RESPECTS: A Handwritten Magazine Turns 70

In the age of Facebook and Twitter, a magazine entirely handwritten turned 70 earlier this month in a remote village.

The ink has faded with time, but the contributors' names still stand out in various issues of the Sharadiya Prabhat Patrika, first published in 1946.

Poet Kumudranjan Mallik, Satyajit Ray and Sunil Gangopadhyay were among them, as were the less known Anadi Bhattacharya, Amalendu Samanta and Kashinath Hajra.

On October 15, Anguna, a remote village in Raina block in Burdwan about 125km from Calcutta, celebrated the 70th birthday of the magazine.

Made with art paper folded twice, its 200-odd pages measuring 1.5ftx1.25ft each, Sharadiya Prabhat is traditionally brought out on the auspicious Kojagari Purnima, the Lakshmi Puja day. This year, the magazine's editor is Shubhankar Nayek, a second-year student at the ITI in Kalanabagram in the district. Contributors number about 40.

"We are an exception in the age of Facebook and Twitter, most important, of very sophisticated printing technology," said Amit Roy, a former editor of the magazine and adviser to the current young editorial group of around 25. "But that is what makes us the pride of Anguna," he added.

The magazine started 70 years ago when a group, including Anadi Bhattacharya, Basudeb Bhattacharya, Amalendu Samanta and Hajra decided to bring out a publication that would be a platform for rural voices to be heard, Roy recounted.

At first, the magazine would be a collection of jottings and light pieces, written down with handmade pens in a No. 4 exercise book.

Previously, well-known writers such as Ray had contributed to it. He had contributed a drawing and a message for the magazine's readers in the third issue. Now those associated with the magazine find it difficult to get contributions from famous writers.

"We are proud of the young people who are carrying on the tradition," Roy said.

Another former editor Ujjwal Barik said: "In time, we introduced new elements such as messages from well-known personalities and illustrations."

Only one issue is published every year and only one copy. The single copy is circulated among various readers till it comes back to the Prabhat Smriti Sangha library. Pieces published are commissioned and collected throughout the year. The writing of the magazine takes about two-and-a-half months.

Current editor Nayek feels that the magazine is probably the only handwritten one published in Bengal. "It is a labour of love by unknown poets, writers and artists like us," he said.

[Via: Telegraph]