''Balamangalam'' ( ml, ബാലമംഗളം) was a

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam was des ...

comic magazine Comic magazine may refer to: * Comics anthology * ''Comic Magazine'', a 1986 Japanese film * Comic Magazines, the parent company of Quality Comics * Franco-Belgian comics magazines * Japanese manga magazines * A periodical containing comic strips, ...

published between 1980 and 2012. It was also published in

Kannada Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...

with the title ''Balamangala''.

History and profile

''Balamangalam'' was first published in 1980. The publisher was

Mangalam Publications Mangalam Publications (India) Private Limited, is an Indian publishing company in Kottayam, Kerala, India. It publishes online daily newspaper and weekly magazines such as ''Mangalam Weekly'', '' Kanyaka'' and ''Cinema Mangalam'' in Malayalam. ...

(India) Private Limited. The fortnightly magazine featured, along with the comic strips, children's stories, rhymes and puzzles. Its target audience was children. The headquarters of the fortnightly was in

Kottayam Kottayam () is a municipal town in the Indian state of Kerala. Flanked by the Western Ghats on the east and the Vembanad Lake and paddy fields of Kuttanad on the west. It is the district headquarters of Kottayam district, located in south-we ...

. In October 2012,

, the owners of ''Balamangalam'' announced that they would stop publication due to poor sales. The news created an outcry on social media websites and prompted the publishers to clarify that "the closure is just temporary and ''Balamangalam'' may return soon." Still, the magazine remained closed.

Main stories

Dinkan Dinkan (Malayalam: ഡിങ്കൻ) is a fictional anthropomorphic superhero mouse who appears in an eponymous Malayalam comic story series in children's magazine ''Balamangalam''. Some modern day rationalists of Kerala use Dinkan to ...

(Artist: Baby) * Saktimarunnu (Story: Manu, Artist: Baby)

Kannada language

''Balamangala'' was the

Kannada language Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native sp ...

edition of ''Balamangalam'', and circulated in

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. RNI , Reg. No.44741/1989 , Name: BALAMANGALA , Link: http://rni.nic.in/registerdtitle_search/registeredtitle_ser.aspx Along with comic strips, the magazine featured children's stories, rhymes, puzzles and crosswords, including the fictional characters

Dinga Dinga is a City Tehsil , District Gujrat, in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It lies between the rivers Jhelum and Chenab. The main highway that runs from Lahore to Rawalpindi is about 23 km (16.7 mi) northeast of Deengah. Deengah is ...

, Shaktimaddu, Kaadina Kitta, Keraga, Pingala, Karingaada, Tuttu, Chenchu, Tiko, Chomu, Thangu Maama, Onti Salaga, and Chippu Delu. Harsha, a 15-year-old boy's first short story, "Mola Matthu Nari" (meaning: Rabbit and Fox) was published in the magazine.

Publisher

Balamangala Kannada( RNI:44741/1989) was published by Mangalam Publication (India) Pvt. Ltd. located in

, Kerala.

Dinkoism

Based on the magazine's fictional character, Dinga (Malayalam: Dinkan), a

parody religion A parody religion or mock religion is a belief system that challenges the spiritual convictions of others, often through humor, satire, or burlesque (literary ridicule). Often constructed to achieve a specific purpose related to another belief sy ...

and a

social movement A social movement is a loosely organized effort by a large group of people to achieve a particular goal, typically a social or political one. This may be to carry out a social change, or to resist or undo one. It is a type of group action and may ...

called

Dinkoism Dinkoism (), the Dinkoist religion, or Dinkamatham is a parody religion and social movement that emerged and evolved on social networks organized by independent welfare groups in the Indian state of Kerala. Adherents describe Dinkoism as a genu ...

emerged and evolved on

social network A social network is a social structure made up of a set of social actors (such as individuals or organizations), sets of dyadic ties, and other social interactions between actors. The social network perspective provides a set of methods for an ...

s organized by independent welfare groups in

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

, India.

References

External links

Official website
{{Media of India 1980 establishments in Kerala 2012 disestablishments in India Defunct magazines published in India Biweekly magazines published in India Children's magazines published in India Magazines about comics Magazines established in 1980 Magazines disestablished in 2012 Malayalam comics Malayalam-language magazines Mass media in Kerala Kannada-language magazines Mass media in Karnataka