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Desh (magazine)

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Desh
Desh cover dated March 17, 2016
EditorSuman Sengupta
CategoriesArt, culture, literature
Frequency26 issues/year
First issueNovember 24, 1933; 92 years ago
CompanyABP Group
CountryIndia
Based inKolkata
LanguageBengali
Websitedesh.co.in

Desh (Bengali: দেশ)[a] is a Bengali magazine featuring short stories, novels, commentary, criticism, poetry, essays, and book reviews. Launched on November 24, 1933, first as a weekly and later as a biweekly, it is one of India's oldest magazines.[2] Throughout the 20th and 21st centuries, the magazine published works of prominent Bengali writers including Rabindranath Tagore, Jibanananda Das, Sunil Gangopadhyay, Satyajit Ray, Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay, and Joy Goswami.[3]

A 2008 study by Dr. Chaitali Dutta in the Kolkata metropolitan area found that Desh was more popular among female readers, while males favored Saptahik Bartaman.[4]

History

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The first editor of Desh was Satyendranath Majumdar (1891–1954), followed by Bankimchandra Sen. Sagarmoy Ghosh joined the magazine in 1939 and became its editor in 1976. Under his leadership, Desh emerged as India’s foremost literary magazine in a regional language. His first major achievement was securing a poem and short story—Sheth Katha (The Last Story)—from Rabindranath Tagore.[5]

Ghosh made Desh a hub for Bengal’s top writers while also making room for new talents. He stood firm against political pressure, notably when Bangladesh temporarily banned the magazine after Nirad C. Chaudhuri referred to it as "so-called Bangladesh" in an article.[6] In 1997, he stepped down as editor due to health issues related to old age. Journalist and Ramon Magsaysay award winner Amitabha Chowdhury took over for a year. During this period, Desh transitioned from a purely literary magazine to one that also featured non-fiction essays on current affairs, history, and culture.[7] In 1998, Harsha Dutta succeeded him. The magazine is currently edited by Suman Sengupta.

Sister-publication

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Desh also publishes Boier Desh, a quarterly supplement launched in 2003. It features book reviews in Bengali and English by renowned critics and includes interviews with prominent literary figures from Bengal and beyond.[8]

Publication

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Desh is published by the media conglomerate ABP Group on the 2nd and 17th of each month from 6 Prafulla Sarkar Street, Kolkata 700001. Its official website, www.desh.co.in, was launched on April 25, 2015.[9] In 2024, it was moved to a subfolder under Aaro Ananda.

Legacy

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Desh is widely regarded as the leading literary magazine among Bengali-speaking intellectuals.[10][11] Often called the "New Yorker of Bengal,"[12] it has featured works by nearly every major figure in Bengali literature. Its annual Puja issue remains a major literary event. Desh celebrated its 90th anniversary in 2023.[13]

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In Jhumpa Lahiri’s 2003 novel The Namesake, Ashima Ganguli, newly immigrated from Kolkata to Cambridge, rereads a worn-out copy of Desh she has read many times before. She can't bring herself to throw it away because its Bengali print gives her perpetual comfort.[14]

Controversies

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Desh has faced multiple controversies. In 1994, its Durga Puja issue featured a cover by Arpita Singh depicting the goddess Durga in a white saree, brandishing a revolver over a prostrate politician. The image provoked immediate outrage among local politicians, who demanded the magazine be withdrawn and all copies destroyed.[15]

Notable contributors

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Notes

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  1. ^ The word "desh" refers to one's native country or place of origin; a homeland, home.[1]

Citations

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  1. ^ Oxford English Dictionary, “desh (n.),” September 2024, https://doi.org/10.1093/OED/1488446373
  2. ^ Chakrabarty, Dipesh (2004). "Romantic Archives: Literature and the Politics of Identity in Bengal". Critical Inquiry. 30 (3): 654–682. doi:10.1086/421165. ISSN 0093-1896.
  3. ^ Sivasankari (30 January 2025). Knit India Through Literature Volume II - The East - Bengali. Pustaka Digital Media Pvt. Ltd. ISBN 978-9359428802.
  4. ^ Dutta, Chaitali (2008). "Information Literacy Competency and Readership Study of Five Specific Localities in Urban, Industrial and Semi-Urban Areas of Kolkata Metropolitan City". The University of Arizona.
  5. ^ Basu, By Shrabani (18 March 1999). "Sagarmoy Ghosh obituary". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 26 April 2023. Retrieved 25 March 2025.
  6. ^ Mohaiemen, Naeem (1 April 2013). "We wish to inform you: A history of censorship in Bangladesh (1972-2012)". South Asia Citizens Web. Archived from the original on 1 July 2017. Retrieved 25 March 2025.
  7. ^ Joseph, Amal; Kalpnan Sharma (2006). Whose news?: the media and women's issues. New Delhi: Sage Publications. p. 296. ISBN 0-7619-3493-6. Retrieved 19 May 2010.
  8. ^ "Boier desh - Desh". www.desh.co.in. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
  9. ^ "Tradition takes tech leap". The Telegraph India.
  10. ^ Nasrin, Taslima (2018). Split: A Life. Penguin Random House India. ISBN 9789387625419.
  11. ^ Chakrabarty, Dipesh (2004). "Romantic Archives: Literature and the Politics of Identity in Bengal". Critical Inquiry. 30 (3): 654–682. doi:10.1086/421165. ISSN 0093-1896.
  12. ^ "Swati Daftuar on how 'little' magazines make a big difference to the world of literature". The Hindu. 6 February 2016. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 25 March 2025.
  13. ^ "BANGLA LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE – AND ROLE OF DESH PATRIKA IN ITS NINETY YEARS OF EXISTENCE". Issuu. Retrieved 25 March 2025.
  14. ^ Lahiri, Jhumpa (2011). The namesake. London: Fourth Estate. ISBN 978-0-00-655180-5.
  15. ^ Shimkhada, Deepak; Herman, Phyllis K.; Claremont Graduate University, eds. (2008). The constant and changing faces of the goddess: goddess traditions of Asia. Newcastle: Cambridge Scholars Pub. ISBN 978-1-84718-390-3.
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