Design: Saras Salil Suprises Once Again

I first heard about it as an answer to a tricky quiz question.

When asked to name the highest selling magazine in India, most would reply ‘India Today’, ‘Outlook’ . Few who regularly browsed quiz books knew that the coveted place belonged to Saras Salil.

Launched in 1993, by Delhi Press Patra Prakashan, this magazine which most of us who are more comfortable with English media have never seen, became the largest selling Indian magazine across languages when it unseated Malayalam Manorama from the No 1 position in 1998.

According to Audit Bureau of Circulation (ABC) figures for July-December 2005, the circulation of Saras Salil (Hindi) stood at 10.90 lakh. According to IRS 2006 Phase 1, Saras Salil (Hindi) continues to lead the magazine segment garnering a total readership of 7,361,000 (source: Indian Media Observer Newsletter, Issue 25, May 2006). The survey also mentions that the readership has been stagnant.

Probably that has inspired a third redesign in two-and-a-half years. In August 2005, it came up with a new logo while in January 2004 it decided to scrap the policy of only having female models on its cover. “Earlier the font was thick, now it is thinner. We have given more clear spacing and you'll see much more whiteness in the background, giving the magazine a polished look,” says Anant Nath, director of the magazine publishing company, Delhi Press Patra Prakashan in an interview with BrandReporter.

Accompanying refreshing changes in content (more pages devoted to entertainment and fiction stories and increased the coverage of different states) and design is price hike. Readers now have to pay Rs 6 per copy instead of Rs 1.

The company intends to spend over Rs 1.5 crore on promotional activities in the next three to four months for all its magazines. These include painting and poetry competitions for children, debates and discussions at the Saras Salil Manch on contemporary topics.