Editor Paulami Sengupta Publisher ABP Limited Country India | Frequency Fortnightly First issue March 1975 | |
Former editors Ashoke Kumar Sarkar, Nirendranath Chakravarty, Debasish Bandyopadhyay | ||
Anandamela, Anondamela, or Anonodomela (Bengali: আনন্দমেলা) is a children's periodical in the Bengali language published by ABP Limited (Ananda Bazar Patrika Group) from Kolkata, India. Also, with the Sunday issue of Ananda Bazar Patrika, the Bengali, daily newspaper, a colourful page is distributed free of cost, which is named Anandamela.
Contents
History and profile
The first issue of Anandamela appeared in March 1975. The magazine is published on a fortnightly basis. It has been edited by several eminent personalities at different times including the poet Nirendranath Chakravarty, Ashok Kumar Sarkar, and Debasish Bandopadhyay. The present editor is Paulami Sengupta. Anandamela is one of the oldest surviving Bengali children's magazines and is published twice a month, on the second and twentieth days.
Many authors started writing for children through Anandamela; for example, author Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay was noticed as a children's author after writing Manojder Adbhut Baari, which was published in Anandamela as a serial novel. On 19 June 2004, Anandamela split up into two different magazines, the original Anandamela (for children age 8 – 14), and Unish Kuri, (for teens and young adults age 15 – 25). Both the magazines are edited by the same editor and editorial team.
Content
Anandamela is popular for short stories, ghost stories, novels (most often, thrillers) and original comics. In the past, Anandamela had, for over 25 years, published The Adventures of Tintin comics in the Bengali language, making it the only magazine in India to have ever published Tintin in any of the Indian languages. The publication of Tintin was started in 1975. Tintin was translated into Bengali by the editor of the magazine, Nirendranath Chakraborty. Anandamela is trusted by parents for study-material and examination tips and has a section called "Tomader Pata", where it publishes drawings and anecdotes written by children/readers. The following are the regular features:
Popular series, novels, and stories
Key writers
Key artists
Art and artists were always an important part of Anandamela, thus giving birth to some memorable artistic talents. Among the large number of artists who illustrated the pages and covers of Anandamela are:
Special issue (Puja Number)
In October, the Bengali festive month, Anandamela comes in a special size of nearly 400 pages, the hallmark of which is Sunil Gangopadhyay's new novel of the thriller series Kakababu, along with a full-length Feluda comic based on the story of Oscar-winning director Satyajit Ray, illustrated by Abhijit Chattopadhyay. This special number features five to six full length complete novels, several short stories, features, and three complete comic strips, some of which run up to 60 pages.
Although the fortnightly regular issues of Anandamela started much later, the Puja Number started in 1971. Its price was Rs. 2.00 and it did not contain any cartoons. Sunil Gangopadhyay is the only writer whose writings are present in every Puja Number of Anandamela from the beginning of the magazine.
Other activities
The Anandamela Club has a system of paid membership that arranges various programs, competitions and activities throughout the year for children.
Criticism
Anandamela has been criticised in the past for their over-dependence on foreign comics. After Paulami Sengupta Sarkar took charge as the editor, original comics based on Bengali literature were introduced, and all foreign comics were pulled, including The Adventures of Tintin, which was the hallmark and flagship brand of Anandamela.