PUBLISHING
A kahani for all seasons
RANJINI RAO
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A magazine in the U.S. discovers a niche market by catering to the reading tastes of Indian children.
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Success story: Sunita Das (left), Sonia Chopra and Monika Jain.
WITH their limited exposure to Indian culture and literature, most Indian children growing up in the U.S. are likely to know Ram as the "cool dude", and Ravan as the "bad guy". So in these extreme situations, where they're unable to relate to ancient mythology as it seldom reflects their present day life, and to new literature as they're merely reduced to supporting characters, a magazine that caters specifically to these children, and others of South Asian descent, has finally filled the void.
Their stories
Kahani speaks to them in their voice, and isn't just about recounting "stories", as the name suggests. An eclectic mix of fun and seriousness, the magazine showcases some of the best writers and artists of South Asian descent, with short stories, biographies, a math and science page, a column for linguaphiles, book reviews, and even an original cartoon strip.
What began as a dream venture for four Indian moms in the U.S. in 2004 is today the first award-winning national magazine of its kind in the U.S. While three of the founders have moved on since, Monika Jain, whose brainchild the magazine is, handles the editorial with the help of some very talented people who are each pioneers in their respective domains. Sunitha Das, the business director, is a rather busy woman. She runs a marketing consultancy, and instructs at the Boston's Museum of Fine Arts gallery when she's not handling sales and the media for Kahani. She says she joined Monika only about seven months ago, although she used to be a subscriber earlier. "I have two sons, 20 and 11 years, and they love Kahani. When my son first saw it as a 10-year-old, his reaction was, `Wow, there must be a lot of kids just like me, for us to have such a fun magazine all to ourselves'."
Sonia Chopra, the creative director, is also a freelance graphic designer. Nandini Bajpai and Vikas Chauhan handle the technology and operations.
"Kahani is a mission for us — not just a job, or the lure of making money. Monika, being the chief editor, manages all the contributors; Sonia, the layout of the magazine and website; and I take care of marketing, PR, finances, customer relationships. Our contributors are the best in the business and are usually authors, illustrators published in their own right," says Sunitha.
"Even though Kahani's premier issue came out in August 2004, it was actually `founded' about a year earlier when the four moms got together and started researching and developing the concept. It surely wasn't an easy task, as there is no other ethnic magazine providing contemporary literature to its children in the U.S. (not Chinese, not Hispanic, no other). Thereafter, with advice from Nancy Gruver (founder, New Moon magazine for young girls), and readers' feedback, Kahani became a quarterly. And now, we have just published our 9th issue in Fall 2006," she adds.
With a growing number of subscribers in the U.S. and a few from India too, Kahani seems to be on a roll with its theme-based offerings every new season. The passion that drives the makers of the magazine seems to be contagious, as several young South Asians are eagerly partaking in its annual competitions, and spreading the word about stories for people like them.
Apart from stories based on specific themes like "Festivals of South Asia", the magazine carries a "Spotlight" section, where interviews with successful South Asian personalities are featured (Sunita Williams, the NASA astronaut, was profiled in the previous issue).
Future plans
According to Sunitha, the primary goal of Kahani is, "simply to keep going." She adds, "Our subscription revenue barely covers printing and postage costs. We don't have any advertising like other children's publications do. Our one goal is to start paying our contributors as soon as possible. We'd also like to get Kahani into the hands of every South Asian child aged six-11 in the U.S.; and to get maximum exposure for South Asian children's literature by getting every school and town library to sign up for Kahani."
With the Distinguished Achievement Award from the Association of Educational Publishers, the Multicultural Children's Publication Award from the National Association of Multicultural Education, and all the wonderful, illustrated stories, newsy features to enthrall little South Asians and remind them of their rich culture, it shouldn't be long before Kahani reaches many more doors and warms many more young hearts.
To download a sample magazine, and to get a sneak peek into what keeps Kahani ticking, visit: www.kahani.com
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