Delhi Press
Delhi Press is one of India's largest magazine publishing houses. It publishes 36 magazines in 10 languages, and has a group readership of over 35 million. Some of its popular publications include The Caravan, Champak, Grihshobha, Saras Salil, and Sarita.
| Industry | Publishing and Printing |
|---|---|
| Genre | Magazines |
| Founder | Vishwa Nath |
| Headquarters | , |
Number of locations | Central Delhi and 12 regional offices |
Key people | Nath Family |
| Products | Magazines |
| Owner | 3 private trusts own all the stakeholding at Delhi Press. |
Number of employees | 600+ |
| Parent |
|
| Website | delhipress |
Company
The company has its corporate office central Delhi, and 12 regional offices in the state capitals.
History
Delhi Press was established by Vishwanath (1917-2002) in 1939. The company's first magazine was Caravan in 1940, and its flagship magazine was the Hindi-language Sarita (magazine) launched in 1945. Vishwanath was known for his stable of low-priced magazines that were aimed to the masses, such as Sarita, Saras Salil, Woman's Era, Champak, and Grihshobha.[1]
Vishwanath was a proponent of simple Hindi. Sarita used to have a column "यह किस देश-प्रदेश की भाषा है" which used to present a sample of hard to follow language.[2] The articles and stories in Sarita used to be short and readable.
It is now managed by his descendants including son Paresh Nath (publisher and editor-in-chief) and grandson Anant Nath (editor of The Caravan).[3] Related organizations, Pramod Engineering and MassCoMedia were founded by another son Naresh Nath which is now run by Divesh Nath and Rohit Nath.[4][5]
The magazine business has been very challanging in India as well globally, with many highly regarded magazines such as Dharmayug (1949-1993.), Illustrated Weekly of India (1883-1993), and Life magazine (1883-2000) ceasing publication. However the Delhi Press magazines have not only survived but thrived, and the group has added new magazines.[6] Delhi Press' advertising revenues are 60% and circulation revenues are 40%. Its sales through home delivery exceeds 50%. Magazines sell for Rs 30-60 (about US$0.45 to $0.90), with total revenue about Rs. 100 crore (Rs. one billion).
The Vishv Books division has published a large number of books. It was founded by Vishwanath's another son Rakesh Nath. It publishes a variety of books including numerous books written or edited by Rakesh Nath [7] or books by famous authors such as Tagore, Premchand or Satyabhakta (with expired copyrights). In recently years his daughter Mudit Mohini published and authored a large number of popular children's books.[8][9] The books include pop-up books, construction books, [10], books for early learners, "I'm Unique" and graded learning books.[11] She also publishes and manages complete unit of School curriculum books which are used in Indian as well as International schools. They are exporting large number of books to various countries as well as selling content rights across the world.
Controversies
Delhi Press, and specially its magazine Sarita has been involved in numerous controversies. Sarita has frequently published articles that are critical of Hindu texts, traditions and institutions. It has been the subjects of many lawsuits and government bans. In practically all cases, the lawsuits and bans have been thrown out in the courts.[12]
A notable controversy arose on the poem "Ram Ka Antardwand" by Arvind kumar which was published in Sarita on July 1957.[13] referring to the banishment of Sita.[14] Arvind Kumar acknowledgd that the poem was inspired by Shailendra's song in Awaara (1951) "Pativrta Sitamai Ko Tune Diya Banwas".[15] Acharya Tulsi similarly faced opposition because of his poem "Agnipariksha" in 1970.[16]
Magazine brands
- Woman's Era
- Alive (Earlier called Caravan)
- Satyakatha (Hindi)
- Champak (published in 7 Indian languages and English)
- Champakplus (published in English for 4 separate age groups)
- Farm n Food (Hindi)
- Grihsbhobha (published in 7 Indian languages)
- Mukta (Hindi)
- Saras Salil (published in 5 Indian languages)
- Sarita, a Hindi monthly magazine
- Suman Saurabh
- Manohar Kahaniyan (Hindi and Urdu)
- The Caravan, an English-language literary magazine (1940-1988, 2010–present; in 1988, it transformed into Alive. Caravan was reintroduced in 2010; Alive and Caravan are both published today)
- Nimmellara Manasa (Kannada)
- Butti (Kannada)
- Motoring World
References
- Batra, Anarug (21 November 2010). "Legacy Time? Too early, too lofty". Impact. Retrieved 21 May 2013.
- हिंदी की कठिनाई, भाषा की नहीं, डॉ. ओम निश्चल, Garbhnal, 01-Mar-2018
- As magazines dwindle, Delhi Press seeks to add more, Shuchi Bansal, Live Mint, 25 Apr 2013
- Pramod Engineering: Committed To Facelift Binding Process, Print & Publishing, May 26, 2018
- MassCoMedia : new kid on the block - a media institute with a difference, All About Newspapers, Vol # 3, No # 1, January - March 2008 Issue
- Delhi Press's bold gamble, Vanita Kohli-Khandekar, Business Standard, May 10, 2013
- Rakesh Nath: Google Books
- Mudit Mohini, London Book Fair, March 2019
- किताबों से बच्चों की दोस्ती हिट, Navbharat Times, Sep 3, 2012
- साहित्य के अनुवाद और रूपांतरण पर विमर्श, Jagran, 04 Mar 2012
- ब'चों के लिए खास किताबों का लोकार्पण, Dainik Bhaskar, Aug 24, 2013
- M/S Delhi Press Patra Prakashan ... vs Govt. Of N.C.T. Of Delhi on 15 March, 2018
- हिंदी पत्रकारिता के छह दशक, अरविंद कुमार, 01/Jun/2011
- The Banishment of Sita, ARVIND KUMAR, Vishv Books Private Limited, 2013 p. 7-9
- पतिवर्ता सीतामाई को तूने दिया बनवास, क्यूँ न फटा धरती का कलेजा, क्यूँ ना फटा आकाश, Shailendra, Awara (1951)
- Ramlal Puri vs State Of Madhya Pradesh on 24 December, 1970