On Vasant Panchami, February 4, 1900, Babu Chintamani Ghosh placed a copy of the newly minted Hindi literary magazine Saraswati at the feet of the clay idol of Goddess Saraswati at the Indian Press in Allahabad (now Prayagraj). This may or may not be a historical fact, but it is a highly plausible reconstruction in a Bengali short story written by this columnist a few years ago. Since literature mirrors society, the scene captures how a Bengali gentleman would likely have acted in such a situation.

It was on New Year’s Day, 1900, that Saraswati, the Hindi literary magazine, an illustrated monthly, was published by the Indian Press. Although the Varanasi-based Nagari Pracharini Sabha (established in 1893) provided editorial support—something Anju Chaturvedi convincingly argues in her DPhil thesis “Hindi Sahitya Mein Saraswati Patrika Ka Yogdan" (Allahabad University, 1984)—the magazine was conceived and promoted by Babu Chintamani Ghosh. Ghosh (1854-1928), the proprietor of the Allahabad (now Prayagraj)-based Indian Press, wrote twice to the Nagari Pracharini Sabha in 1899, persuading them to take charge of the proposed magazine. The Sabha had initially expressed its inability to do so, merely sending its good wishes for the project. Had the Sabha responded positively to Ghosh’s initial overture, the magazine might have appeared by Diwali, 1899. Ghosh succeeded in his second attempt to convince the Sabha. The rest, as they say, is history.

The 19th century was a time when all major Indian languages underwent a process of modernisation, with the influence of English literature being unmistakable. Verse had been the traditional format of literature in almost all Indian languages until the 18th century. However, in a major departure, the 19th century saw prose rise to prominence as the standard format. Prose allowed its users to address the realities of life and the complexities of the world. The century witnessed the rise of journalism, essay writing, travelogues, novels, drama, short stories, and oratory—all of which relied on the advancement of prose.

The East India Company introduced the printing press in the late 18th century, a boon from which Indians had been deprived under the Mughals and Marathas. Although the movable type printing press had been invented in Germany by Johannes Gutenberg around the mid-15th century, and some Christian missionaries in western and southern India had experimented with it for publishing religious literature, no government prior to the East India Company had instituted it.

Printing technology did not remain confined to English; it soon extended to Indian languages. William Carey (1761–1834), founder of the Serampore Baptist Mission, could be credited with developing Indian-language fonts. He founded the first type-foundry at Serampore, with help of two Bengali workmen viz. Panchanan Karmakar and Manohar. This apparently helped the proliferation of printing presses. By 1805, the Serampore Mission Press could print any work in Bengali, Urdu, Odiya, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada or Marathi.

Chintamani Ghosh (1854–1928), born in Bali—a township near Kolkata—had been domiciled in the United Provinces (now Uttar Pradesh) since childhood with his parents. He found his true calling after a series of job changes. In 1884, he set up the Indian Press in Allahabad (now Prayagraj), while still working for the Meteorology Department. It was the year when Varanasi-based Bharatendu Harishchandra (1850–84), the father of modern Hindi, prematurely passed away. While Bharatendu was the first Hindi litterateur to recognise the value of periodicals, having brought out Harishchandra’s Magazine and Harishchandra Patrika among others, these did not survive his death. By the time Saraswati appeared at the turn of the century, there seemed to be no notable literary magazine in Hindi.

Saraswati came into existence as a literary monthly in January 1900. The frontispiece made it clear that the Indian Press was merely the printer. While it did not name the publisher, it stated that the magazine had been instituted with the approval of the Kashi Nagari Pracharini Sabha. The editorial board comprised Babu Kartik Prasad Khatri, Pandit Kishori Lal Goswami, Babu Jagannath Das, Babu Radhakrishna Das, and Babu Shyam Sundar Das.

The new literary magazine was priced at Rs 3 (three rupees) per annum, which many in northern India considered princely at the beginning of the 20th century. Chintamani Ghosh’s main concern was to ensure the quality and durability of Saraswati. In the 12th issue (December........

© News18