Civil Lines (magazine)

Civil Lines
Civil Lines: new writings from India
EditorRavi Dayal
CategoriesSocio-political Magazine
Frequencyinfrequent
Founded1994
CompanyPrivate
CountryIndia
LanguageEnglish
Website

Civil Lines was an Indian literary magazine launched in 1994 by publisher Ravi Dayal. The magazine published five issues between 1994 and 2001. It was published in English and focused on fiction, personal history, reportage and journalism.

Inception

Ravi Dayal worked at Oxford University Press between 1971 and 1987, first as an editor and later as chief executive of its Delhi office. After leaving Oxford University Press, he established Ravi Dayal Publishers. In 1994, he launched Civil Lines as an English-language literary magazine.

Periodicity

Civil Lines did not follow a regular publication schedule. Its issues were published at irregular intervals, with the first issue appearing in 1994 and subsequent issues appearing in 1995, 1997 and 2001. Two issues were published in 2001, bringing the total number of issues to five. Contemporary reviews described the magazine as having an irregular publication schedule.

Editorial focus

The magazine was influenced by the British literary magazine Granta,It published fiction, personal histories, reportage and journalism, with a focus on writing about India. The magazine was aimed at English-speaking readers in urban India.

The five issues of Civil lines were edited by Rukun Advani (two issues), Ivan Hutnik, Mukul Kesavan and Kai Friese. Advani edited two issues, while Hutnik, Kesavan and Friese each edited one. The magazine was edited by practising writers rather than academics and did not have a formal literary manifesto determining its content.

Termination

Five issues of Civil Lines were published between 1994 and 2001. Ravi Dayal died on 4 June 2006. No further issues were published after the fifth issue in 2001. In 2009, Rukun Advani edited Written For Ever: The Best of Civil Lines, an anthology of writings previously published in the magazine. The book was published by Penguin Viking in New Delhi and was dedicated to Ravi Dayal and Dharma Kumar.

Further reading

References

  1. ↑ "Magazine Review: Introducing the new writer – Civil Lines 5: New Writing From India". The Hindu. 16 December 2001. Archived from the original on 8 January 2009. Retrieved 13 June 2009.
  2. ↑ Ravi Dayal dead The Hindu, 5 June 2006.
  3. ↑ Ravi Dayal, who gave space to new Indian writing, is no more Indian Express, 5 June 2006.
  4. ↑ Obituary: Ravi Dayal (1937-2006)[link removed] The Telegraph, 11 June 2006
  5. ↑ Publisher extraordinary by Keki N. Daruwalla. The Tribune, 25 June 2006.

This article uses text from the Chimurengal Library under the GFDL