MONTH: January 2012
THEME: CELEBRATING 25 ISSUES OF SPARK
CONCEPT: As a tribute to the 25 issues of Spark published till date and as a special issue celebrating the second anniversary of Spark, 25 contributors take up each of the 25 themes and pay a tribute through art, photography, fiction, non-fiction and poetry.
SPECIAL FEATURE: A collection of the best quotes picked from Spark’s interviews and columns over two years.
This issue is a collector’s edition for the regular Spark reader. Spread over the issue is a whole range of interesting content that pays the perfect tribute to each and every theme showcased in Spark so far. Once we decided this concept for the second anniversary issue, the editorial team spent considerable time thinking and picking contributors, identifying their areas of strength and allotting a suitable theme for them. In other words, this issue strives to bring forth the best of the talent that Spark has seen in the last two years. We hope you enjoy this edition as much as we did in putting it together.[/box]
Two years – it feels wonderful.
And 25 issues – that’s what really brightens it all the more.
Till this point in time, when I have actually sat down to write the piece that I am supposed to, for this 25th issue theme, ‘Celebrating 25 issues of Spark’, I am unable to make up my mind on what I should actually be saying. Thoughts and ideas have been hitting me like pin pricks and with every passing day, the pricks have only grown more frequent and suddenly the thoughts have all been jostling for space like smart, little children, fighting to find their rightful place in paper. And then the reality looms large in front of my eyes – the very word count restriction we placed for the team, for this second anniversary issue – please keep it to 1000 words! Did I say I have another challenge? I have to doubly make sure this doesn’t sound like a sermon or a winner’s speech 🙂
And so right now, as you can see – I am trying.
Spark is one of the biggest dreams of my life. A magazine that I will establish and shape with due attention, passion and care remained a lingering desire inside me till November 2009, when I quit my full-time job to take care of my now four-year-old son. Spark is like a child to me, and like I wrote during the first anniversary of the magazine, ‘a child that I have been so proud of, a child that I have nurtured with devotion and positive energy, a child whose sole purpose from the beginning has been to enhance the lives of others through words, ideas, creative expressions and information, however small the change may be.” Now that the second year too is complete, she has only grown closer to me, toddling into the hands of in fact a wider audience, and returning with more praise and a broader smile on her face. I couldn’t be happier.
Sathya Saran, fashion journalist and author told me this very important truth in response to one of the questions I had posed to her during an interview for Spark. She said, “I think I learnt that one does not own what one creates. Be it a magazine, a job, a child. Some of it belongs to others and is given to you to shape; others are yours to create and then need to find their own paths. But being able to create is valuable, I treasure the opportunities. And reaching out with what one creates: that is a gift from God!” Nothing can sum up my role with Spark and the roles many others have played in the last two years in shaping this creative endeavour, better.
I have been immensely lucky to have a co-editor like Vani, who is also my younger sister. Her critiquing abilities and editing skills have been something I have truly admired. Every time we have had those mind-boggling conversations over contributions and interview ideas, she has stunned me with her clear thinking and made me wonder – well, do we really have six years between us? Both of us have worked very hard to make Spark a reality.
And then I need to talk about the online family we have been a part of in the last two years – a family that has been growing steadily – the Spark family. Our contributors have been our biggest strength and when I actually think of it – it’s only the first exchange of mails between a contributor and the editorial team that has remained formal. Following that, to say the very least, smiling smileys have punctuated much of the conversations. Cordiality has been something that, I am proud to say, we have shared with people who have worked with us. I hope the team will agree 🙂 On a serious note, they have also been the ones who have come to us with useful suggestions, debated earnestly on points of dissent in their work. We have learnt something valuable from each and every one’s point of view. Reaching 25 issues wouldn’t have been possible without the people who chose to work with Spark.
The other lovely learning experience for us has been the interviews and special columns. Personally for me, the interviews are a big dream come true and this just wouldn’t have been possible without Spark. I think I would need a separate column to talk of the entire experience and the joys of having the chance to speak to some of the best minds in various fields. Almost every time, I have been amazed by their down-to-earth attitude. Speaking of featured personalities, ‘Sparkling Thoughts’, the anthology of interviews and columns that we had featured in Spark between January 2010 and July 2011 and published in July 2011 is a small milestone in our dream journey. Milestones, I feel are so addictive – once you achieve one, you are motivated to see more and more.
Many a time, someone that I know or someone new has shared their thoughts on Spark, one word is sure to be spoken – Passion. How true! That’s the biggest driving factor for this effort called Spark and something that has kept us going for the last two years. What makes us even prouder is the fact that in these two years, we have tried sincerely to bring out every issue on the 5th of each month and have been successful each time. All the 25 issues of Spark have been unfailingly published on the 5th of a month. As I say that, I must also admit that we start our third year of publishing, just the way we started our first year. Perhaps we are not as nervous and jittery, but yes, our principles stay. We have dreamt, but never looked beyond one issue at a time, telling ourselves that unless we have published on the 5th, our job is not done. We have seen this as a journey without a destination and we will continue to see it thus – a journey where many lessons are to be learnt, carrying on for as long as we are able to. I think providence has been ever so kind to have been by our side all these months, giving us the right theme ideas – many of them being sudden realisations; and also kind enough to get us many people who have been motivated to add dimensions to our monthly ideas – the 25 issues with such a wide variety of themes, is here to see; and kind enough to bring us many well-wishing readers.
So, here it is – our tribute to all these themes, dedicated to our dear contributors and readers. Look through this special issue that has 25 contributors paying tributes to the each of the 25 themes of Spark, interpreted with earnestness and passion over the last two years.
In the meantime, may we revel in joy and pride, please?
Anupama Krishnakumar loves Physics and English and sort of managed to get degrees in both – studying Engineering and then Journalism. Yet, as she discovered a few years ago, it is the written word that delights her soul and so here she is, doing what she loves to do – spinning tales for her small audience and for her four-year-old son, bringing together a lovely team of creative people and spearheading Spark. She loves books, music, notebooks and colour pens and truly admires simplicity in anything!
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