''Vanitha'' () is an Indian

magazine A magazine is a periodical literature, periodical publication, print or digital, produced on a regular schedule, that contains any of a variety of subject-oriented textual and visual content (media), content forms. Magazines are generally fin ...

published fortnightly by the ''

Malayala Manorama '' Manorama'' is a morning newspaper in Malayalam published from Kottayam, Kerala, India by the Malayala Manorama Company Limited. Currently headed by Mammen Mathew, it was first published as a weekly on 14 March 1888, and currently has a rea ...

'' group. It is the largest magazine in India by circulation according to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, with an average of 687,915 copies sold (as of December 2013). It remained the largest by circulation in 2017 as well.

History and profile

''Vanitha'' was launched in 1975 as a monthly magazine and became a fortnightly in 1987. The magazine was founded by

Annamma Mathew Annamma Mathew, 22 March 1922 – 10 July 2003), also known as Mrs. K. M. Mathew, was the founder chief editor of ''Vanitha'', the largest selling women's magazine in India, and wife of K. M. Mathew, Chief Editor of ''Malayala Manorama''. She die ...

, wife of K.M. Mathew, and is known for her contributions to social service, cookery, journalism, and literature. ''Vanitha'' is published in

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of ...

and introduced 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 ...

edition in 1997. Although its name translates to "woman" in

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

, it includes news and views and other articles on a variety of topics, and is not strictly a women's magazine. ''Vanitha'' is owned and published by MM Publications Ltd. in

Kottayam Kottayam () is a city in the Kottayam district of Kerala, India. It is the district headquarters of the district and is located about north of the state capital Thiruvananthapuram. As per the 2011 Indian census, Kottayam has a population of ...

. MM Publications Ltd. is part of the Malayala Manorama Group. In addition to being released twice a month, ''Vanitha'' also includes special double issues for Onam,

Easter Easter, also called Pascha ( Aramaic: פַּסְחָא , ''paskha''; Greek: πάσχα, ''páskha'') or Resurrection Sunday, is a Christian festival and cultural holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, described in t ...

New Year's Day In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Day is the first day of the calendar year, January 1, 1 January. Most solar calendars, such as the Gregorian and Julian calendars, begin the year regularly at or near the December solstice, northern winter ...

and

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...

. Between July and December 2000 ''Vanitha'' was the best-selling magazine in India with a circulation of 3,82,027 copies. In 2012, the Malayalam edition of the magazine had a readership of over of 2.27 million, making it the highest read magazine in

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 ...

References

{{Malayalam journalism 1975 establishments in Kerala Biweekly magazines published in India Women's magazines published in India Magazines established in 1975 Malayalam-language magazines Malayala Manorama group Mass media in Kerala Women in Kerala

History and profile

See also

References