Priyamvada (magazine)

''Priyamvada'' () ( the one who speaks in pleasing and elegant manner) was a Gujarati magazine founded and edited by Manilal Nabhubhai Dwivedi. It was established with the aim of educating women, and ran from August 1885 to 1890; it was then converted into another literary magazine, '' Sudarshan''. It was written with an informal tone, which was popular with its readership.

History

After serving as a deputy educational inspector at Bombay, Manilal was transferred at Bhavnagar as a professor. The contemporary social problem of women's education was of great concern to him and he had prepared a detailed scheme to address this but he was not able to implement it in Bhavnagar. Hence, he decided to establish a journal devoted to women's welfare and education. He started a monthly magazine Priyamvada from August 1885. The cost of an annual subscription was one rupee. Manilal stated the aim of magazine on the first page of first issue:

The magazine also provided a forum for the discussion of women's problems. It appealed to both the common reader and the elite, and it rapidly became popular.

On account of his ill health, Manilal did not publish ''Priyamvada'' in August and September 1888, but resumed in October. Manilal discontinued ''Priyamvada'' in 1890 after realizing that it would not flourish so long as it addressed only women readers. He converted it into another monthly magazine, '' Sudarshan'', through which he expanded the scope of the articles to all of the topics he considered important, aimed at society at large.

Content and style

Manilal's only novel ''Gulabsinh'' was first serialised in ''Priyamvada'', starting with the magazine's inaugural issue in August 1885, and running to ''Sudarshana''’s June 1895 issue. He published a Gujarati translation of the Gita, with commentaries, from August 1887 (vol. 3, issue 1). It concluded in ''Sudarashan'' in September 1893 (vol. 8, issue 12). He published a translation of Samuel Smiles's ''Character'' in a series, entitled ''Sadvritti'', from August 1887. This series was also continued in ''Sudarshan'', and was concluded in September 1892 (vol. 7, issue 12). Manilal was of the view that women should have a general knowledge of anatomy as they have to raise their children; therefore, for two years he published a series of articles on the topic written by a doctor.

Manilal wrote most of the material for ''Priyamvada'', addressing his readers in a familiar personal tone. His articles were directly addressed to women readers in a homely and lively style. He used persuasive, but it also used a critical, language in order to attract his readers' attention, especially to issues concerned with women's welfare. While doing so, Manilal adopted a didactic approach which he felt befitted the discourse of 'ideal' Hindu women. Such a conversational style changed its manner naturally with the changing mood of the writer. Manilal identified himself with ''Priyamvada''’s reader and sometimes talked to her in the manner of an elder woman advising a younger one. This approach appealed to its readership and made ''Priyamvada'' popular.

See also

* List of Gujarati-language magazines

Notes

References

Further reading

*

External links

Sudarshan ane Priyamvada
on Google books (Bibliographic survey by Dhirubhai Thaker)
{{Manilal Nabhubhai Dwivedi

Manilal Dwivedi
1885 establishments in British India
1890 disestablishments in Asia
Gujarati-language magazines
Monthly magazines published in India
Magazines established in 1885
Magazines disestablished in 1890
Mass media in Gujarat
Women's magazines published in India
Defunct magazines published in India