I get around a dozen weekly journals—English, Hindi, Urdu and Punjabi. I spend between five to ten minutes going over those in Indian languages, and between ten to fifteen minutes going over the English ones, except Outlook. It usually takes me well over half an hour to read it from the beginning to the end. First I take a look at the name of the author of the article on the last page. It is like a diner who wants to know what is on offer as the dessert after a gourmet meal. Then I turn to the first few pages, which carry letters from readers. I skip over the letters pages in other weeklies because they are entirely in praise of the journal: kudos is the most frequently used word in their letters pages. Outlook is different. It goes out of its way to publish letters which are critical of it. I make it a point to read all of them—that comes to over two pages. I also enjoy reading Ajith Pillai’s take-off on the secret diary entries that politicians may write. Outlook’s cartoons are more life-like;...
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