''Dharmyug'' was a

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

pictorial weekly published by The Times of India Group from year 1949 till 1993.

History

The magazine was originally published by a Dalmia press in

Bombay Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...

from 1949, just after

independence of India The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events in South Asia with the ultimate aim of ending British Raj, British colonial rule. It lasted until 1947, when the Indian Independence Act 1947 was passed. The first nationalistic ...

, however it incorporated an earlier pictorial magazine ''Nav Yug'' that began in 1932. Later on when the Dalmia group divested its stake from Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. in 1948, ''Dharmayug'' remained with the Times of India group. One of its chief editors was Pandit Satyakam Vidyalankar, The magazine became popular and widely read when, in 1960, noted writer-playwright Dharmveer Bharti noted for his play, ''

Andha Yug ''Andha Yug'' (Hindi: अंधा युग, ''The Age of Blindness'' or ''The Blind Age'') is a 1953 verse play written in Hindi, by renowned novelist, poet, and playwright Dharamvir Bharati (1926–1997). Set in the last day of the Great Ma ...

'' (1953), was appointed as its Chief Editor. The noted Hindi poet and author served as the

chief editor An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's Editing, editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The editor-in-chief heads all departments of the organization and is hel ...

for the magazine from 1960 to 1987.The Illustrated weekly of India: Volume 108, Issues 39-50, 1987. Dharmveer Bharti was a dedicated and widely admired editor, although was sometimes considered to have been authoritative by fellow journalists. After Bharti's retirement, Ganesh Mantri, a Hindi journalist, was appointed Editor, Vishwanath Sachdev took over from Ganesh Mantri, before the Times of India decided to close down the magazine in 1997.

Contents and significance

The magazine covered all disciplines, including literature, art, fashion, culture, fiction, science and comics. (although the name may imply Dharm = faith/duty, yug = age) Serialised stories of many Hindi popular writer and poets were published in the magazine. '' Dhabbuji'', a cartoon character created by

Abid Surti Abid Surti or Aabid Surti (born 5 May 1935) is an Indian painter, author, cartoonist, journalist, environmentalist, playwright and screenwriter. He was given a National Award by the government of India in 1993 for writing a series of short stor ...

, was also a regular feature., besides works of cartoonist,

Kaak KAAK (98.9 FM) is a radio station broadcasting a top 40 (CHR) format. Licensed to Great Falls, Montana, United States, the station serves the Great Falls area. The station is currently owned by Townsquare Media Townsquare Media, Inc. (forme ...

were regularly featured. ''Dharmyug'' was considered to be the most respected publication of its time. Many distinguished authors got their break into the field when they published in ''Dharmyug''. Dharmyug also provided a beginning to painters like J.P. Singhal, who published his first painting in ''Dharmayug'' in 1954.कला मेरे लिये कुरुक्षेत्र ही थी, वरिष्ठ कलाकार जे.पी. सिंघल से प्रभुजोशी की बातचीत, Abhivyakti, १९ जुलाई २०१०
/ref> It was a sad end to the saga of a Hindi magazine that once sold more than four

lakh A lakh (; abbreviated L; sometimes written lac) is a unit in the Indian numbering system equal to one hundred thousand (100,000; scientific notation: 105). In the Indian 2, 2, 3 convention of digit grouping, it is written as 1,00,000. F ...

copies a week and gave a platform to many new Hindi writers and poets, like

Mrinal Pande Mrinal Pande (born 26 February 1946) is an Indian television personality, journalist and author, and until 2009 chief editor of Hindi daily ''Hindustan''. Early life and education Pande was born in Tikamgarh, Madhya Pradesh, 26 February 1946. ...

and Rajesh Joshi. The magazine was the first to serialize that tremendous milestone of Hindi and Indian theater ''Aadhe Adhure'' by

Mohan Rakesh Mohan Rakesh (8 January 19253 December 1972) was one of the pioneers of the ''Nai Kahani'' ("New Story") literary movement of the Hindi literature in India in the 1950s. He wrote the first modern Hindi play, '' Ashadh Ka Ek Din'' (One Day in Aa ...

, as well as the first to publish stories of

Shivani Gaura Pant (17 October 1923 – 21 March 2003), better known as Shivani, was a Hindi writer of the 20th century and a pioneer in writing Indian women-centric fiction. She was awarded the Padma Shri for her contribution to Hindi literature in ...

References

{{Reflist, 30em 1949 establishments in India Defunct literary magazines Defunct magazines published in India Hindi-language magazines Literary magazines published in India Magazines disestablished in 1993 Magazines established in 1949 Publications of The Times Group

History

Contents and significance

See also

References