A LEAP FORWARD: TTD's Executive Officer A.P.V.N. Sarma and SV Digital Library director Bhuman handing over one lakh digitised pages of `Chandamama' to its chief editor B.Viswanatha Reddy (second from left) in Tirupati on Tuesday. TTD's Joint Executive Officer N. Srikanth is also seen. — Photo: K.V. Poornachandra Kumar

TIRUPATI: `Vikram' and `Betal', the inimitable king-ghost duo, short stories of the socio-fantasy and mythology genre and other stuff packed with values, propriety and knowledge, that Chandamama taught us, will be available to `Generationext' kids too.

Chandamama, the favourite magazine of children, will take a digital `avatar' after July, its chief editor B. Viswanatha Reddy announced here on Tuesday. As a prelude, the issues published during the past 60 years are being digitised at the TTD's Sri Venkateswara Digital Library (SVDL), a member of the Universal Digital Library, Pittsburg, USA. At a function organised here on Tuesday, the TTD's Executive Officer A.P.V.N. Sarma and SVDL director Bhuman formally handed over the digital version of one lakh pages of the magazine to Mr. Viswanatha Reddy.

Mr. Reddy recalled how the dream of his father B. Nagi Reddy and his friend Chakrapani to launch a magazine in Tamil and Telugu in the Madras Presidency in the neo-independent India to promote values and the country's heritage among children assumed the shape of Chandamama that later appeared in 13 languages. While Chandamama had been accessed in the print form for 60 years, it was entering a new era in the digital format from this year, which he hoped, would bring in more readers, including the Indians residing abroad.

TV impact

Mr. Sarma rued that the onslaught of television channels did cast a shadow on children's reading habits, especially books promoting values. Mr. Bhuman said that over 50,000 books and manuscripts had been digitised and uploaded so far. He maintained that Chandamama was not just a children's magazine, but a treasure trove with information on social customs and propriety.

Appeal to public

He requested public to get their valuable manuscripts, palm leaves and copperplates, if any, in their possession to get the same digitised. Joint Executive Officer N. Srikanth also spoke.

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