Recommended Sunday Reading—April 2

IPL, nationalism and Chetan Bhagat

What is particularly insightful is Ms Basu’s ability to decode Chetan Bhagat and Amish Tripathi, the two cult writers of the “new India”. Chetan Bhagat is not just a bestselling author but also “a marketing phenomenon.” Whereas the older Indian authors, the Salman Rushdies, the Arundhati Roys, and the Aravind Adigas, wrote in an English that most Indian readers found intimidating and stilted, Chetan Bhagat racily addressed himself to the first generation of “call center” English readers. Ms Basu argues that “Bhagat’s readers are youth who for the first time are being exposed to the idea that reading a particular kind of English fiction may help them to get particular kinds of jobs.” In The Tribune.

Novelist Stephen King on how people like Trump win elections

I had written about such men before. In The Dead Zone, Greg Stillson is a door-to-door Bible salesman with a gift of gab, a ready wit and the common touch. He is laughed at when he runs for mayor in his small New England town, but he wins. He is laughed at when he runs for the House of Representatives (part of his platform is a promise to rocket America’s trash into outer space), but he wins again. When Johnny Smith, the novel’s precognitive hero, shakes his hand, he realises that some day Stillson is going to laugh and joke his way into the White House, where he will start world war three. In The Guardian.

Kebab Me ‘Gaddi’

The very first day Yogi Adityanath assumed charge as Uttar Pradesh CM, he decided to make good a BJP election promise. The party manifesto had mentioned closing down illegal slaughterhouses. On March 19, two slaughterhouses were sealed. The state was aflutter with panic. In The Telegraph.

Ian Chappell on the DRS and on-field chatter

The DRS should not include reviews to determine if a fielder has caught the ball. M Vijay caught Josh Hazlewood in Dharamsala. Any fair-minded slip fielder will confirm it was a legitimate catch; a fielder doesn't catch the ball with his fingers pointing straight towards the ground. He only does that when he's intercepting a ball that has bounced in front of him. Vijay had his fingers curled under the ball. It's just that the foreshortening effect of the cameras made it appear otherwise on one replay. On ESPN.in.

What are probiotics and what do they do?

The intestinal tract is the organ in the body that digests and absorbs food. It is populated by trillions of bacteria that are required for keeping the body healthy. These bacteria can be affected by a number of aspects including antibiotic use, some medications and infective diarrhoea. When this occurs, probiotics can help to reset the balance. In BBC Good Food.