Delhi-based Urdu Academy initiates revamp of its two magazines

With two of its periodicals — Aiwan-e-Urdu and Mahanama Umang — losing sheen and readership, the Urdu Academy in Delhi has planned their editorial and design revamp.
Mahanama Umang (L) and Aiwan-e-Urdu
Mahanama Umang (L) and Aiwan-e-Urdu

NEW DELHI:  With two of its periodicals — Aiwan-e-Urdu and Mahanama Umang — losing sheen and readership, the Urdu Academy in Delhi has planned their editorial and design revamp. Senior officials of the Delhi government said the two monthly magazines would soon be re-launched in a new avatar, layout, all colour pages, relevant and contemporary content focusing on youth affairs.  

The printing of the 34-year-old Urdu publications was suspended in March in view of the coronavirus induced lockdown. "Both the magazines were being published with the same old design for years, which makes them look dull and unattractive. With the availability of digitised content, readers' interest in print versions of magazines is dwindling fast.

Therefore, the academy is working out a fresh design. It will also encourage reading habits in Urdu lovers. We have decided to use the suspension of the print version as an opportunity," said an official. The digital copies of magazines are available on the academy’s website.

Aiwan-e-Urdu is a literary journal, comprising research work, short stories, poetry, essays, literary criticism, reviews, and profiles of authors, and letters to the editor. While Mahanama Umang is for students from eight years to 18 years.

The dummy of kids magazine has already been prepared and a new design of Aiwan-e-Urdu is being reworked. "All pages will be coloured and glossy paper. We are trying to introduce more engaging and attractive content to help youth in their career building or profession, they are choosing. Proposal for magazines’ revamp will require a formal approval from the government after which the printing will resume," said the official. 

The publications were started in 1986 with an aim to promote and propagate Urdu literature, which were brainchild of their founder editor Makhmoor Saeedi, a renowned poet and author. He is considered as one of the preeminent Urdu poets alongside Basheer Badr, Ali Sardar Jafri and Kaifi Azmi.

Several respected Urdu author, poets, bureaucrats and university professors such as Pandit Anand Mohan Zutshi Gulzar Dehlavi, Tanveer Ahmad Alvi, Professor Mohammad Hasan, Professor Qamar Raees, Professor Khaliq Anjum, and Shuja Khawar (former IPS) would write for the magazines.

"Initially the print run of Aiwan-e-Urdu was about 1,800 and 23,000 copies of Umang was being published at one point of time. The number fell drastically to 700-800 copies of literary journal and 5,000-6,000 of Umang," added the official. 

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