Urdu literary magazines

       In Dawn Rauf Parekh writes about The phenomenon called Urdu literary magazines -- which, alas, seems to be less of a phenomenon than it once was:

Until the 1960s and 1970s, readers not only waited for the arrival of the new issues of literary periodicals such as 'Nuqoosh', 'Seep', 'Funoon' and 'Auraaq' but any literary writings that deserved attention were discussed in teahouses and continued to reverberate through literary circles. I still remember that as a schoolboy when I would pass by the Regal bus stop in Karachi's Sadder area, I would notice the banners displayed by roadside booksellers, announcing the arrival of a new issue of a literary magazine or a new novel by Ibn-i-Safi.

       Banners !
       But they continue to be published -- despite the fact that, in most cases:

publishing a literary magazine is not a viable commercial venture and it is a sheer delight or pride of the editor that keeps the magazine going.

       Good for those delighted editors .....