Reading up for Diwali

Over the years,Diwali anks have evolved and are now published for different groups of readers. There are Diwali anks for children,such as Kishore and Thakthak,which have folk tales on the significance of Diwali,jokes,comic strips and do-it-yourself ideas. Diwali anks for women,such as Manini and Charchowgi,carry Diwali-special recipes,beauty tips,and fashion and jewellery trends. Those for men,such as Chan,feature write-ups on property,business and gadgets. Shatayushi and Hridaymitra are health-special Diwali anks,while Grahankit and Bhagyasanket deal with astrology. Then,there are Hans and Menaka,which are like the good old,original Diwali anks,with compilations of short stories and poetry themed on the festival. The price of each ranges from Rs 30 to Rs 300.

Modern bookstores dont stock Diwali anks,which are sold at humble magazine stalls. A list of titles of 100-odd Diwali anks is available at these stalls for Re 1 or sometimes free of charge,which families look up to decide which title to buy. One can also order a Diwali ank from online bookstores like myemagazines.com and maayboli.com. We have a huge overseas demand for Diwali anks,which shows that Maharashtrians abroad havent let go of this aspect of their culture, says Chinmay Pol,managing director,Amod Book Sellers,a shop that sells Diwali anks and takes orders for them online as well.