Literary Journalism
Hindi literary publishing.
# Shailendra Chauhan
The significant fact is that there could be anywhere between 500 and 1,000 Hindi journals being published across the country. Some estimate that it lies between 600 and 700, while others say it is 1,000.
However, no one denies the fact that new journals have cranked up the writing machinery and set out to fill up a literary-cultural vacuum.
Besides these, there are journals such as Aadhi Zameen, Sanchetna, Dharti, Ashay, Alav, Abhivyakti, Swadhinta, Samay Majra, Katha Desh, Vasudha and Pahal. Some are devoted entirely to short fiction or literary criticism, while some focus on poetry exclusively.
The lines have also been blurring - between literary and civil liberties magazines and leftist literature. Apparently writers, journalists and free-thinkers have collaborated and supported each other.
One reason for the proliferation of journals is the lack of creative democracy. Debate on socio-cultural issues was stifled or ignored over the last decade, and free thinkers began to carve out their own niches, after the closure of several magazines in the 1980s.
There were Dharmyug and Sarika, from The Times of India stable, and saptahik Hindustan, from The Hindustan Times group. These magazines may not have been literary, in a strict sense, but had allowed for new literature and literary debate between their pages.
Until the 1980s, circulation figures were impressive. "Dharmayug sold at least three lakh copies, Hindustan at least 1.5 lakhs and Sarika at least 50,000. But they were all shut down. Today, Katha Desh cannot sell more than 10,000 copies. There is also the distinctly leftist Udbhavna, which may print only 5,000 copies but accepts no advertisements; it has a dedicated clientele," he said.
What is significant is that most journals operate on shoestring budgets. Often, they have zero infrastructure, with the editors doubling up as publishers and with a staff of two or three.
A popular literary magazine must be known as much for good literature as for controversy. "Some people say that Hans is more political than literary. But it is not. Actually, it is about intellectuals who write about social concerns. We challenge norms about language, sex, politics, fundamentalism and so on. Hans has suffered much abuse. But it is alive and kicking because it has caused so much debate in mainstream media."
The other advantage of the growth of little and literary journals in Hindi is that they act as a bridge between regional literature. Rajendra Yadav says that Hindi journals are like a central bank. "We translate work, and often we find that a Malayalam story we've just published, has been taken up and published in Bangla and Punjabi magazines. They are also picked up by Pakistani magazines, which are very pro-active. Hans has never differentiated between Hindi and Urdu for we believe it is one language with two scripts. But there are magazines, like Shesh, which focus on Pakistani literature. Bridges are being built. So, despite constraints, there are rewards."
Writers believe that there are many more journals than are necessary perhaps, but they agree that since many of them are localised, they remain relevant.
The causes for this proliferation are diverse. Some believe that the localisation of the little magazines is important to decentralise literature.
Others think that the journals are an expression of social dissent. Rajendra Yadav believes that the growing fundamentalism of the last two decades has had an instrumental role. "The term `cultural nationalism' was being thrown at our faces. It was an attempt to Hinduise the nation in beautiful words."
It is significant then that whether or not these new magazines measure up in terms of quality of content, 90 per cent of them are pro-women, pro-Dalit, pro-secularism, pro-Left and progressive, with plenty of space for alternative discourse.
Ideological hangups about money are a thing of the past. There is money floating around and it is being accepted, regardless of where it comes from.
Distribution remains a problem, though. Earlier, fewer copies were printed and then were circulated, hand to hand, amongst writers' communities. They were lost to the public, who could never find them at news-stands. Slowly, distribution channels are being built, but few editors have the skills to market their journals, nor the wherewithal to hire marketing teams.
The same pattern is being repeated, albeit on a smaller canvas, for other Indian languages. India also has a few literary journals in English, such as The Little Magazine, Book Review, Biblio and Sarai, and a few others that straddle art, culture, literature, activism and civil society concerns. Chief among them is The Little Magazine, which sells approximately 5,000 copies and is fairly sustainable. It operates on the same principle of a tiny staff and a wide network of contributors, and suffers from the same limitation of narrow distribution channels.
There is another crisis in Hindi literature - the crisis of content and communication. "Newspapers, through literature supplements have managed to create `light readers', who may read short stories but nothing that's too long. There's a huge `lowest common denominator' readership, but the Hindi belt cannot yet sustain serious literature, because this `light reader' is not growing."
Despite their swelling ranks, little and literary magazines in India are no match for the thriving literary landscape abroad. Toronto, for instance, boasts close to 3,000 little magazines. If one city, in a country with a much smaller population than India's can support so many, there is clearly scope for more progressive ventures, in Hindi and other languages at home.
# Shailendra Chauhan
The significant fact is that there could be anywhere between 500 and 1,000 Hindi journals being published across the country. Some estimate that it lies between 600 and 700, while others say it is 1,000.
However, no one denies the fact that new journals have cranked up the writing machinery and set out to fill up a literary-cultural vacuum.
Besides these, there are journals such as Aadhi Zameen, Sanchetna, Dharti, Ashay, Alav, Abhivyakti, Swadhinta, Samay Majra, Katha Desh, Vasudha and Pahal. Some are devoted entirely to short fiction or literary criticism, while some focus on poetry exclusively.
The lines have also been blurring - between literary and civil liberties magazines and leftist literature. Apparently writers, journalists and free-thinkers have collaborated and supported each other.
One reason for the proliferation of journals is the lack of creative democracy. Debate on socio-cultural issues was stifled or ignored over the last decade, and free thinkers began to carve out their own niches, after the closure of several magazines in the 1980s.
There were Dharmyug and Sarika, from The Times of India stable, and saptahik Hindustan, from The Hindustan Times group. These magazines may not have been literary, in a strict sense, but had allowed for new literature and literary debate between their pages.
Until the 1980s, circulation figures were impressive. "Dharmayug sold at least three lakh copies, Hindustan at least 1.5 lakhs and Sarika at least 50,000. But they were all shut down. Today, Katha Desh cannot sell more than 10,000 copies. There is also the distinctly leftist Udbhavna, which may print only 5,000 copies but accepts no advertisements; it has a dedicated clientele," he said.
What is significant is that most journals operate on shoestring budgets. Often, they have zero infrastructure, with the editors doubling up as publishers and with a staff of two or three.
A popular literary magazine must be known as much for good literature as for controversy. "Some people say that Hans is more political than literary. But it is not. Actually, it is about intellectuals who write about social concerns. We challenge norms about language, sex, politics, fundamentalism and so on. Hans has suffered much abuse. But it is alive and kicking because it has caused so much debate in mainstream media."
The other advantage of the growth of little and literary journals in Hindi is that they act as a bridge between regional literature. Rajendra Yadav says that Hindi journals are like a central bank. "We translate work, and often we find that a Malayalam story we've just published, has been taken up and published in Bangla and Punjabi magazines. They are also picked up by Pakistani magazines, which are very pro-active. Hans has never differentiated between Hindi and Urdu for we believe it is one language with two scripts. But there are magazines, like Shesh, which focus on Pakistani literature. Bridges are being built. So, despite constraints, there are rewards."
Writers believe that there are many more journals than are necessary perhaps, but they agree that since many of them are localised, they remain relevant.
The causes for this proliferation are diverse. Some believe that the localisation of the little magazines is important to decentralise literature.
Others think that the journals are an expression of social dissent. Rajendra Yadav believes that the growing fundamentalism of the last two decades has had an instrumental role. "The term `cultural nationalism' was being thrown at our faces. It was an attempt to Hinduise the nation in beautiful words."
It is significant then that whether or not these new magazines measure up in terms of quality of content, 90 per cent of them are pro-women, pro-Dalit, pro-secularism, pro-Left and progressive, with plenty of space for alternative discourse.
Ideological hangups about money are a thing of the past. There is money floating around and it is being accepted, regardless of where it comes from.
Distribution remains a problem, though. Earlier, fewer copies were printed and then were circulated, hand to hand, amongst writers' communities. They were lost to the public, who could never find them at news-stands. Slowly, distribution channels are being built, but few editors have the skills to market their journals, nor the wherewithal to hire marketing teams.
The same pattern is being repeated, albeit on a smaller canvas, for other Indian languages. India also has a few literary journals in English, such as The Little Magazine, Book Review, Biblio and Sarai, and a few others that straddle art, culture, literature, activism and civil society concerns. Chief among them is The Little Magazine, which sells approximately 5,000 copies and is fairly sustainable. It operates on the same principle of a tiny staff and a wide network of contributors, and suffers from the same limitation of narrow distribution channels.
There is another crisis in Hindi literature - the crisis of content and communication. "Newspapers, through literature supplements have managed to create `light readers', who may read short stories but nothing that's too long. There's a huge `lowest common denominator' readership, but the Hindi belt cannot yet sustain serious literature, because this `light reader' is not growing."
Despite their swelling ranks, little and literary magazines in India are no match for the thriving literary landscape abroad. Toronto, for instance, boasts close to 3,000 little magazines. If one city, in a country with a much smaller population than India's can support so many, there is clearly scope for more progressive ventures, in Hindi and other languages at home.
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