''Target'' was a popular

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

n children's magazine that was published monthly in English from 1979 to 1995. It featured a mix of reader contributions, stories from regular writers,

do-it-yourself "Do it yourself" ("DIY") is the method of building, modifying, or repairing things by oneself without the direct aid of professionals or certified experts. Academic research has described DIY as behaviors where "individuals use raw and semi- ...

articles and several popular comic strips.

History

In September 1979, Rosalind Wilson (1942 – July 28, 1992), a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

expatriate An expatriate (often shortened to expat) is a person who resides outside their native country. The term often refers to a professional, skilled worker, or student from an affluent country. However, it may also refer to retirees, artists and ...

educationist settled in

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

started ''Target'' and became its founder-editor. The magazine was owned by

Living Media Living Media India Limited, trade name, d.b.a. India Today Group, is an Indian media conglomerate based in New Delhi, India. It has interests in magazines, newspapers, books, radio, television, printing and the Internet. History India Today ...

, who also own the

India Today Group Living Media India Limited, d.b.a. India Today Group, is an Indian media conglomerate based in New Delhi, India. It has interests in magazines, newspapers, books, radio, television, printing and the Internet. History India Today Group was f ...

. After Rosalind Wilson's death in 1992, the magazine's publication continued under Amena Jayal with its successful formula of stories and illustrations. In 1995, in a move to target a larger age group, India Today Group wound up ''Target'' to start '' Teens Today'' magazine. This move was a failure, because, with its emphasis on fashion and urban life, ''Teens Today'' did not have the wide appeal of the unpretentious ''Target''. ''Teens Today'' was edited by Target old-timer

Vatsala Kaul Sasirekha Parinayam is an Indian Telugu folktale based on oral traditions popular in Telugu States. While it uses characters who appear in the ''Mahabharata'', the story is not present in the epic. The plot concerns the marriage of Sasirekha, c ...

Content

''Targets outstanding production values as well as the quality of cartoonists and writers on its editorial board made it stand out from other contemporary Indian children's magazines like

Tinkle ''Tinkle'' is an Indian weekly magazine for children in English, published from Mumbai. Originally owned by the India Book House, the Tinkle brand was acquired by ACK (Amar Chitra Katha) Media in 2007. The magazine contains comics, stories, ...

Champak Champak is a popular fortnightly magazine for children published by the Delhi Press Group since 1969 in India. ''Champak'' competes with Amar Chitra Katha Amar Chitra Katha (ACK Comics) is an Indian comic book publisher, based in Mumbai, ...

and

Chandamama ''Chandamama'' was a classic Indian monthly magazine for children, known for its illustrations and long-running mythological and magical stories. Originally launched in Telugu language, Telugu by Aluri Chakrapani, Chakrapani and Nagi Reddi, ...

. A popular feature in ''Target'' was pages with information on international

pen friend Pen pals (or penfriends, penpals, pen-pals) are people who regularly write to each other, particularly via postal mail. Pen pals are usually strangers whose relationship is based primarily, or even solely, on their exchange of letters. Occasion ...

s. In the age before email revolutionised communication, having pen friends was a popular hobby, both for the purpose of knowing about the world at large, and collecting stamps from foreign countries. Some of the popular comic strips published in ''Target'' were: * '' Gardhab Das'' by Jayanto and Neelabh * '' Detective Moochhwala'' and ''Funny World'' by

Ajit Ninan Ajit Ninan (May 15, 1955 – 8 September 2023) was an Indian political cartoonist, best known for drawing the ''Centrestage'' series of cartoons in ''India Today'' magazine and ''Ninan's World'' in the Times of India. Ajit Ninan was born to ...

* ''Granny's Gupshup'' by Praloy Chakrovorty and Joygopal Podder and others * ''It Happened in History'', written by Renuka Narayanan and illustrated by Suddhasattwa Basu * ''Science News'' illustrated by Priya Nagarajan and others

Contributors

Writers

* Dilip Salvi * Sigrun Srivastava *

Ruskin Bond Ruskin Bond (born 19 May 1934) is an Indian author. His first novel, ''The Room on the Roof'', published in 1956, received the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize. Bond has authored more than 500 short stories, essays, and novels which includes 69 books ...

* Geeta Dharmarajan * Jacquelyn Singh * Joygopal Podder *

Mala Marwaha Mala may refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Mala (Amazon), an Amazon from Wonder Woman's side of the DC Universe * Mala (Kryptonian), a villain from Superman's corner of the DC Universe Films and television * ''Mala'' (194 ...

(author and illustrator) *

Margaret Bhatty Margaret Ruth Bhatty (, 5 October 1930 – 20 July 2012) was an Indian schoolteacher, freelance journalist and writer of children's books and short stories for adults. Biography Early life Margaret Ruth Bhatty was born on 5 October 1930 to ...

* Meera Govil * Meera Uberoi * Paro Anand * Ramaa Isvaran * Renuka Narayanan * Roopa Pai * Rupa Gupta * Subhadra Sengupta * Swapna Dutta *

Vijaya Ghosh Vijaya may refer to: Places * Vijaya (Champa), a city-state and former capital of the historic Champa in what is now Vietnam * Vijayawada, a city in Andhra Pradesh, India People * Prince Vijaya of Sri Lanka (fl. 543–505 BC), earliest recorde ...

(associate editor) * Viswajita Das *

(associate editor)

Illustrators

(made the ''Funny World'' and ''All in Fun'' cartoon pages) * Jayanto Banerjee * Neelabh Banerjee * Suddhasattwa Basu (creator of India's first animated cartoon series, Gayab Aya) * Praloy Chakrovorty * Sujata Singh * Manjula Padmanabhan (author and illustrator) * Priya Nagarajan * Atanu Roy (illustrated the "HA! HA!" jokes page)

References

{{Portal, Children's literature 1979 establishments in India 1995 disestablishments in India Comics magazines published in India Children's magazines published in India Defunct magazines published in India English-language magazines published in India India Today Group Magazines about comics Magazines disestablished in 1995 Magazines established in 1979 Magazines published in Delhi Monthly magazines published in India