Shama (magazine)
Open-knowledge reference entry
Shama was a monthly Indian Urdu-language film and literary magazine published from 1939 to 1999. Considered the world's biggest chain of Urdu-language magazines at the time, the Shama group published several other famous magazines and digests including Sushama (Hindi), Khilauna, Dost aur Dosti, Bano, Sushmita, Mujrim, Doshi, A'inah, Shabistan and Rasia Kashidakari. The magazine was a household name and has been described as a "movement of Urdu which gave birth to a new tradition".
Three generations of the Dehlvi family were involved in Shama empire's management beginning from its founder Yusuf Dehlvi, his three sons Younus, Idrees and Ilyas Dehlvi as well as some of their wives and children who also frequently contributed articles for the monthlies.
At the time when the Shama group was at its zenith, the Dehlvi family was reckoned as one of the wealthiest and most influential in India, and its links to the Urdu-Hindi film industry as well as their political and literary connections earned them celebrity status.
Shama was the first monthly Indian journal of any kind in any language to surpass the 100,000-subscribers milestone, which it did as early as 1949. Its peak circulation is unknown since the company's financial records did not survive the closing of the Shama office in 1999. The magazine's early commercial success led to a number of spin-off publications under the Shama umbrella.
History
Shama (Urdu: شمع, romanized: Śamā, lit. 'Candle') was started in September 1939 by Delhi-based businessman Yusuf Dehlvi. It was initially sold for two annas per copy.
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