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We
are one hundred issues old today.
When
Humanscape started out, we were assured by some
well-meaning friends that we would fold up in a month.
Others were generous and gave us more than one month, but
here we are, and I hope this journey has been as rewarding and
enriching for our readers and subscribers as it has been for all
of us here at Humanscape. I would like to take this
opportunity to thank all – writers, readers, subscribers and
friends who have helped us reach this point.
It
was started as a vehicle to promote a current of opinion formed by
those who coincide on one basic point – the individual – and
focus on ways of making positive changes in the individual and in
society. It openly disseminated ideas and fact, encouraging
discussion on them. It promoted active participation by people in
organisations they belonged to.
I
clearly remember the first issue – I knew nothing about the
publishing business and I was trying to bring out the issue almost
single-handedly with the help of amateur writers and even more
amateur editorial staff. But I got lucky, and after being shunted
from editor to editor I had the good fortune of meeting Hutokshi
Doctor, who was honest enough to point out that my first solo
effort was unreadable. Fortunately, it had not gone to press. She
came on board, stories were commissioned, we got in touch with
over a 100 writers and Humanscape was born in August 1993.
Her contribution to Humanscape has been of an immense
importance in its development. Later, we were fortunate enough to
get Ramkrishna Salvi to join us as our layout artist, and he is
with us to date. Thus, a team got formed and since then it has
been teamwork of many like-minded people.
When
we started out, we had no other staff, no computers, not enough
funds, little encouragement, a few subscribers (who were actually
friends of the Humanist Movement); I had no editorial experience
and we were quite sure that this magazine would see very few
birthdays. Moreover, it did not and was not going to have the
faces of film starlets or models on its cover, the fare that
adorns the covers of glossies on magazine stands. It was a
magazine that was going to deal with serious issues; issues that
the mainstream media was ignoring, issues that we were told were
no more in fashion. We had a difficult time putting together the
10 or so stories our 32-page magazine needed, and often had to
resort to features syndicates for stories. Luckily, most of the
people – both writers and activists – who wrote for us wrote
from their hearts with little concern for remuneration. They wrote
not for the money, but for the sense of purpose it gave them,
which, sadly, their own large media organisations were not able to
give them. It gave them a platform to air issues that concerned
and exercised them, issues for which there was and still is very
little room in the mainstream press, serious issues that are
treated shabbily and superficially. In the first year the
subscription went up to 1,800 and we heaved a sigh of relief.
The
journey has been rewarding. We have contacted NGOs and social
activists working in the remotest areas of the country, we have
met/contacted activists, artists, academics, historians,
researchers, sociologists, over 500 writers and so many more
people who have helped to broaden our view. We have made contact
with large city-based organisations such as TISS as well as small
grassroots organisations working quietly in distant, far-off
villages. We have also had an issue put together by our readers,
who we invited to reflect on the state of the nation. Throughout,
the guiding principle has been the Humanist Movement’s
‘proposal for humanism’ – placing the human being above
everything else. The readership has steadied at over 10,000 and
the magazine has brought together a large family of like-minded
writers and readers. And, yes, I’m proud to say that in this day
and age when the media has been reduced to a plaything in the
hands of advertisers and power-mongers, the voice of Humanscape
is a pure and free voice, because we have never accepted any
funding from funding agencies.
At
this point I would like to emphasize the difference between
‘humanitarian’ work and ‘humanist’ work. Humanscape
is fired by the latter ideal; we believe that social change, to be
effective, should be long-term and deep-rooted.
‘Humanitarianism’ is the soothing balm, while ‘humanism’
is the eradication of the disease from the root. The idea is to
let people know that they are masters of their own destiny. It is
this vision that has guided Humanscape and it is this
vision that we have tried to disseminate through its pages. It has
opposed different forms of violence and denounced different ways
of discrimination. It has upheld freedom of thought and belief. It
has highlighted causes and instruments that have generated
suffering in society. It has promoted/highlighted joint tasks and
exchange which has been positive for society. It has been the
softness of the water against the hardness of rock. It is the
strength and voice of the “weak”.
Over
the years the magazine has grown, changed and evolved. Earlier, we
covered an entire gamut of issues ranging from social and
philosophical. More recently, we have changed track a bit –
readers must have noticed the definite shift to a more practical,
more ‘how to’ approach. We believe we had covered a lot of
areas and it was now time to focus on sharing experiences for
dealing effectively with them. Not only has the magazine changed,
the people working with us on the magazine have changed, learnt
and grown. More importantly, Humanscape has brought
thousands of like-minded people together.
Future
plans include plans to go online and these are already under way.
We have begun actual developmental work, and all this is inspired
by the people we have met in the course of working on the
magazine. Funds have been short, but at the last moment, somehow,
support has always come forth and pushed the magazine ahead.
Often, the going has been tough, but the solid moral and spiritual
backing of the humanist movement has taught us to keep our tail
up. I think the magazine now has a life of its own and, like a
human being, it will, I hope, live a long, healthy life.
The
point of this whole exercise, of recapitulating the magazine’s
inception and growth is not self-congratulation, but the sharing
of an experience which has been educational, inspiring and
exciting for all of us and an expression of our heartfelt
gratitude to all the people including the readers who have made it
a success.
Stay
with us and do write in. The future can change for the better only
if we believe it can.
-
Jayesh Shah
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