Mathrubhumi Azhchappathippu: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
SdkbBot (talk | contribs)
Bots
347,333 edits
m →‎top: Removed overlinked country wikilink and general fixes (task 2)
Added the subheadings: History, Content and Format, Controversies, and Circulation. Added the subsequent information in each.
Line 33: Line 33:


The magazine carries political commentaries, literary works and columns on science, films and literature. Prominent writer Ramachandra Guha, biologist Krishna Anujan, E P Rajagopalan are among the columnists.
The magazine carries political commentaries, literary works and columns on science, films and literature. Prominent writer Ramachandra Guha, biologist Krishna Anujan, E P Rajagopalan are among the columnists.

== History ==
Mathrubhumi Illustrated Weekly’s parent company, Mathrubhumi is based in the northern [[Kerala]] town of [[Kozhikode]] and was founded in 1922 as a public limited company following [[Mahatma Gandhi|Mahatma Gandhi’s]] [[Non-cooperation movement|non-cooperation movement.]]<ref>{{Cite book |last=Sindhu. |first=Menon, |url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/254412393 |title=Images of colonial India in British writing 1757-1857 |date=2008 |publisher=Prestige Books |isbn=81-7851-033-2 |oclc=254412393}}</ref> This status makes Mathrubhumi unique in India, where most media outlets tend to be tightly held private companies owned by a single powerful family. On 18th of January 1932 the first issue of Mathrubhumi Illustrated Weekly was published. The issue focused on Indian nationalism, humanity and fiction. Mahatma Gandhi was featured as the first cover photo due to his influence on the company and the editors’ desire for the magazine to emanate his political teachings.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Behance |title=MATHRUBHUMI 100 YEARS FILM: 7.30 MIN |url=https://www.behance.net/gallery/140078467/MATHRUBHUMI-100-YEARS-FILM-730-MIN |access-date=2022-05-16 |website=Behance |language=english}}</ref> The weekly spanned 26 pages and cost 2 annas.  In the opening section of the magazine the editors declared their mission statement followed by the first featured Malayam literature, Ahimsa, a poem by [[Vallathol Narayana Menon|Vallathol]]. Articles including ‘Paschyatharude Lingabandha Jeevitham’ and column ‘Rasikarasayanam’ by [[Kesari Balakrishna Pillai]] appeared in the first edition. This first edition is a truncated version of how the magazine is structured today with editorials from various Keralan figures, poems, book reviews and extracts of Malayalam literature.

Kerala has played a major role in the formation of Mathrubhumi. Kerala is a southern state in India formed in 1956, with a [[Communism|communist]]-led government assuming office in 1957. This makes the region home to one of the earliest elected communist governments in the world. Kerala’s higher rates of literacy compared to other Indian states makes it privy to publications like Mathrubhumi Illustrated Weekly.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Balakrishnan |first=Kavitha |date=2015-12-01 |title=‘The reader–viewer’ in Indian literate-media contexts: A Kerala archive |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1386/jill.2.2.183_1 |journal=Journal of Illustration |volume=2 |issue=2 |pages=183–222 |doi=10.1386/jill.2.2.183_1 |issn=2052-0204}}</ref> Upon its conception in 1932, the magazine was considered the mouthpiece of India’s freedom movement  and remains a rare independent media outlet in Kerala.

Kerala as a region has a strong association with the [[Indian independence movement|Indian freedom movement]]. In 1942 the Mathrubhumi editor K. A. Damodara Menon was arrested for  his role in the Quit India movement.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Rai |first=Ishwari D. |last2=Singh |first2=Gajendra |last3=Rawat |first3=Gopal S. |date=2016-07-26 |title=Noteworthy additions to the flora of Uttarakhand, western Himalaya, India |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.11609/jott.2607.8.7.9004-9008 |journal=Journal of Threatened Taxa |volume=8 |issue=7 |pages=9004 |doi=10.11609/jott.2607.8.7.9004-9008 |issn=0974-7907}}</ref> The arrest by British backed Indian officials came alongside a slew of actions including the deportation of [[Swadeshabhimani Ramakrishna Pillai]] in 1910, the banning of [[Kesari Balakrishna Pillai|Kesari]] in 1930, and the confiscation of the properties of [[Malayala Manorama]] in 1938. Mathrubhumi Illustrated Weekly was a touchpoint for the movement supporting the dismantling of [[British Rule in India|British rule in India]] and played a significant role in the eventual resolution proposal. The Congress working committee met at [[Wardha]] in 1942 adopting a resolution to demand complete independence from the British Government. This draft proposed large scale protests and riots if the British did not accept the demands. It was eventually passed in [[Bombay]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Greenough |first=Paul R. |date=1999-07 |title=Political Mobilization and the Underground Literature of the Quit India Movement, 1942-44 |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/3518012 |journal=Social Scientist |volume=27 |issue=7/8 |pages=11 |doi=10.2307/3518012 |issn=0970-0293}}</ref>

The early weekly issues witnessed the rise and fall of poet’s [[Edappally Raghavan Pillai|Edapally Raghavan Pillai]]’s work, having a substantial impact on his early career.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Rekshadas |first=D |title=The Poetry of Edappally Raghavan Pillai a Study |url=http://hdl.handle.net/10603/147693 |journal=University of Kerala: Faculty of Oriental Studies}}</ref> The writer is among many that were afforded an audience by Mathrubhumi Illustrated Weekly, with the publication facilitating the early careers of many authors and literary contributors in India.

The magazine upholds its interests in politics and literacy from great Malayam minds including prominent writer [[Ramachandra Guha]] and biologist Krishna Anujan. Currently its managing editor [[P. K. Chandran|P. V. Chandran]] continues to uphold the magazine’s mission statement promoting literary freedom and creative expression in a media landscape fraught with familial ties and restrictive commercial obligations.<ref name="autogenerated1" />

== Content and Format ==
Mathrubhumi Illustrated is published weekly and is one of the top circulating literary magazines in the Indian State of Kerala<ref>{{Cite book |last=V. |first=Shailashree, |url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/1305297386 |title=Study to Identify the Relationship between Recruitment, Selection Towards Employee Engagement. |oclc=1305297386}}</ref> consisting of Malayalam short stories, novels, travel diaries, interviews, and editorials. Mathrubhumi states that their weekly publication “is the mirror image of Malayalam literature” and strives to showcase “Kerala’s intellectual depth”.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mathrubhumi Publications |url=https://media.mathrubhumi.com/static/Publications.html |access-date=2022-05-16 |website=media.mathrubhumi.com}}</ref> Book reviews have been a mainstay of the publication since its inception, having ‘best book’ and ‘best author’ awards given out annually. Special editions of the magazine are also released on occasion with the most recent edition, Mathrubhumi at 100 years, celebrating the centenary of the Mathrubhumi company in March 2022.<ref name=":0" />

== Controversies ==

=== Child Marriage in Muslim Kerala Commmunities ===
In 2013, the magazine played a significant role in publishing criticisms of child marriage in the region. Academic articles like Haneefa’s ‘Reflections on the Relationship between Child Marriage and Higher Education of Muslim Women in South Malabar’ (2013)<ref>{{Citation |last=Daniels |first=Doria |title=Muslim Women Academics in Higher Education: Reflections from South Africa |date=2012 |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-4219-2_13 |work=Women in Islam |pages=185–195 |place=Dordrecht |publisher=Springer Netherlands |isbn=978-94-007-4218-5 |access-date=2022-05-16 |last2=Dasoo |first2=Nazreen}}</ref> brought the alarming rate of child marriage in Muslim Indian communities to light. The Journal was most concerned with the lower rate of education among young women who wed when they were children. Mathrubhumi’s articles ‘[[Muslims|Muslim]] Penkuttilakkku Vendi Oru Abhyarthana’ and ‘Anungalude Indiayile Pennungalude Kalyanam’ both published in 2013 are cited extensively in the article and as texts that brough the issue to light in the region. Muslim communities argued the Weekly infringned on their religious freedoms and protested the articles.<ref>{{Citation |last=Daniels |first=Doria |title=Muslim Women Academics in Higher Education: Reflections from South Africa |date=2012 |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-4219-2_13 |work=Women in Islam |pages=185–195 |place=Dordrecht |publisher=Springer Netherlands |isbn=978-94-007-4218-5 |access-date=2022-05-16 |last2=Dasoo |first2=Nazreen}}</ref> The pieces were not removed, however, the dissatisfaction with Mathrubhumi Illustrated Weekly among Indian Muslims caused by this led to their next controversy in 2018 being all the more potent.

=== Meesha Controversy ===
Mathrubhumi Illustrated Weekly was the subject of controversy in 2018 upon serialising [[Meesha]], the debut novel of Malayalam author S. [[S. Hareesh|Hareesh]]. Early in the novel a conversation takes place in which a male character states that [[Hindus|Hindu]] women dress up to go to temples so they can declare readiness for sexual relations. The character continues to suggest women do not visit temples whilst menstruating because they aren’t ready for sex and that [[Brahmin]] priests are notorious womanisers. This extract was shared widely on social media where Hindu organisations such as Yogakshema Sabha, and [[Bharatiya Janata Party|BJP]][[Hindu Aikya Vedi|, Hindu Aikya Vedi]]. expressed their outrage.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Jul 16 |first=Gladwin EmmanuelGladwin Emmanuel / Updated: |last2=2018 |last3=Ist |first3=19:00 |title=Followers of Sangh Parivar slam Malayalam writer S Hareesh over Meesha |url=https://bangaloremirror.indiatimes.com/news/india/sangh-parivar-supporters-slam-malayalam-writer-s-hareesh-over-meesha/articleshow/65011379.cms |access-date=2022-05-16 |website=Bangalore Mirror |language=en}}</ref> Protestors from these groups and other followers of the [[Right-wing politics|Right-Wing]] [[Sangh Parivar]] marched on the Mathrubhumi office in July 2018. Political figures such as Congress MP [[Shashi Tharoor]] came out in support of the author; "Those who do not believe my warnings about the emergence of a Hindutva Taliban might learn from what has just happened to Malayalam writer Hareesh (& even more chilling, the threat to chop off his hands, [[Taliban]]-style)”.<ref>{{Cite web |title=https://twitter.com/shashitharoor/status/1020651861827825664 |url=https://twitter.com/shashitharoor/status/1020651861827825664 |access-date=2022-05-16 |website=Twitter |language=en}}</ref> This politicisation of Meesha as well as the outrage from Hindu women and the Brahmin community led to Hareesh withdrawing the novel from Mathrubhumi Illustrated Weekly after only three chapters were published.

== Circulation ==
The magazine is distributed both physically and digitally, with subscriptions offered both domestically and internationally. It is released Weekly to outlets across the Kerala region and can be found throughout India at particular retailers.


==Key people==
==Key people==

Revision as of 17:26, 16 May 2022

Mathrubhumi Azhchappathippu
Editor In ChargeM. P. Gopinath
CategoriesGeneral interest magazine
FrequencyWeekly
PublisherM N Ravi Varma
First issue18 January 1932 (18 January 1932)
CompanyMathrubumi Printing and Publishing Company Limited
CountryIndia
LanguageMalayalam

Mathrubhumi Azhchappathippu (English: Mathrubhumi Illustrated Weekly) is an Indian general interest weekly magazine published by the Mathrubumi Printing and Publishing Company in Calicut. The Malayalam language magazine started publishing on 18 January 1932.[1][2]

Some of the finest literary works produced in Malayalam were initially published in Mathrubhumi Illustrated Weekly. This include Uroob's Ummachu (1954), Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai's Footsteps (1964), O. V. Vijayan's The Legends of Khasak (1968) and M. Mukundan's On the Banks of the River Mahé (1974). Authors such as M. T. Vasudevan Nair and N. V. Krishna Warrier served as the editors of the magazine.

The magazine carries political commentaries, literary works and columns on science, films and literature. Prominent writer Ramachandra Guha, biologist Krishna Anujan, E P Rajagopalan are among the columnists.

History

Mathrubhumi Illustrated Weekly’s parent company, Mathrubhumi is based in the northern Kerala town of Kozhikode and was founded in 1922 as a public limited company following Mahatma Gandhi’s non-cooperation movement.[3] This status makes Mathrubhumi unique in India, where most media outlets tend to be tightly held private companies owned by a single powerful family. On 18th of January 1932 the first issue of Mathrubhumi Illustrated Weekly was published. The issue focused on Indian nationalism, humanity and fiction. Mahatma Gandhi was featured as the first cover photo due to his influence on the company and the editors’ desire for the magazine to emanate his political teachings.[4] The weekly spanned 26 pages and cost 2 annas.  In the opening section of the magazine the editors declared their mission statement followed by the first featured Malayam literature, Ahimsa, a poem by Vallathol. Articles including ‘Paschyatharude Lingabandha Jeevitham’ and column ‘Rasikarasayanam’ by Kesari Balakrishna Pillai appeared in the first edition. This first edition is a truncated version of how the magazine is structured today with editorials from various Keralan figures, poems, book reviews and extracts of Malayalam literature.

Kerala has played a major role in the formation of Mathrubhumi. Kerala is a southern state in India formed in 1956, with a communist-led government assuming office in 1957. This makes the region home to one of the earliest elected communist governments in the world. Kerala’s higher rates of literacy compared to other Indian states makes it privy to publications like Mathrubhumi Illustrated Weekly.[5] Upon its conception in 1932, the magazine was considered the mouthpiece of India’s freedom movement  and remains a rare independent media outlet in Kerala.

Kerala as a region has a strong association with the Indian freedom movement. In 1942 the Mathrubhumi editor K. A. Damodara Menon was arrested for  his role in the Quit India movement.[6] The arrest by British backed Indian officials came alongside a slew of actions including the deportation of Swadeshabhimani Ramakrishna Pillai in 1910, the banning of Kesari in 1930, and the confiscation of the properties of Malayala Manorama in 1938. Mathrubhumi Illustrated Weekly was a touchpoint for the movement supporting the dismantling of British rule in India and played a significant role in the eventual resolution proposal. The Congress working committee met at Wardha in 1942 adopting a resolution to demand complete independence from the British Government. This draft proposed large scale protests and riots if the British did not accept the demands. It was eventually passed in Bombay.[7]

The early weekly issues witnessed the rise and fall of poet’s Edapally Raghavan Pillai’s work, having a substantial impact on his early career.[8] The writer is among many that were afforded an audience by Mathrubhumi Illustrated Weekly, with the publication facilitating the early careers of many authors and literary contributors in India.

The magazine upholds its interests in politics and literacy from great Malayam minds including prominent writer Ramachandra Guha and biologist Krishna Anujan. Currently its managing editor P. V. Chandran continues to uphold the magazine’s mission statement promoting literary freedom and creative expression in a media landscape fraught with familial ties and restrictive commercial obligations.[2]

Content and Format

Mathrubhumi Illustrated is published weekly and is one of the top circulating literary magazines in the Indian State of Kerala[9] consisting of Malayalam short stories, novels, travel diaries, interviews, and editorials. Mathrubhumi states that their weekly publication “is the mirror image of Malayalam literature” and strives to showcase “Kerala’s intellectual depth”.[10] Book reviews have been a mainstay of the publication since its inception, having ‘best book’ and ‘best author’ awards given out annually. Special editions of the magazine are also released on occasion with the most recent edition, Mathrubhumi at 100 years, celebrating the centenary of the Mathrubhumi company in March 2022.[5]

Controversies

Child Marriage in Muslim Kerala Commmunities

In 2013, the magazine played a significant role in publishing criticisms of child marriage in the region. Academic articles like Haneefa’s ‘Reflections on the Relationship between Child Marriage and Higher Education of Muslim Women in South Malabar’ (2013)[11] brought the alarming rate of child marriage in Muslim Indian communities to light. The Journal was most concerned with the lower rate of education among young women who wed when they were children. Mathrubhumi’s articles ‘Muslim Penkuttilakkku Vendi Oru Abhyarthana’ and ‘Anungalude Indiayile Pennungalude Kalyanam’ both published in 2013 are cited extensively in the article and as texts that brough the issue to light in the region. Muslim communities argued the Weekly infringned on their religious freedoms and protested the articles.[12] The pieces were not removed, however, the dissatisfaction with Mathrubhumi Illustrated Weekly among Indian Muslims caused by this led to their next controversy in 2018 being all the more potent.

Meesha Controversy

Mathrubhumi Illustrated Weekly was the subject of controversy in 2018 upon serialising Meesha, the debut novel of Malayalam author S. Hareesh. Early in the novel a conversation takes place in which a male character states that Hindu women dress up to go to temples so they can declare readiness for sexual relations. The character continues to suggest women do not visit temples whilst menstruating because they aren’t ready for sex and that Brahmin priests are notorious womanisers. This extract was shared widely on social media where Hindu organisations such as Yogakshema Sabha, and BJP, Hindu Aikya Vedi. expressed their outrage.[13] Protestors from these groups and other followers of the Right-Wing Sangh Parivar marched on the Mathrubhumi office in July 2018. Political figures such as Congress MP Shashi Tharoor came out in support of the author; "Those who do not believe my warnings about the emergence of a Hindutva Taliban might learn from what has just happened to Malayalam writer Hareesh (& even more chilling, the threat to chop off his hands, Taliban-style)”.[14] This politicisation of Meesha as well as the outrage from Hindu women and the Brahmin community led to Hareesh withdrawing the novel from Mathrubhumi Illustrated Weekly after only three chapters were published.

Circulation

The magazine is distributed both physically and digitally, with subscriptions offered both domestically and internationally. It is released Weekly to outlets across the Kerala region and can be found throughout India at particular retailers.

Key people

Managing Editor: P. V. Chandran
Joint Managing Editor: P. V. Nidheesh
Editor In Charge: M.P. Gopinath
Chief Sub Editor: Subhash Chandran Copy Editors: K. C. Subi and P. K. Sreekumar
Art Editor: Madanan
Artist: K. Shareef

See also

References

  1. ^ "Mathrubhumi Publications". Mathrubhumi.com. Retrieved 8 November 2012.
  2. ^ a b Mathrubhumi Illustrated Weekly 2012: 3, 98. Print
  3. ^ Sindhu., Menon, (2008). Images of colonial India in British writing 1757-1857. Prestige Books. ISBN 81-7851-033-2. OCLC 254412393.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. ^ Behance. "MATHRUBHUMI 100 YEARS FILM: 7.30 MIN". Behance. Retrieved 16 May 2022.
  5. ^ a b Balakrishnan, Kavitha (1 December 2015). "'The reader–viewer' in Indian literate-media contexts: A Kerala archive". Journal of Illustration. 2 (2): 183–222. doi:10.1386/jill.2.2.183_1. ISSN 2052-0204.
  6. ^ Rai, Ishwari D.; Singh, Gajendra; Rawat, Gopal S. (26 July 2016). "Noteworthy additions to the flora of Uttarakhand, western Himalaya, India". Journal of Threatened Taxa. 8 (7): 9004. doi:10.11609/jott.2607.8.7.9004-9008. ISSN 0974-7907.
  7. ^ Greenough, Paul R. (1999-07). "Political Mobilization and the Underground Literature of the Quit India Movement, 1942-44". Social Scientist. 27 (7/8): 11. doi:10.2307/3518012. ISSN 0970-0293. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  8. ^ Rekshadas, D. "The Poetry of Edappally Raghavan Pillai a Study". University of Kerala: Faculty of Oriental Studies.
  9. ^ V., Shailashree,. Study to Identify the Relationship between Recruitment, Selection Towards Employee Engagement. OCLC 1305297386.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  10. ^ "Mathrubhumi Publications". media.mathrubhumi.com. Retrieved 16 May 2022.
  11. ^ Daniels, Doria; Dasoo, Nazreen (2012), "Muslim Women Academics in Higher Education: Reflections from South Africa", Women in Islam, Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands, pp. 185–195, ISBN 978-94-007-4218-5, retrieved 16 May 2022
  12. ^ Daniels, Doria; Dasoo, Nazreen (2012), "Muslim Women Academics in Higher Education: Reflections from South Africa", Women in Islam, Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands, pp. 185–195, ISBN 978-94-007-4218-5, retrieved 16 May 2022
  13. ^ Jul 16, Gladwin EmmanuelGladwin Emmanuel / Updated:; 2018; Ist, 19:00. "Followers of Sangh Parivar slam Malayalam writer S Hareesh over Meesha". Bangalore Mirror. Retrieved 16 May 2022. {{cite web}}: |last2= has numeric name (help)CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  14. ^ "https://twitter.com/shashitharoor/status/1020651861827825664". Twitter. Retrieved 16 May 2022. {{cite web}}: External link in |title= (help)


Stub icon

This article about a literary magazine published in India is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

See tips for writing articles about magazines. Further suggestions might be found on the article's talk page.

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mathrubhumi_Azhchappathippu&oldid=1088192522"