Target (magazine)

*Target*
Target
Publication information
Publisher	Living Media India Ltd.
Publication date	1979-1995

Target was a popular Indian children's magazine that was published monthly in English from 1979 to 1995. It featured a mix of reader contributions, stories from regular writers, do-it-yourself articles and several popular comic strips.

History[edit]

In September 1979, Rosalind Wilson (1942 – July 28, 1992), a British expatriate educationist settled in Delhi started Target and became its founder-editor.^[1]^[2] The magazine was owned by Living Media, who also own the India Today Group. After Rosalind Wilson's death in 1992, the magazine's publication continued under Amena Jayal with its successful formula of stories and illustrations.

In 1995, in a move to target a larger age group, India Today Group wound up Target to start Teens Today magazine. This move was a failure, because, with its emphasis on fashion and urban life, Teens Today did not have the wide appeal of the unpretentious Target. Teens Today was edited by Target old-timer Vatsala Kaul.

Content[edit]

Target's outstanding production values as well as the quality of cartoonists and writers on its editorial board made it stand out from other contemporary Indian children's magazines^[3] like Tinkle, Champak and Chandamama.

A popular feature in Target was pages with information on international pen friends. In the age before email revolutionised communication, having pen friends was a popular hobby, both for the purpose of knowing about the world at large, and collecting stamps from foreign countries.

Some of the popular comic strips published in Target were:

Gardhab Das by Jayanto and Neelabh
Detective Moochhwala and Funny World by Ajit Ninan^[4]
Granny's Gupshup by Praloy Chakrovorty and Joygopal Podder and others
It Happened in History written by Renuka Narayanan and illustrated by Suddhasattwa Basu.
Science News illustrated by Priya Nagarajan and others

Contributors[edit]

Writers[edit]

Dilip Salvi
Sigrun Srivastava
Ruskin Bond
Geeta Dharmarajan
Jacquelyn Singh
Joygopal Podder
Mala Marwaha (author and illustrator)
Margaret Bhatty
Meera Govil
Meera Uberoi
Paro Anand
Ramaa Isvaran
Renuka Narayanan
Roopa Pai^[5]
Rupa Gupta
Subhadra Sengupta
Swapna Dutta
Vijaya Ghosh (associate editor)^[6]
Viswajita Das
Vatsala Kaul (associate editor)

Illustrators[edit]

Ajit Ninan (made the Funny World and All in Fun cartoon pages)
Jayanto Banerjee
Neelabh Banerjee
Suddhasattwa Basu (creator of India's first animated cartoon series, Gayab Aya)
Praloy Chakrovorty
Sujata Singh
Manjula Padmanabhan (author and illustrator)^[7]
Priya Nagarajan
Atanu Roy (illustrated the "HA! HA!" jokes page)

References[edit]

^ Naiyer Masud (2010). The Myna from Peacock Gardern. Katha. p. 98. ISBN 978-81-89934-64-4. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
^ "Board of Directors 1 » Our Founding Members » Katha". Katha. Retrieved 12 January 2020. Teacher, journalist, editor… Rosalind Wilson was all these, and more. She was a student at Oxford University in the 1970s after which she came to India and began by teaching in Delhi. Her heart was always with children and when Target was launched, she joined as one of the editors
^ Holmberg, Ryan (6 May 2013). "Comix India and the Indo-Manga Connection: An Interview with Bharath Murthy | - Part 2". Retrieved 12 January 2020. It had an unusually high standard of illustration, unmatched still now by any other children's magazine. The quality could compete with any adult magazine. Many of the most interesting illustrators in India started their careers there
^ "Ajit Ninan". Lambiek.net. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
^ Dasharathi, Poornima (18 December 2008). "Talking the walks". Citizen Matters, Bengaluru. Retrieved 12 January 2020. ... we moved to Delhi; that's when I started writing for Target. I enjoyed those days and writing for children is what I've loved best
^ Sethi, Sunil (15 August 1985). "Rajiv Gandhi's interview by children turns out to be a landmark programme on Doordarshan". India Today. Retrieved 12 January 2020. Target's Editor Rosalind Wilson and Associate Editor Vijaya Ghosh selected the children at random by telephoning school principals to ask for nominations
^ Holmberg, Ryan (6 May 2013). "Comix India and the Indo-Manga Connection: An Interview with Bharath Murthy | - Part 2". Retrieved 12 January 2020. Manjula Padmanabhan, one of the few woman cartoonists in India. She did a lot of illustrations for Target

[1] Naiyer Masud (2010). The Myna from Peacock Gardern. Katha. p. 98. ISBN 978-81-89934-64-4. Retrieved 29 July 2016.

[2] "Board of Directors 1 » Our Founding Members » Katha". Katha. Retrieved 12 January 2020. Teacher, journalist, editor… Rosalind Wilson was all these, and more. She was a student at Oxford University in the 1970s after which she came to India and began by teaching in Delhi. Her heart was always with children and when Target was launched, she joined as one of the editors

[3] Holmberg, Ryan (6 May 2013). "Comix India and the Indo-Manga Connection: An Interview with Bharath Murthy | - Part 2". Retrieved 12 January 2020. It had an unusually high standard of illustration, unmatched still now by any other children's magazine. The quality could compete with any adult magazine. Many of the most interesting illustrators in India started their careers there

[4] "Ajit Ninan". Lambiek.net. Retrieved 13 September 2023.

[5] Dasharathi, Poornima (18 December 2008). "Talking the walks". Citizen Matters, Bengaluru. Retrieved 12 January 2020. ... we moved to Delhi; that's when I started writing for Target. I enjoyed those days and writing for children is what I've loved best

[6] Sethi, Sunil (15 August 1985). "Rajiv Gandhi's interview by children turns out to be a landmark programme on Doordarshan". India Today. Retrieved 12 January 2020. Target's Editor Rosalind Wilson and Associate Editor Vijaya Ghosh selected the children at random by telephoning school principals to ask for nominations

[7] Holmberg, Ryan (6 May 2013). "Comix India and the Indo-Manga Connection: An Interview with Bharath Murthy | - Part 2". Retrieved 12 January 2020. Manjula Padmanabhan, one of the few woman cartoonists in India. She did a lot of illustrations for Target

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