The literary tradition of the Urdu language has been romanticised and written about by so many people throughout the ages, and adding to that rich history was the 1940s magazine Shama, which became so popular that after Partition, copies of it were transported across the border.
In a fascinating Twitter thread, media website Paperclip recently shared the illustrious history of Shama and how it rose in popularity and became associated with the glitz and glam of the film industry at the time.
Explaining how Urdu in pre-1947 India was perceived first as a language of rebellion and then as a language of art, culture and film, we are told that Shama was started in 1939 by a Delhi businessman named Yusuf Dehlvi. The two-aana magazine was introduced as a combination of religious and literary media entirely in Urdu.
https://twitter.com/Paperclip_In/status/1580129084159713280
The first issue of the magazine had the following couplet printed on it:
Behold the candle is burning, the moths are coming
When the beginning is like this, God knows how it will end
The magazine had a lot of big name writers, and after Partition, the audience of the publication grew even more. By the 1950s, Yusuf Dehlvi's sons and their wives were also involved in their publishing empire, and came out with several new subsidiaries. These included a magazine for women called Bano, one for children called Khilauna (toy), and a spy/crime themed one called Mujrim (criminal).
https://twitter.com/Paperclip_In/status/1580129110189576193
The magazine's popularity began to grow so much that hundreds and thousands of copies of it would be ferried across the border to satiate the growing readership.
https://twitter.com/Paperclip_In/status/1580129128917135360
Even the biggest stars of Bollywood loved the magazine, so much so that it was rumored that Yusuf Dehlvi had persuaded actor Sunil Dutt to allow his wife Nargis to take up a role in the movie Raat Aur Din.
https://twitter.com/Paperclip_In/status/1580129150962372608
Unfortunately, with the rise of the internet in the late-90s, Shama could not keep up, and was forced to shut down its offices in 1999.
In a fascinating Twitter thread, media website Paperclip recently shared the illustrious history of Shama and how it rose in popularity and became associated with the glitz and glam of the film industry at the time.
Explaining how Urdu in pre-1947 India was perceived first as a language of rebellion and then as a language of art, culture and film, we are told that Shama was started in 1939 by a Delhi businessman named Yusuf Dehlvi. The two-aana magazine was introduced as a combination of religious and literary media entirely in Urdu.
https://twitter.com/Paperclip_In/status/1580129084159713280
The first issue of the magazine had the following couplet printed on it:
Lo shama hui raushan, aane lage parwaane
Aaghaaz jab aisa hai, anjaam khuda jaane
Behold the candle is burning, the moths are coming
When the beginning is like this, God knows how it will end
The heavy usage of Urdu in the magazine made it popular amongst those either associated with, or admirers of the film industry, as most of the song lyrics and screenplays for film were also being written in Urdu. Thus, many of the magazine's contributors were also people who were either lyricists or screenplay writers for movies. Paperclip says that as motion pictures grew in popularity, so did Shama.
The magazine had a lot of big name writers, and after Partition, the audience of the publication grew even more. By the 1950s, Yusuf Dehlvi's sons and their wives were also involved in their publishing empire, and came out with several new subsidiaries. These included a magazine for women called Bano, one for children called Khilauna (toy), and a spy/crime themed one called Mujrim (criminal).
https://twitter.com/Paperclip_In/status/1580129110189576193
The magazine's popularity began to grow so much that hundreds and thousands of copies of it would be ferried across the border to satiate the growing readership.
https://twitter.com/Paperclip_In/status/1580129128917135360
Even the biggest stars of Bollywood loved the magazine, so much so that it was rumored that Yusuf Dehlvi had persuaded actor Sunil Dutt to allow his wife Nargis to take up a role in the movie Raat Aur Din.
https://twitter.com/Paperclip_In/status/1580129150962372608
Unfortunately, with the rise of the internet in the late-90s, Shama could not keep up, and was forced to shut down its offices in 1999.