In an era where several commercially produced print magazines have folded up, there is hope in the enduring appeal of the college publication. SCMSophia, the Social Communications Media department of Sophia Polytechnic, rated in the top ten media schools in the country, has produced an annual class magazine (called Marginalia since 2012) for the last three decades.
On January 20, a web archive of the magazine was launched along with the anniversary issue containing an anthology of the best writing from the last 30 years. “ Marginalia is much more than a college magazine. It can stand comparison with any of the front-rank English magazines of our country,” said filmmaker Shyam Benegal at the launch of the issue.
Author and columnist Shanta Gokhale was the chief guest at the magazine launch along with the filmmaker, who is also one of the members of the advisory board of the department, and journalist Sidharth Bhatia, who initiated the magazine project 30 years ago. Former head of department Jeroo Mulla and Sahitya Akademi Award winner and visiting faculty member Jerry Pinto, who was also the project-in-charge of the magazine, were also present.
This year, the student journalists bore the responsibility of archiving articles from the past 29 years and giving them a contemporary feel with fresh photographs while retaining their original charm.
“The SCM magazine was the place where many students who are now well-known journalists, writers, poets, scriptwriters and documentary filmmakers got a chance to explore their writing talents. Archiving Marginalia was a superb idea and I would like to congratulate the department and the students who have worked on it,” said Mulla. She also talked about how Bhatia and she struggled with the magazine in its first few editions. “During the initial years of the magazine, it was rather easy to write articles, but really difficult to raise money and get them printed because we had no idea how to do it. Students looked at a side of life that often does not get reported. I am thrilled to hear that they still carry those stories,” said Bhatia, the project-in-charge of the first magazine, which was then called Debut (1988).
SCMSophia, over these years, has always stood for stories of people who are marginalised, hence the name of the magazine since 2012: Marginalia . The pedagogy strives to ensure the building of social awareness in the students, which is reflected in the magazine as well. “The student magazine produced at SCMSophia dates back 30 years and is a rich treasure trove of young women’s voices as they negotiate this city, its spaces and its social issues in the process of discovering themselves as writers and journalists,” said Dr. Sunitha Chitrapu, head of the department at SCMSophia.
Pinto, who has been the guiding force behind Marginalia for two decades now, has seen it evolve. “Over the years, when I look back at the magazine, there is a lot to be proud of, lots of experiments and lots of things that the students did. I understand that it takes a lot of commitment from a lot of different people to pull off that enterprise. But first and foremost, it is always the students’ work and it will always be committed to that idea,” said Pinto.
His students were equally jubilant after the launch of the magazine. “Months of hard work, coffee-stimulated nights, revising until every word and image was permanently ingrained in our memories and working under the guidance of a brilliant mentor — Jerry Pinto — is what made this magazine possible,” said Nilofer Khan, a head photographer of the magazine.
Vindhya Barwal, one of the student editors, said, “Since this was a special edition of Marginalia , we had to edit articles written not only by students from the current batch, but also by those from the past 29 years. It was fascinating to notice how much language has changed over the years. With Jerry Pinto helping us, I am glad to say we succeeded in getting a hold over where to put the right punctuation marks.”
Last year’s edition of Marginalia (produced by the class of SCM 2015-2016) won six ICE awards including Best Magazine, Most Imperative Content and Best Cover, out of nearly 600 magazines produced by corporations, public sector undertakings and educational institutions. Pratap Nair and Dr. Sonali Nair, from the Shailaja Nair Foundation, the governing body of the ICE Awards, were also present during the event. Pratap Nair said, “My connection with the institution was through the magazine. I am highly impressed by the magazine and the genuine regard and respect the faculty and the students have for each other.”
The 144-page anniversary issue has garnered praise.
“For SCM’s magazine to have survived in such style for 30 years is itself a remarkable achievement. What made it even more so was the quality of the special issue that was launched to mark this 30-year journey. It looked elegant, the production was impeccable and from what I could see at a glance (confirmed when I read through it at home), the selection of archival material as well as the fresh writing were fired equally by a lively social consciousness, which is a mediaperson’s most valuable equipment. Launching the magazine was therefore a moment of pride for me both as an associate of SCM and as a mediaperson,” said Gokhale.
The web archive for Marginalia is here: scmsophia.com/marginalia.aspx
This story is part of The Hindu’s Media Mirror tie-up with SCMSophia
