguided people who are killing humans and made this heavenly place a Vally of death. It is about the terrors which affect the nature, it is about the terror to the wildlife, it is about the terror to the beauty and the climate. It is a small yet good read.
Word power section this month concentrates on Animal Instincts, Interestingly you can test your word power (or challenge your friend) at http://www.readersdigest.com/wordpower
Kindness of Strangers is the section we especially wait to read. The reason, it brings the brighter side of a human. And we consider it as a must read. It is not necessary for you to be a celebrity or wealthy or a politician or a powerful fellow to help anyone, all you need is a kind heart. They are the real heroes as we know and we salute those who make the earth the better place to live without shouting about their good deeds. The incidents this time explored are titled:
- A man in khaki
- Manner of speaking
- It takes a village…
Similarly “My Story” section also brings stories about the people who did extra-ordinary work. This time we are introduced to Hemavathi. How help of a upper-middle class family brought her life to the shining, is inspiration tale of course.
As we stated in the beginning of the article, the planning of the financial goals and the efforts needs to fulfill them plays a vital and important part in the life. The well explored article about the central theme brings us 10 important tips regarding the same, which we feel better you read in detail. The important bonus tip says something life, you should take the first step (rather than just planning) which is important. Sometimes we need to do some sacrifice to some material happiness at the moment but it can result into the better future not only for us but our family too. Other similar article is “Buyology” which brings you the world of shopping and provides details about how it affects one not only economically and socially but psychologically too. It is a well known fact that good packing, attractive prices and display of eye catcher stuff with intelligent marketing makes us to purchase what we do not need. We all are aware with the incidents that if you go to a good shopping mall, just to wander, not to buy anything, when comeback may have handful of stuff. Which says that the mind matters! Read on, to get informative stuff about the same and start saving more for your future. Read one more article on the same theme titled “Buy Smart Buy less” for that. Nice small tips!
We all know that the teen-age is one of the most vulnerable part of life. Now a days when the Internet is a handy tool for everyone; the usage of the same by teenagers (well the adults are there too, but we consider them less vulnerable) to explore about sex, grows. Sex is not a bad thing and there is nothing wrong to know the real stuff about the same. Rather, it helps one to derive a healthy attitude. However it must be done wisely and properly. If the teenagers finding the information lands to some wrong sites (which happens in most cases) it may make them sex-addict, sex-maniac or may even guide them to some inhuman behavior about sex, which is definitely harmful. An article about the same is there in this issue of RD. It also refers two websites http://www.tarshi.net and http://www.lovematters.info; which are worth visiting.
A warrior’s last journey is the article about – The Rainbow Warrior – the campaign ship of the environmental group GreenPeace. It is retiring after 22 years of this service and in the memoir to the same, some milestones along with the brief history of the same are discussed.
As we said in the review of the RD January 2012 issue, talking about health is the mantra. This issue talks about health in RD way. Actually RD published a book titled “Health, The Reader’s Digest Version”, and this article is prepared by taking some excerpts from the same. One more article regarding health is there in the same issue which focuses on music therapy. It is said that music-therapy is proven effective and soon will be time when you found them prescribed by the doctors too. Readable article. The important line is it is not only the stuff we listen to but how we listen to is also important.
Nothing can substitute a mother’s touch and survival instinct. The story about Jammie who survived from something, which is unexplainable by doctors too; is not only inspiring and fascinating but also explores the power of love, and why mother is considered as the living form of the God. The family’s battle with the health issues and winning is a nice to watch journey.
Do you know when you travel through the edges of Slovenia, you actually cross four national boundaries (and mix of five cultures)?! Get details regarding the borderland of Europe (this is what it calls) in a good read article.
The leading lady photographer Homai Vyarawala left the world behind in the last month. She did a remarkable work in the field which was considered as the man’s land that time. She got chance(s) to get exclusive snaps of Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Mahatma Gandhi, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, V. K. Menon, Jackie Kennedy, Dr. Rajendra Prasad, Mr. and Mrs. Mountbatten, young Dalai Lama, and … the endless list. She was brought into photography by Manekshaw Vyarawala (later they got married). Some less known and some notable stuff about her is there in the article with some of her favorite photos too.
In addition to all these, some health tips, quotes, jokes and other regular sections make it rich content wise.
