Reader’s Digest India | September 2011 Issue | Magazine Reviews

One of my favorite reads include RD or Reader’s Digest. I don’t know if there is a strange connection between them but RDs are always fascinating and quality providing, if he is RD Burman – the musician, RD (Rahul Dravid) – the cricketer, RD (Reader’s Digest) – the magazine or something similar…!

Of course not all the songs from RD Burman are the legend in itself, nor did Rahul Dravid be able to play at hist best in all the innings. There are ups and downs everywhere, so does with which the Reader’s Digest too. It also has delivered some of the issues you may feel about that are not up to the expectations. It is also possible that we might expect always better from these quality providers. Which let us make thinking so. Let’s have a look at the content of the RD-India issue of September 2011. The cover of the issue is little more appealing and it gives the impact that the magazine is surely keeping some of the interesting stuff for the readers. As the “World Heart Day” comes in this month the editorial and the main article belongs to the same.

In the “React” section, there are letters from some teenagers regarding the article “50 secrets your teenager will never tell you”. Some are telling that they needed to hide the July issue (in which the article was printed) from the parent etc. etc. I like the response of Soumya, that is, “Most of these ‘Secrets’ can easily found out by our parents but I guess its their faith that keeps us going”.

A really well thought and true view, of course. Remember that the parents were the kids once, so they know what is growing up? What goes inside the mind and heart at the certain age. They experienced a lot of stuff in the life. You may be smarter than them in using the latest technology or gadgets etc. but there is no alternative of wisdom, experience and knowledge which comes as the result of the same. Your biggest asset is not the latest smartphone, laptop, sports bike or any other valuable you have. But, it is their love and faith. Please make sure to not to loose is ever. The teens who understands it, never let the parents down. It is the quality of life what matters.

In the “Good Reads” section the following books are mentioned

• The Exile
• Fighting Angel
• My Several Worlds
• Grand Mother’s Footsteps
• Mango & Mimosa
• Oleander, Jacaranda
• The Sun In The Morning
• The Far Pavilions
• Golden Afternoon
• Enchanted Evening

The “Heroes” segment has a tale of a little girl. Her cry for help, made two strangers to to go after her assailant. They simply acted upon their instinct which made there the real heroes. Another such nice segment is “Kindness of Strangers”. The incident title “Peacemaker” is really overwhelming. It elaborates the kindness of a youngster who appeared like a student, have offered his birth to an elderly person to end a chaos for the entire compartment in the train. So all the people traveling within the same can have some relief and restful sleep. The author says “Young people can often be far, far nobler than many older ones”. True. These are the people who forms the society and makes it a better place to live within.

In an article which is specially prepare for “The Teacher’s Day” the difference between an ordinary teacher and the best teacher is discussed. It focuses the qualities & the way of teaching (and most importantly the way of looking, reviewing and resolving the matter), which make some teacher a step (and sometimes many steps) ahead from the others.

An article about the dance therapy is there. It focuses the experiment executed successfully in UK, to use dance as the way to help the offenders. An article titled “Dying Stripes” discusses the present and the future of the Tigers. Technology is a boon and its a bane too! Cyber Crime is a way to earn a lot, by harming the society a lot, of course, without going through much physical hurdle or efforts. “The city that Cyber Crime Built” discusses about how a remote town in Romania became the epicenter of digital scams.

A chat with actress Sigourney Weaver is there, which explores a lot of unknown stuff about herself, the movies and the industry. A real life drama is also there, which plays high over northern Russia, when the aeroplane control system began switching off one by one, with the title “Miracle On Flight 516”.

In the “Bonus Read” section, a tale titled “The Wrong Man” is told. The punch line “Nothing is free, not even freedom” tells all about the story. It is the story of Ray Towler who served 29 years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit. He was freed on the bases of the DNA evidence and the tireless effort of a Law professor. The picture of Lord Ganesh (or as written mostly – Lord Ganesha) in the get of Lord Shiva is really great.

In addition to these stuffs, the regular sections are there. The articles about Heart explains a lot of stuff regarding the same. The tips to keep the heart healthy are also informative.

In the time when people started loving the gossip and skin show oriented magazines more than the quality and serious read, it takes a lot of guts to publish such quality stuff. There are but of course, the real quality readers who love reading the same. They are the real heroes we can say, who keeps inspired the publisher to provide the quality reads.Kudos to the quality readers.

A must read magazine of the month definitely.