What I Learned From Reading Every Last Word of India Today Tyler Cowen writes the One Sentence Book Review for The One Page Magazine, as well as a regular column for the Sunday business section. The most striking feature of a late December issue of India Today is its aspirational tone and near-relentless gloss and promotional fervor. An article about the "Indians of Tomorrow" describes them as "Dreamers and Doers." The state of Madhya Pradesh describes itself as "On the Move" in an ad that accounts for the opening eight pages of the magazine. It seems the current government can do no wrong, but note the province has a per capita income of 38,669 rupees, which translates to $726.32 at the current exchange rate. More than 70 percent of the population of Madhya Pradesh lives in villages. The boosterism nonetheless is tinged with just enough of the erratic, just enough of the idiosyncratic and just enough of a glimpse into another India to make it interesting, at least for the reader who puts in the time. Here are a few of the things I learned: One writer of a letter to the editor suggests that viewing pornography is in fact an acceptable way for people to learn how to please their partners and that it should not be viewed as shameful. The Hindi film actor Paresh Rawal offered the following capstone political advice, inscrutable to me even after rereading the entire article: "It is the cubs of a lioness who are fit to rule and not the kids of a goat. You know who the lion is. Vote for the lion and live your life with pride. India was derecognized by the International Olympic Committee in December because its government has interfered regularly in the election processes of national sports bodies. This means India cannot compete in the Olympics, and there is no obvious solution immediately at hand. The gap between the age of the average Indian and the age of the average Indian political leader is one of the largest in the world. No prime minister of the country has been born after 1947. There is much more talk about the relations across the generations than you would find in a comparable Western magazine. Published mortgage rates are running at around 10 percent. The Good Shepherd Finishing School, in its ad, defines "Woman" as "A being far blessed than MAN and no less than GOD himself, owing to her significant and selfless contribution to the divine process of CREATION." Bharath University, in its ad, brags of its 29-year legacy in India. The All India Council for Technical Education has the following ambitions: "Entropy in the Universe should rise indicating that the well-being of the Universe is improving. If I can contribute to the well-being of our society and make an addition to the entropy, I am happy. On a different note, we have now developed the National Vocational Education qualification framework. . . . Lieut. Gen. JFR Jacob suggests that the Indian Army is still a World War II army, with no reorganization, little mobility and a defense-oriented outlook. There are ads for Guatemalan coffee, and later, in a short feature, John McAfee is quoted praising the quality of coffee in Guatemalan prison. Ashok Mitra opines that "The Left is the only hope for the country, the rest are all scum." This quote is pulled out for display, which struck me as odd for such a culturally conservative magazine. Life has become tougher for Indian cricketers, as they formerly played 5 to 6 months a year and now play as many as 10 months a year. In the middle of the periodical, there is a long feature article about Ravi Shankar (and his daughter Anoushka), as if he were still alive. Toward the back of the periodical, there is a long feature article about Ravi Shankar, honoring him upon his death. He is compared to Beethoven and Tansen, a 16th-century Mughal musician. Nirvikalpa Natarajan, a 30-year-old female doctor, is a surgeon for diseases and deformities of the mouth, jaw and face. As an "Indian of Tomorrow," she is described as a member of Mensa since age 10 and as having a "Monalisa" smile. Pandit Prasanna Gudi, a Bangalore musician, entered the Guinness Book of World Records by singing nonstop for 26 hours 12 minutes in 2009. He hopes to top this record by singing for 30 hours. I fear that a more consistently mainstream editor eventually will make this periodical much less interesting, so in the meantime I am glad that the editor is the daughter of the owner. You can pick it up on domestic flights within India, and also at newsstands. India Today is published in English, Hindi, Telugu, Tamil and Malayalam.